| The scope of Okinawa's music from the birth
of the Ryukyuan musical scale is too
large
a scope to handle here. There are many
research
books that have already been written
so we
spotlight the music created after the
1940's.
|
| The Historical Tide of the Ryukyuan Sound In the 1940's Ryukyuan music generally meant only the ancient folk ballads, music that is being passed on today as well. Or perhaps the Tubarama genre with its set melodies with impromptu poetry added on. This form came out when Choki Fukuhara began writing his own lyrics and songs such as "Yukushi-Uta" (False Song for children to sing as they wished). In no time at all, it became a huge hit and people loved it. A composing boom started and new Shimauta folk songs emerged one after another. What happened after that is here. After WWII, the first music influence from overseas came from the first-class Jazz bands from the Philippines and the Jazzmen from mainland Japan who were hired by the U.S. military to come to Okinawa. From almost none at all before the war, Jazz music culture quickly swept the islands. The heyday of the big band brought on big changes. Supply could not keep up with demand and there were part time jobs called kakashi (scarecrows) just setting up the instruments to play. In consolation there were visits from such world class stars as Satchmo and these sessions led to a great improvement in the Jazz men of Okinawa. Many stars emerged that were able to show their strengths on the world stage such as Sumiko Yoseyama, who played with Bob Hope. After this came Rock and Roll and the appearance of numerous rock groups. Among these those that have gotten ahead are groups such as Murasaki and Condition Green who have jumped out of Okinawa and gone on to mainland Japan and America. These are, objectively speaking, truly authentic rock bands. During the same period, with the world in such confusion, the folk music movement began to sing of the contradictions in society. Okinawa Folk Mura, centering on artists such as Yutaka Sadoyama, began to sing of the situation in Okinawa to mainland Japan. During this period the power and distinctiveness of Okinawa made an impact on the music scene. As the age settled down a bit the music scene became retrospective and themes of roots took hold. Musicians who fused imported music with traditional Okinawan music began to increase in number. And the tide of music began to move toward establishing the Okinawan Sound from the various genres and musicians active then. The music of groups like the Rinken Band, with its wonderful match of Okinawan flavor and contemporary sound, blossomed and the whole of Japan got caught up in the Okinawan music boom. Okinawan musicians aimed there activities to the outside and even some musicians outside the prefecture, who received influence from Okinawan music, began to incorporate it into their own work. Musicians arriving in Okinawa for study also began to appear on the scene. At present, hardcore rock is popular among the young and even here you will find the incorporation of Ryukyuan scales in the music. The backbone of Okinawan music, the Ryukyuan scales and traditional folk songs are not being lost at all, but are evolving into a myriad of forms. Without being labeled regional, new possibilities are continually being sought out and the diversity and breadth of the fields are unique in the music environments around the world. |
|
|||||||||
