Music sprang up more lighter in its nature, more 'bird-like' than the ponderous chords which swept from Chinese strings. Performed along side with Bugaku dances, hence the name "Bugaku-biwa"
Only 1/3 of string was used for producing notes, oriental ingenuity displayed itself in making the frets of different heights, so that the string should pass freely over the lower frets to those higher up on the neck, upper neck of biwa are tuning pegs, the back is bent at a right angle, same as the old Theorbo lyre, seen in mediaeval pictures.
Bagaku-biwa is a massive stringed instrument, with a gourd-shaped body measuring 3ft 3inches long and 16 inches across the broadest part of the face, having a string length of 25 inches. Formerly played on horseback. No rests on lower edge on ground between knees of the performer, seated in Japanese fashion, on the floor. It has four strings passing over three high frets and collected in a notch a the upper end. The normal tuning is a combination of ni-agari and san-sagari. It is played with the bachi of hard wood, but much heavier than the samisen, has rounded instead of pointed ends. It is grasped firmly in the right hand and dragged over the band of black leather which runs across the face of the instrument, and over the strings, which are strung close to the body, actually striking the 3rd or 4th string when melody played. Rich chords. Body of biwa made of shitan, neck of willow, and tuning handles of peach, the bachi of 'yellow willow' the side like that of a koto, called o-iso, the sea shore.
During the late 19th century the biwa-accompanied narratives enjoyed a revival. The blind-priest biwa (moso biwa) tradition had originally been divided into two schools named after the provinces in Kyushu from which they came, Chikuzen and Satsuma. The tradition declined greatly over the years. When the Imperial restoration began in the Meiji period, many members of the new administration were from those provinces. Thus new schools of narrative biwa music arose under those two names, influenced at this time by several samisen narrative traditions. The topics of the new biwa pieces were often military afn appropriate to the modernization period. The 19th century also was one of Japan's periodic revival of interest in things Chinese, reduced somewhat with the advent of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Another late Tokugawa period style was shigin, the singing of Chinese poems in an intense solo style quiet unrelated to the Heian roei tradition of Chinese-based songs. Shigin was later accompanied by shakuhachi, and during the military spirit of the Meiji period it was combined with a posturing sword dance, tsurugi-mai. It also appeared in biwa concerts and could still be heard on rare occasions after World War II.
Courtly writings have left little information about the music of the peasants in any detail, but some folk songs and theatricals of the Tokugawa period remain for modern study. The rice-planting, harvesting, and other work songs that survive may retain ancient melodies and may also be evidence of the indigenous origins of the yo-in scale system to which most such music belongs. In this context, the first phase of the folk song "Kuroda-bushi" is said to have been derived originally from a Heian period imayo based on the gagaku piece. Most folk songs are regionally functional but historically vague and subject to the normal changes of any oral tradition. Viewing as a while both the performance practice and voice qualities of Japanese folk music, one finds a great variety of styles. Such richness may reflect the long periods of Japanese feudalism, which fostered many different musical dialects.
The many processional and pantomimes of folk theatricals are accompanied by flutes and percussion, the generic term for such ensembles being hayashi. During the Tokugawa period the Shinto shrines of Edo (Tokyo) developed festival ensembles (matsuri bayashi) for the various major districts of the city. Most of these combine a bamboo flute with two folk-style taiko stick drums, an o-daiko barrel drum, and a small hand gong called the kane, or atarigane. When such groups are playing general festival music, they all use a suite of five pieces: yatai, shoden, kamakura, shichome, and another yatai. Their versions of each piece can be very different. When dance or pantomime is involved, the sato-kagura music is used. The kagura-bue flute is often replaced by the no flute. It combines with an o-daiko and a diabyoshi barrel drum. The patterns on the heads of the latter contain East Asian male-female designs. One head is struck with thin bamboo sticks, the drum sitting to the side so that the plyer can better see the dancer. Lion dance (shishi mai) ensembles often use a trio consisting of a bamboo flutist, a gong player, and a drummer who plays the taiko and a small odeko barrel drum. Cymbals (chappa) and samisen may appear in other folk pantomimes or dances. The most common folk dances are the summer bon odori, traditionally performed in circles around a high platform (yagura) where the musicians or tape machines are located.
Given the oral base of all folk music, may songs are lost with the demise of another old farmer or worker. Scholarly and commercial interest in national remains strong. Folk song preservation societies (minyo hozon kai) exist whose functions are to preserve "correct" performances of a single folk song. Such specificity seems unique to Japan. Regional and international folk-based Japanese ensembles flourish, and the summer dances can be seen in Japanese communities from Tokyo to Detriot.
The generic term for referring Japanese drums is Taiko, its divided into 3 classes: Taiko proper, Kakko, Tsuzumi.
(1) Plain cylindrical drums, (2) drums with braces or cords, (3) drums with dumb-bell-shapped bodies
(1) O-daiko, large drum, used in Temple services, stands right of alter, part of Dai-dai-kagura orchestra, rests on black lacquer stand, surface decorated with gold clouds or colored dragons, face having a large black, 'mitsu-tomoye' on plain ground, cylindar fitted with 2 large iron rings, enable to be carried, rarely appears in procession.
Origin of drum is from China, developed from Bugaku-daiko (Tsuri-daiko), face measures 2ft 5 inches in diameter, parchment overlapping 5 inches on cylindar, fastened to 2 rows of heavy studs, cylindar is 2 ft 9 ½ inches long, slightly convexed giving central diameter of 2 ft 10inches, stands to height of 4ft 10 inches.
Ko-daiko - small form of O-daiko, used in processions and in orchestra for short performances of Kagura, decorated central cylindar, rests on stand, procesional drum is plain, face is undecorated. Placed in cubical frame, suspended from a pole carried on the shoulder of 2 men, the drummer walking by the side delivering vigorous blows on the parchment with 2 plain thick sticks of hard wood without knobs or leather, these sticks are about 1 foot in length and 1 ½ inches diameter. Beaten at gate of temple to summon people
Tsuri-daiko - 'hanging drum' more commonly called Taiko, the larger of the two drums used in Bugaku orchestra, shallow cylilnder slightly convexed, hung in circular rim or frame on stand, raised to height that drummer came sit in front and without stretching arms, strike the exact center of face. Sticks with leather covered knobs, measure to 11 inches in length, right stick is called obachi, male stick; left stick is called mebachi, female stick; both faces of cylindar are elaborately painted in usual style of Temple decoration, the phoenix dragon surrounded by gorgeous clouds.
Shoko, the gong of the bugaku orchestra, first metal instrument introduced to japan. In china it dates to time of confucius. Gong used in place of bugle for words of command. Dai-shoko, grand shoko, accompanies Da-daiko, 14 inche diameter gong, 5 ft high, 3 ft broad base. Ni-shoko, portable shoko, carred by 2 men on long pole, used in procession, measures 3ft 5 inches high, by 2 inches wide, 8 inch diameter gong.