特集 India Japan Innovation Potentials［招待論文：実践報告］

India-Japan Collaboration in Music &All It Touches
When a Sound is Worth a Thousand Pictures

音文化とその周辺における日印共同開発へ「百見は一音に如かず」と思えば ．．．

T. M. Hoffman

Performing artist / scholar / activist
Director, Indo-Japanese Music Exchange Association
ティ エム ホッフマン
演奏・教育・企画
日印音楽交流会代表
Correspondence to: tmhoffmus21@yahoo.com

Abstract:

Successful innovation requires compatibility between components and processes
involved. In aural characteristics of language and music, Japan resembles India morethan either China or the West. Although orthography in language and instruments
in music may to the eye suggest otherwise, in-depth analysis and cooperative
development in Japanese music and language arts are supported through theory
and practical training systems developed in India. Japanese instruments shakuhachi(1992~) and koto (2006~), and Japanese poetry including tanka and haiku (2003~),have been authenticated for Indian classical music by Bhatkhande Music College,
Sangeet Natak Akademi, and American Institute of Indian Studies, and performed
throughout India, Japan and beyond.
物事の情報交換は主に五感の中の視覚と聴覚に頼る。目で把握・空間に存（広義）hardware 具象と在する物 と、耳で把握・時間に活きる事 、その区別はsoftware 抽象との相違による。前者が日本、後者がインド、それぞれの世界観に優先的だと言えよう。物 である文章・楽譜・楽器に注目する日本に対して事 である口語・発音・即興、つまり音による多様性を認めるインド文明。代えて「百見は一聞に如かず」
、見
（目）
より聞
（耳）
で「mandala 型より mantra 音」。
「日本の物にインドの事」で、和楽器でインド音楽の音階類を活用すると「1 石32,848 鳥」に至る。特定作品よりも、体系的な過程（process）に重点を置くイ
ンドの創作・即興法は、日本のあらゆる業界に有意義な原理を提供する。

Keywords: musico-linguistics, cross-professional, diachronic, analog, efficiency
音楽言語学、交分野の、通時的、継続的、効率性

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1Musico-linguistic constructs connecting India & Japan

1.1

Balancing inspiration and expectation at the gateway to innovation
Success in innovation is also dependent upon a priori attitudes vis-a-vis

proponents and components in the innovation process. Two widely used expressions,
one each in Japanese and Indian languages, reﬂect upon initiation of any endeavor. In
Japan, the word muzukashii (difficult, doubtful) is often leveraged in precluding an
investment of time, resources and hopes wherein any possible problem may beperceived - basically, a conservative vote of caution (keikaishin). Antithetical is theHindi expression ho jāyega ʻIt can/will happenʼ - a ʻYes we canʼ vote for exercising
curiosity (koukishin) proactively in anticipation of eventual outcomes.
Predictably, then, projects of Indo-Japanese Music Exchange Association withno direct precedents have attracted many enthusiastic long-term participants in India,
while many could-be participating beneﬁciaries in Japan have been hesitant, awaiting
declaration of deﬁnitive success from familiar authorities. Such reticence also affects
enterprising specialists in diverse ﬁelds of business, diplomacy, education, etc.
An ʻedutainingʼ illustration of this muzukashii / ho jaega contrast is found in The
Jungle Book story of boy Mowgli in India, written in USA by British author Rudyard
Kipling, who himself was born in India. Portrayed throughout are two gurus of
Mowgli - Bagheera (panther, in Hindi) teaching caution, and Balu (bear) encouraging
curiosity. A concise elucidation of this contrast is in the ʻBare Necessitiesʼ segment ofWalt Disneyʼs feature-length 1967 animated rendition of The Jungle Book (Disneyvideo). Animals as human archetypes teach obedience and respect for “the law of thejungle”, and lead to discovery through freedom to improvise. The worldwide Boy
Scout/Cub Scout movement, founded by Kiplingʼs friend Robert Baden-Powell,borrowed from Jungle Book [Law of the Pack, Akela, Wolf Cub, grand howl, den,pack] as official Scout terms.
While entrepreneurship in Japan may be delayed by reticence, operations
undertaken in India frequently are hampered by scrambled schedules. The
manifestations of guna – composite qualities of sattva (harmony, light), sajās (energy,transformation) and tamas (inertia, finishing) – and dosha (subtle influences that
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stimulate us to thought and action) differ between each society and individual.
Perception of these operating within Japanese and Indian cultures can suggest andguide focus and subsequent activity.
1.2

Expanding the field of aural vision through cross-professional sharing
Four decades of protracted activity in USA, Japan/E Asia and India/S Asia hasnecessitated simultaneous concentrations in performance and research, and finallyactivism. In the context of living arts undergoing change, beyond efforts to analyze
issues and document things before they disappear, ʻto act or not to act, that is thequestionʼ. This entails ʻrisk managementʼ but, as Aristotle said, “There is only one
way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing and be nothing”.
It has been a privilege to study, teach and conduct research in renowned
universities and music academies of USA, Japan and India, as well as scores ofpresentations there and in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Korea, Singapore,
Thailand, Canada and England; in local, national, and international colleges andschools; with special needs children, adults and the aged; in broadcast and print
media; formal committees and casual settings. Some ideas and strategies emerging
along the way are introduced below.
Concerning “Music and all it touches”, various issues in other ﬁelds covered inthis journal are also key herein. A few examples are given below.
ʻEconomy, efficiency & ecologyʼ (as principles related to all arts and sciences) in
EWC/EWCA International Conference 2002 in Kuala Lumpur; ʻRisk management inprocesses of music composition and improvisationʼ at JIS College of Engineering(Kalyani, West Bengal) and related presentations at Singapore Management
University, Euro-Asia Management Studies Association (EAMSA) Annual
Conference 2012 at NUS, and GARP in Tokyo; ʻSelf-administered music therapy forthe agedʼ in Gerontology Synthesis International Conference (Visakhapatnam,
Andhra Pradesh) was also demonstrated there in practical sessions for Lebenshilfe
Institute for Mentally Challenged, and in Japan and USA in homes for the aged.
ʻAnalog and digital relationships in musicʼ at IIT Bombay leveraged the102

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understanding of analog in context of a continuous signal vs digital signals being
time separated, to examine the human voice and wind or bowed stringed instrumentsin their capacity to extend tones and introduce varying amplitude/pitch as curvature;contrasted with ʻdigitalʼ instruments like piano and keyed wind instruments, whichcannot do justice to horizontal, diachronic analog melody.
ʻVertical and horizontal principles evident in both city planning and music
compositionʼ, a workshop presented at Architectural Institute of Japan (in Kenchiku
Kaikan, located nearby Mita campus of Keio University), compared angular manmade high-rise structures to the contour of rolling hills to illustrate how verticallyaligned tones of harmony complement or compete with horizontally configured
rhythm and melody.
1.3Sound of divine origin meets instruments of human hands
Traditional instruments in India and Japan display similar capacities andlimitations, and their classical music styles are not deﬁned by harmony and chord
progressions as in Western music, but rather related to melodic modes based onparticular scales. There is, however, a vast difference between India and Japan in theextent to which the concept of melodic mode (raga in India, sempo in Japan) has
been developed, and in the number of melodic modes at present available tomusicians in the two cultures.
Within Japan, four pentatonic (5-tone) scales form the skeleton of a small
number of loosely deﬁned melodic modes in traditional music. On the other hand,Indian classical music makes use of hundreds of scales and modes raga, each ragawith its own distinctive melodic features and mood achieved through uniquearrangement and treatment of individual tones.
In Figure 1, we can identify the two most prevalent pentatonic scales ofJapanese music as fitting within the most popular 7-tone scale of S Asia, widely
known as Bhairavi. Other than the two acchal swar (immovable tones) known as Sa
and Pa (1st and 5th positions in the scale), the arrangement of whole steps and half
steps in Bhairavi is opposite to that of the Major scale predominating in music of the
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West and (even more so) the Chinese predominant scale. Greek philosopher Plato positioned between East and West 2500 years ago - had prescribed this (Bhairavi)
scale, known then/there as the Doria mode, to maintain harmonious community. In
the Republic (399 BC), Plato (through Socrates) names the musical modes andcorrelates them with the different possible conditions of society and the individual,
saying “The best constitution of state and soul…has the voluntary mode, or the
Dorian mode, as its anthem.” (Fitzpatrick, 2018, p. VIII).

Figure 1 Representative musical scales in India, Japan, China, and Europe

This simple comparison is achieved through application of a basic subtractive
process which is instrumental in generating up to 32,848 recognized scales in Indianclassical music. A detailed thesis by this author (in Japanese) elucidating efficacious
operation of this subtractive function in both languages and music of India, including
models of cross-application for Japanese language and music, was published in 2001
(list in References).
The vast body and system of Indian melodic material has emerged from a
tradition centered around the human voice, and Indian musical instruments likewise
aspire to the ﬂexible capabilities of the voice in intonation and treatment of melody.
Microtonal intervals are widely employed, as well as tone quality modulation, glides,
shakes and more, which are naturally available in human vocalization. Japanese104India-Japan Collaboration in Music & All It Touches

music has also been inspired by and developed primarily in relation to the voice, andits instruments are likewise capable of graces and techniques like the crucial gamaka
in Indian music, rather than chord progressions and harmonic changes. Nonetheless,the course of nature has been diverted by history to favor imported Western inﬂuence
across the arts and sciences from the Meiji period onward, and throughout the world.
Rhythm, accentuation, and syntax in music of India and Japan are likewisesimilar. Rhythmic forms are derived from poetry and the voice-centered, phrasingrelated addition of beats to form cycles of measures; in stark contrast to the Western
dance-derived, body-centered, pulse-related division of measures into beats.
Contrasting also are the primarily dynamic accentuation (of strong vs weak beats)
leveraged in Western music, and the agogic accentuation (of long vs short intonation)in the classical musics of India and Japan. This corresponds to critical long/shortvowel differentiation in the syllabaries of Indian and Japanese languages, i.e., badā/chhotā swar in Sanskrit etc in India, and chō/tan bo-in in Japan), while Germanic
languages are replete with consonant clusters, e.g., two consecutive consonants /sk/
in 'desk', and three /spr/ in 'spring', which both produces stress and precludes
elongation of an ending vowel.
Correlations in the languages of these two Asian cultures separated by great
distances of both land and sea were recognized and clariﬁed by the Buddhist Shingon
priest Kobo Daishi (popularly known as Kukai); arguably, the ʻLeonardo da Vinci ofJapanʼ. He is credited with developing (on the model of Sanskrit) the hiragana
syllabary which represents the oral/aural components of the Japanese language. In the
Chinese capital Chang-an in the early 9th century, Kukai was schooled in Siddham
script (known as bonji in Japan), precursor of Devanagari script used to write
Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and Nepali languages today, and in the chanting of mantra
and sūtra. He founded the sect Shingon (ʻTrue Wordʼ or ʻMantraʼ), most soundcentered of Japanese sects which boasts Japanʼs most sophisticated Buddhist chant/song shōmyō, and emphasizes the power of oral prayer.
Kukai gained fame as a sculptor, calligrapher, poet, and contributed many other
innovations in linguistics, education, aesthetics, and engineering that evince his
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acumen in connecting abstract knowledge to concrete strategies.
1.4

Japanese eye & hardware ⇔ Indian ear & software
To a great degree, traditional music in Japan relies on the sense of sight, as does

the utilization of up to ﬁfty thousand ideograms of kanji. Myriad instrument-speciﬁc
notation symbols and styles in Japan are each based on the physical characteristics ofthat particular instrument (e.g., string numbers for koto notation, hole names for ﬂute
shakuhachi notation). Indian music, on the other hand, utilizes a universally
applicable notation style based on scale degrees and intervals in melody, regardless of
instrument (or voice, the original!), and this has facilitated systematic derivation andclassiﬁcation of vast arrays of melodic and rhythmic material which can be performed
with eyes closed – sans notation – and with coherent improvisation.
Austrian-British philosopher/linguist Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889~1951) says, “Thelimits of oneʼs language are the limit of oneʼs life”. The East Asian languages are
particularly rich in variety of visual phenomena and aesthetics. To handle thoseideograms, each with a visually indicated meaning, sight looms paramount among thefive senses. Yet, in Mandarin only 1,644 vocable syllables are recognized, and inJapanese only 112! “Chinese language is abundant in words expressing bodies andforms, with few verbs expressing change”, and “Japanese prefer aesthetics (focus on
object) to philosophy (focus on abstract relationships). There was no system of model
grammar [or music theory] before Meiji”. (Nakamura, 1960, p. 49). The same author in1962 published Nihon ni okeru bunka no hakken (Discovery of Indian Culture in Japan).
Conversely, “India is where logic originally appeared in the East. The tendency
to esteem universality generally pays more attention to the nature of things than tothings themselves. In India and Greece, grammar was regularly taught from classicaltimes”. (Nakamura, 1960, p. 50).
The process of applying the fully compatible Indian “software” (melodic modes)
to Japanese “hardware” (instruments) - with the “Japanese eye” and “Indian ear”
collaborating in music - has several benefits for both contributing cultures. These
include: 1) introduction of previously unimagined melodic material in Japan; 2)106

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appreciation of raga in relation to existing music and instruments in the two cultures;
3) introducing to India the remarkably compatible Japanese instruments and poetry ;and 4) providing to Asia and the world a contemporary example of one regionalmusic productively interacting with another without compromise in principle,
technique, or instrument conﬁguration. This represents coherent intra-Asian classicalcrossover, not anything-goes fusion.
1.5

Intra-Asian encounters
Musicologist Alain Danielou had written, “The present promiscuity in culture

tends to create hybrid, low-standard by-products. Whenever we believe that someform of renewal is necessary, we have to see that the new innovations are coherent
and in accordance with the genetics of our particular system” (Danielou, 1976, p. 12).
In Japan since the Meiji Restoration of the late 19th century, arbitrary adoption oftheory and notation from Western music – seemingly the only option available –introduced contradictions in definition and evolution of Japanese form, style, andtechnique. By way of analogy, both the indigenous sport sumō and the imported
baseball coexist and thrive in Japan today; but if the terms, rules, and training
techniques of baseball were to be imposed upon sumō, the result would be chaos inthe dohyō (ring).
In India a century later, the use of ﬁxed-pitch Western instruments and chord
progressions in modal melody of indigenous folk, sacred, classical, and popular
music produces a disjointed effect. East-East and North-South intra-Asian innovations
are viable alternatives to random East-West experimentation. Indian concepts inlanguage and music succinctly address features prematurely tagged as uniquely
Japanese.
“What is not given is lost” (an Indian proverb), and cross-cultural sharing
between these musico-linguistic traditions can counteract what Mahatma Gandhi,
envisioning a post-colonial independent India, cautioned against, “English rule
without the English”. Similarly, during a 1924 lecture tour in China, Rabindranath
Tagore stated, “In Asia we must seek our strength in union, and never in the egotistic
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spirit of separateness and self-assertion”.
The well-travelled Rabindranath Tagore visited Japan in 1916, 1924 and 1929.
Along with his high regard for calligraphy and other visual and literary arts, he expresseddisappointment in Japanese music. This likely stemmed from a quantitative gap, of muchless variety in melodic and rhythmic forms than those found in India music.
We can note a different problem with Tagoreʼs music as performed at present.
His niece and devoted disciple Sarala Devi would collect tunes heard in her travels,and give them to her uncle Rabindranath for use in composing new songs. Then,although with good intent, Sarala Devi harmonized and notated many of them inWestern style, thereby compromising affinity to ragas from which the masterʼsoriginal songs had found birth or inspiration.
1.6

1 2 3 → world of imagination, innovation & integration
One is the number of ʻthisʼ, or absolutism; two, the number of ʻthis-or-thatʼ

dualism; three, the doorway to inﬁnite possibility. Black, black & white, and then the
spectrum of colors. Meditation, conversation, then conference. A straight line, twolines with one angle, and finally three connected lines in a stable triangularconﬁguration with a clariﬁed area inside, and surrounded by inﬁnity. Dimensions oflength, breadth, and depth in relation to any object, discipline, or experience. All ofthese relationships and the objects existing within them are made known to us
through language.
The Sanskrit language has long been of great historical and literary signiﬁcancethroughout South and Southeast Asia, and in recent decades is often discussed inrelation to computer programming, the processes of which operate within linguistics
and mathematics, through specialized languages and formulae of coding.
The path to the mathematical developments and the many manifestations of
Yoga began in the primordial knowledge system Shruti, apprehending language assound existing in time. This includes study of phonetics shikshā, grammar vyākarana,and poetic meters chhanda which are based on the relative lengths of pronounced
syllables. Studies and research were pursued through the medium of sound, and have108

India-Japan Collaboration in Music & All It Touches

generated mathematical strategies like combinatorics. Insights were gained in both
temporal and spatial dimensions, opening connectivity among the various branchesof arts and science,In this, we acknowledge from the cultural history of India three colossal Pʼs:
Pānini Maharshi, known as Father of Sanskrit, author of the epochal work
Ashtadhyāyī with 3,950 sutras of grammatical rules; Pingala Acharya, author of
Chhandah Sutra for systematically constructing Sanskrit poems, and originator ofbinary number system; Patanjali, who in Mahā Bhāshyam elaborated on Paniniʼs
Ashtadhyāyī, and (most famously) originated the yoga and ayurvedic systems known
today. A recently released 39-minute documentary The Untold Story of Sanskrit(Project Shivoham) systematically traces the development of knowledge and practicesystems in mathematics, language and music.
Albert Einstein famously stated in Princeton University, “Pure mathematics is,in its way, the poetry of logical ideas”, and posited creativity at the heart of his
teaching. In 2005, the author was privileged to work for a few days in Princeton withthe humble genius Dr Manjul Bhargava, celebrated Canadian-Americanmathematician of Indian descent, and 2014 Fields Medalist. Being also anaccomplished tabla player (trained under renowned maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain), Dr
Bhargava kindly and skillfully accompanied the authorʼs concert of Indian music on
Japanese instruments in Princeton.
Dr Bhargavaʼs mathematics courses utilize music and poetry above all else, as do
also his special presentations for various audiences throughout USA, India and the world.
In a 2015 math workshop ʻPoetry, Daisies and Cobrasʼ for school children in
Bengaluru (Bhargava, 2015), Dr Bhargava explains the ʻmathemagicalʼ link between
math and poetry, as illustrated in plants and animals. Panini and the 11th century
linguist Hemachandra are mentioned, and Bhargavaʼs profound playful romp throughnumbers ends with a tabla demonstration. In early 2020, in India the author twice
discussed with Dr Bhargava his six-month India visit requested by the Prime Ministerfor restructuring mathematics education throughout India. This was unfortunately cut
short by the worldwide onslaught of COVID-19.
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2

Examples of India-Japan integral music & language projects

2.1

Activities of Indo-Japanese Music Exchange Association (www.ijmea.net)
In three decades since founding in 1989, there have been too many diverse

projects, events, publications, broadcasts to allow a proper account in this brief
journal chapter. The IJMEA website carries varied information and many examplesof wide-ranging musico-linguistic collaborations in India and Japan and beyond,made possible through invaluable involvement and support of many distinguishedindividuals and institutions. Included are photos, essays, media samples, etc, andlinks to schedules, videos and more, in both Japanese and English. A brief overview
can be heard in the “Japan-India Music Crossover” interview + music samples in
NHK World (Hoffman, 2017).
2.2

Samples from related activity in Keio University
Below are introduced two forms of ʻedutainingʼ activity demonstrating cultural

relativity between the sound cultures of India and Japan, carried out on two Keio
University campuses during the 12-year period of the authorʼs employment there as
lecturer.
2.2.1 Indo-Japanese music concerts in India-Japan Friendship Year 2007
Keio University hosted an afternoon concert of Hindustani classical and IndoJapanese music on 19 June 2007 to welcome newly matriculated students to thecampus. Featured were four members of a renowned family of musicians from
Banaras, famed city of Indian music and spiritual culture. Also included were theauthor (as music director and co-performer) and Dr Rabinder Malik (Keio University
lecturer, senior pillar of the Tokyo Indian community, and decorated master ofJapanese folk and popular song). This same unit also performed on 22 June at
Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. These were two of total ten concerts by thevisiting artists in Kanto and Kansai regions, organized by IJMEA with support ofAgency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan.

110India-Japan Collaboration in Music & All It Touches

Figure 2 Top artists of Banaras perform at Keio University Hiyoshi campus

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FCCJ India Night (Yurakucho)
Keio University Event Terrace (Hiyoshi)
Figure 3 Two India-Japan Friendship Year Events (Tokyo, 19 & 22 June 2007)

2.2.2 Interdisciplinary correlations in India & Japan and beyond
Below are two sample exercises leveraging musico-linguistic elements of Indian,Japanese and other cultures, selected from the authorʼs Keio University International
Center courses ʻSound Culture of Japan, Asia & the Worldʼ and ʻSystematicsʼ, offered
2007~2018 on Mita campus. Arts and sciences, qualities and quantities, past andfuture found common ground in various topics and workshops.
2.2.2.1 Japanese history & language + Indian rhythm & mnemonics
The Systematics classroom, blessed with students from up to 12 different
nationalities and as many specializations, was an ideal setting for seeking creativity& coherence within diversity.
In this TALA TALK workshop, students from diverse backgrounds practicebasic Japanese skills while intoning Japan historical periods, in order from Nara to
Reiwa, set to the 7-beat Indian rhythm cycle Rupak tāla. Participants ﬁrst recite thetablā drum stroke names (ti ti na ｜ Dhi na ｜ Dhi na) while hand clapping on thefirst beat of each of the 3 subdivisions of the cycle. Instructor then joins on tablāwhile they read/recite the hiragana text.

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Figure 4 TALA TALK : Japanese text + Indian rhythm multi-challengeThen, changing the tempo, rearranging portions, practicing techniques oflayakāri (adjusting 7 syllables within cycles of other talas, e.g., 10-beat Jhaptāl, 12beat Ektāl, 16-beat Tritāl). In this complex process, one experiences that prospects for
success are supported by strong familiarity with at least one factor in the formula for Japanese participants, their language and history; for South Asians, linguistic
acumen and tala experience; for all else, some other integrated mind/body/ voice
experience recalled.

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2.2.2.2 Japanese and other poetry + Hindustani composition forms
In one project assigned in the Systematics course, each student chose a short poem inJapanese, a language of their own culture, or any other except English. That then would
be wedded to any one of 12 North Indian ragas and of six talas introduced in class. Few
students had prior exposure to Indian music, most had limited experience in Japanese
language, seldom were music majors in the mix, and the instructor was unfamiliar withmany of the languages being used. It was a bold leap for all - and reasonably (oramazingly) successful – aided by the logic inherent in the raga system, the universal
mathematical principles in tala, and inspiring language, structure, and content of poetry.
< Original compositions handwritten by students reproduced below with permission >Figure 5 Raga Bhimpalasi / Tala Trital & Psalm 90 text (in Hebrew language)

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Text : Lord God, You have been our dwelling place in all generations
Before the mountains were brought You formed the Earth
From everlasting to everlasting, You are God
You turn man to dust, (and say) “Return to Dust, o Man”
By Hannah Bunting, student from New York City. This afternoon raga uses 5 of its
7 tones in ascending melody, and all seven in descending form; within Trital cycle of 16
beats in 4 measures, the most common tala in North India. The Book of Psalms is
mainly a collection of poems and prayers by King David, many of those directed to his
court musicians. Jewish tradition is to Christianity what Hindu tradition is to Buddhism.
Highest development of song is found in both Hindu and Christian traditions; differing
are the modal melody of Hindu bhajan and harmonic structure of Christian hymn.

Figure 6 Chinese poem in Bhairavi & Tala Dhamar (4+5+2+3 = 14 beats)
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By Ruan Wen, student from China. The scale of Bhairavi (of deep signiﬁcanceto both India and Japan, as introduced with Figure 1, above) with a complex tala usedprimarily in classical vocal music. This famous poem was written by Li Yu, the last
ruler of the Southern Tang state in Five Dynasties period (907-960), being deposedand forced by his captors to read aloud his poem, then to commit suicide.
Matching Chinese text to Indian raga is nearly impossible. In Mandarin, eachideogram has one of four tonal designations for intonation (even --, rising /, falling \,or falling+rising \/). In Indian melody of any particular raga, there is characteristicphrasing of tones (e.g., movement which is frequently used, sometimes used, largely
avoided, or clearly forbidden). This issue seldom affects [Japanese language + raga
melody] efforts.
2.2.3

An earlier collaboration among advisors, artists, educators, children andbroadcast media of Japan, India, Sri Lanka and USA
At the request of late pianist-composer KAWAMURA Junko, this authortranslated the popular Japanese folk song Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival) into Hindi as
Guriyā Utsav, to be sung by a childrenʼs chorus on national All India Radio in 1988.
Through radio broadcasts (in an era when radio was the primary mass communication
media), thousands or millions of children could understand in their own language thetext, and experience rhythmic and melodic features which variously resemble thoseof songs in their own culture.
The song sheet was prepared in both Indian sargam (solfege) and Western
notation, with texts given in Devanagari and Roman alphabet, along with someJapanese script. Recordings of Japanese children singing were also prepared.

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India-Japan Collaboration in Music & All It Touches< Sample below from sheet distributed to the young singers in Delhi in 1988 >Original:

A ka ri wo tsu ke ma sho

bo- n

bo ri

ni --

--

○

Figure 7 (top) Hina Matsuri (Guriya Utsav) song text in Hindi & Roman scripts(bottom) song melody + text of Line# 1 in Western staff & Indian sargam

Time/rhythm given in the Western notation given above corresponds to theoriginal Japanese text. In Japanese, for this Line#1 of the song, there is a syllable
occurring on each beat subunit (12) in the first three measures; while the Hindi
translation requires only eight, among which four are long vowels occupying twobeats each. This parallels a peculiar tendency in haiku and other Japanese poetry andsong compositions; i.e., scarcity of long vowels, even though Japanese has as large apresence of syllables and vocabulary with long vowels as is found in Indian
languages, including Hindi. This contrast deserves detailed attention not possible
within this short survey.
Also, the Indian sargam notation used with the Hindi text is most beﬁtting inrepresenting this song, and for utility in singing by any individual, in either language.
These and other musico-linguistic factors are easily understood through practicalapplication in interactive settings.
In later workshops in India and Japan, similarities in these two polysyllabic
language cultures were demonstrated, e.g., the crucial short/long distinction in
vowels.
Strategies were identiﬁed for adjusting either Japanese or Hindi text to melody
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texts in monosyllabic languages, such as English and Chinese. This awareness opens
up more expansive discoveries, including principles of economy and efficiency
operating in any given sound/time and script/space format.
In 2009 in central Sri Lanka Hina Matsuri was sung in Japanese, Hindi and
Sinhala languages with the students in Sputnik Girls Home on 3 March (exact date of
the Japanese Doll Festival), two days after IJMEA orphanage charity concert in
Kurunegala Civic Auditorium with renowned artists of central Sri Lanka, andincluding the girls.
2.3

Acknowledging partners in India-Japan innovation in music
Finally, to introduce just a few of many distinguished individuals who have done

great service to Japan-India cultural exchange; here, three each from Japan and India.
JAPAN◎ TAJIMA Shinji : Founder/Director of International Center for Literacy andCulture ICLC; author of many works now in up to 30 native-language editions
throughout Asia and beyond, including two books published in national Sahitya
Akademi in ﬁve Indian languages, from English translations by this author.
◎ ISHIDA Kazushi : distinguished author and music critic; alumnus and lecturer incontemporary music in both Musashino Music College and Keio University, andothers; President of Music Pen Club Japan; MEXT Agency for Cultural Affairs
Publishing Prize; leader of Japanʼs 11-artist delegation to 1993 India International
Music Festival.
◎ TANAKA Takafumi : Founder/Chief Editor of Hōgaku Journal, Japanʼs mostrespected traditional music monthly; supports India-Japan initiatives, features related
artists and projects. Similarly, Founder N. Pattabhi Raman and subsequent Editors ofIndiaʼs excellent premier music monthly Sruti (see sample covers, below).

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Sruti (March 2021)
Hōgaku Journal (March 2011)
Figure 8 Major traditonal music monthly magazines in Japan and India

INDIA◎ Probir MITTRA : career tabla artist in National Kathak Kendra, New Delhi;
producer of events, recordings, personnel exchanges; hosted in Japan twice by
IJMEA & Air India; appears on CD INTEGRAL ASIA with artists of Japan and India.
◎ Varsha DAS : former Director of National Book Trust, and National Gandhi
Museum; founding advisor of IJMEA & ICLC (see TAJIMA, above); key member ofpeace movements for children in Kashmir and beyond; music & drama scholar.
◎ M R RANGANATHAN : Founder-Director of ABK-AOTS, top India-Japan
education and business center in South India; awarded variously by Consulates,
Embassy, and Prime Minister of Japan; host of major events in Chennai since 2006.
INDIA, JAPAN and beyond◎ Society for Promotion of Indian Music and Culture Amongst YouthSPIC MACAY （https://spicmacay.org/about）has inspired generations across India,
and in many centers abroad, and kindly hosted IJMEA programs in Delhi University,
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特集 India Japan Innovation Potentials

IITs Delhi and Bombay, Modern School, and others. SPIC MACAY in November
2020 established Japan Chapter of volunteers promoting and participating in music
and cultural exchange in Japan. Youth of school and university, and other interested
persons or organizations could contact IJMEA for further information.

3

Conclusion
Freedom begets opportunity which begs responsibility. Expansion transcends

borders which must yet be honored for their roles in maintaining reasonable order.
Objectivity of quantified hard data is enjoined to knowledge from in-the-moment
practical experience and reﬂection. Ideally, there will be a vista constructed of suchopposite yet complementary platforms from which to contemplate and interact withany two unique phenomena. Fortunately, the aural cultures of music and language as
the breath and blood of human communication, and India and Japan as likewisecontrasting complementary partners in Asia, epitomize the potential of traditions
ﬁnding their higher ground through collaborative innovation.
Music will continue to evolve in India, Japan and elsewhere. At issue is whether
we will choose to affirm and build upon mutual relativity and, in doing so, nurture thevitality to perpetually contribute to the unity in diversity of a healthy cultural ecology.
References
Bhargava, M. (2015) “Poetry, Daisies and Cobras” in Bengaluru school lecture, NDTV video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siFBqH-LaQQ (Accessed on April 27, 2021)
Danielou, A. (1976) “Conscious or Haphazard Evolution in Music”, In Music : East and West,New Delhi: ICCR., pp. 11-24.
Disney, W. (1967) “Bare Necessities”, Animated film, from Rudyard Kipling, Jungle Book.
1894. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAuQTZ3Btfk (Accessed on March 25, 2021)
Fitzpatrick, K. (2018) Soul Music in Plato’s Republic. https://voegelinview.com/soul-musicplatos-republic/ (Accessed on April 23, 2021)
Hoffman, T. (2017) “Japan-India Music Crossover”, Interview in NHK World broadcast. Friends
Around the World: Hello Asia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P57VB7sIq4(Accessed on April 27, 2021)
Nakamura, H. (1960) The Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples. Tokyo: Japanese National
Commission for UNESCO.
Project Shivoham (2021) The Untold Story of Sanskrit: A film on research about Sanskrit and computing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQqJkm_q93k&t=764s (Accessed on Mar 25, 2021)

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India-Japan Collaboration in Music & All It Touches【Audio CDs of directly related music and booklet, produced by the author】
Ganesh Prasad Mishra & Party (1998) KHYAL AND MORE: VOCAL ART OF HINDUSTAN,
JVC WORLD SOUNDS., VICG-60322
北インド声楽の神髄 ベナレスに伝わる古典声楽「カヤール」の魅力 .
ビクターエンタテインメント株式会社 .
T. M. Hoffman & exemplary musicians of India & Japan (2004)
INTEGRAL ASIA: Indo-Japanese classical crossover., IJ-0407
日印音楽・幻楽夢奏（俳句と短歌にインド声楽＆和楽器によるインド音楽）.
NPO 日印音楽交流会 .
【Publications directly relevant to this paper, in Japanese by the author（和文）】ホッフ マン , T. M.（1989）『 尺 八 と 筝 の た め の インド 音 楽 』イコ ー 出 版 . Raga for
Shakuhachi and Koto, Tokyo: Iko Shuppan.
Hoffman, Timothy M. (1982)「現代人と伝統―日本とインドの音楽をめぐって」『音楽芸術』40(4), pp. 42-47.
Hoffman, Timothy M. (1983)「日本とインドの音楽をめぐって―等・不等分拍と自由リズ
ムの扱い方を探る - 上 -」『音楽芸術』41(5), pp. 70-72.
Hoffman, Timothy M. (1983)「日本とインドの音楽をめぐって―等・不等分拍と自由リズ
ムの扱い方を探る - 下 -」『音楽芸術』41(6), pp. 65-67.
ホッフマン , T. M. (1997)「言葉と音楽における時性の相互関係を探って―通時性と共時
性 と の 対 照 を 中 心 に（Music, language and time）」『武蔵野音楽大学研究紀要(Bulletin of Musashino Academia Musicae)』29, pp. 155-175.
ホッフマン , T. M. (2001)「言葉と音楽における「減」と「増」の原理を探って～インドの音文化を中心に（Diminution and augmentation of elements in language and music）」『武蔵野音楽大学研究紀要（Bulletin of Musashino Academia Musicae）』33, pp. 151175.
ホッフマン , T. M. (2005)「言葉と音楽でみるアジア南北の音文化交流（A survey ofSouth-North exchanges in Asian music and language）」『武蔵野音楽大学研究紀要（Bulletin of Musashino Academia Musicae）』37, pp. 59-83.
〔受付日 2021. 6. 17〕

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