page_title: Culture of Japan
section_title: Music
hierarchical_section_title: Culture of Japan / Music
caption_attribution_description: English: Fumie Hihara plays the shamisen. 日本語: 日原史絵は三味線を弾きます。 Français&#160;: Fumie Hihara joue le shamisen. Spectacle d'Eiko Hatashi. Nihon Buyô %u2013 danse du Kabuki (Japon) accompagnée par Nobuko Matsumiya (koto) et Fumie Hihara (koto, shamisen). Auditorium du Musée Guimet samedi 22 novembre 2008 www.guimet.fr/Spectacles-septembre-2008
context_page_description: The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon Period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia, Europe, and North America.
  Japan's indigenous culture originates primarily from the Yayoi people who settled in Japan between 1000 BCE to 300 CE. Yayoi culture quickly spread to the main island of Honshū, mixing with the native Jōmon culture. Modern Japanese have an estimated 80% Yayoi and 20% Jōmon ancestry.
  Japanese culture was influenced from ancient times to the Middle Ages primarily by multiple Chinese dynasties and to a lesser extent by other Asian countries. For example the Japanese language uses Chinese characters for writing, but Japanese has no genetic relationship with Chinese. Since the Meiji period Japan has been primarily influenced by western countries.
  The inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from the outside world for over 220 years during the Tokugawa shogunate until the arrival of the "Black Ships" and the Meiji period.
context_section_description: The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is 音楽 (ongaku), combining the kanji 音 "on" (sound) with the kanji 楽 "gaku" (enjoyment). Japan is the second largest music market in the world, behind the United States, and the largest in Asia, and most of the market is dominated by Japanese artists.
  Local music often appears at karaoke venues, which is on lease from the record labels. Traditional Japanese music is quite different from Western Music and is based on the intervals of human breathing rather than mathematical timing. In 1873, a British traveler claimed that Japanese music, "exasperate(s) beyond all endurance the European breast."
caption: Fumie Hihara playing shamisen (Kabuki dance, Guimet Museum, Paris)
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