There are four main kinds of Japanese folk songs (min’yo): work songs, religious songs (such as sato kagura, a form of Shintoist music), songs used for gatherings such as weddings and funerals, and children’s songs (warabe uta). Many of these songs include extra stress on certain syllables, as well as pitched shouts (kakegoe), especially in northern Honshu.

In min’yo, singers are typically accompanied by shamisen, taiko and shakuhachi. A guild-based system exists for min’yo; it is called iemoto. Education is passed on in a family, and long apprenticeships are common.

A unique form of drumming from Sado island has become internationally famous through the groups Ondekoza and Kodo.

Okinawan folk music

Okinawa has been under the control of Japan since 1609, except for a brief period of US domination during and after World War II. Umui, religious songs, shima uta, dance songs, and, especially katcharsee, lively celebratory music, were all popular. The sanshin is an indispensible instrument for accompanying Okinawan folk music.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Taiko music is played by large drum ensembles called kumi-daiko. Its origins are uncertain, but can be sketched out as far back as the 6th and 7th centuries, when a clay figure of a drummer indicates its existence. Chinese and Korean influences followed, but the instrument and its music remained uniquely Japanese. Taiko drums during this period were used during battle to intimidate the enemy and to communicate commands. Taiko drums also gained religious use, in Buddhism and Shintoism. Players were entirely holy men, who played only at special occasions and in small groups.

Modern ensemble taiko is said to have been invented by Daihachi Oguchi in 1951. A jazz drummer, Oguchi incorporated his musical background into large ensembles, which he had also designed. His energetic style made his group popular throughout Japan, and made the Hokuriku region a center for taiko music. Musicians to arise from this wave of popular included Sukeroku Daiko and his bandmate Seido Kobayashi. 1969 saw a group called Za Ondekoza founded by Tagayasu Den; Za Ondekoza gathered together young performers who innovated a new roots revival version of taiko, which was used as a way of life in communal lifestyles. During the 1970s, the Japanese government allocated funds to preserve Japanese culture, and many community taiko groups were formed. Later in the century, taiko groups spread across the world, especially to the United States.

(Source: Wikipedia)

The biwa, a form of short-necked lute, was played by a group of intinerant performers (biwa hoshi) who used it to accompany stories. The most famous of these stories is The Tale of the Heike, a 13th century history of the triumph of the Minamoto clan over the Taira.

(Source: Wikipedia)