is a Japanese

gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794-1185) around ...

melody and dance. It is usually played with a

hichiriki The is a double reed Japanese used as one of two main melodic instruments in Japanese music. It is one of the "sacred" instruments and is often heard at Shinto weddings in Japan. Its sound is often described as haunting. According to schola ...

ryūteki The is a Japanese transverse ''fue'' made of bamboo. It is used in gagaku, the Shinto classical music associated with Japan's imperial court. The sound of the ''ryūteki'' is said to represent the dragons which ascend the skies between the h ...

, and is accompanied by other traditional instruments such as the shō,

koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * ...

and kakko.

History

The origin of Etenraku is not fully known. There are theories that the melody was created in Japan, but others believe that it is from

Khotan Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become ...

, a tributary state of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

that became part of the

repertoire A repertoire () is a list or set of dramas, operas, musical compositions or roles which a company or person is prepared to perform. Musicians often have a musical repertoire. The first known use of the word ''repertoire'' was in 1847. It is a ...

of the Chinese court. During the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

, a gagaku form known as became popular. In this form, poems would be sung using melodies. Etenraku was one of the most popular melodies to be used in imayō. In 1931

Hidemaro Konoye Viscount was a Japanese conductor and composer of classical music. He was the younger brother of pre-war Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe. Biography Konoye was born in Kōjimachi, Tokyo. He was the younger son of Duke Konoe Atsumaro, sci ...

arranged an orchestral version of the piece, and it was later picked up by

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appearan ...

. These days, Etenraku is often performed at wedding ceremonies.

Melody

There are different versions of Etenraku in three of the modes of gagaku - hyōjō, ōshiki, and banshikicho. The banshikicho version is purported to be the oldest of the melodies, but the hyōjō version is best known in Japan.

References

Gagaku {{Japan-culture-stub