Japanese and Russian, Mutual Influences of Two Musical Cultures

Abstract

The article displays the results of study of the interaction
between Japanese and Russian musical cultures, presented from
the point of view of a Japanese musicologist. Such interaction
falls into three categories: the influence of Russian culture on
the Japanese in the past, the influence of Japanese culture on
Russian composer's music, and the interaction of both cultures
in the recent decades. The article reveals previously unpublished
information on this subject. The history of diplomatic relations
between Russia and Japan has begun in 1792, when Adam
Laksman and his colleagues visited Japan on board of
“Yekaterina”. That same ship had the Japanese sailors, saved
from the damaged ship, including Kodayu Daikokuya, the first
Japanese to bring a Russian folk song on the shores of Japan.
Many Russian white émigré musicians, including Leo Sirota,
Alexander Tcherepnin, and Anna Ono, have fled to Japan after
the 1917 revolution. Together with the German and French
musicians, they have contributed into the establishment of
European classical tradition on the Japanese Islands.
A number of visits of Russia by Japanese composers, such
as Kosaku Yamada and Yasushi Akutagawa played a significant
role. The Russian image of Japan owes primarily to the
aspects of ancient culture, such as haiku and tanka short poems,
Japanese watercolors, Ukuyo-e, as well as Zen Buddhism. In
this, the Russian appropriation of Japanese culture was similar
to that of French. A great number of compositions were written
on the verses of Japanese poets. The author suggests
chronological categorization of Russian music on the Japanese
lyrics. She reveals the coherence of ideas, of the choice of
instruments and timbral effects among these works. The author
witnesses that their adherence to the themes of Love, Death
and Nature stem from Zen and ancient Japanese literature. The
author notices that the World War Two marks the appearance
of a new theme of a Nuclear Holocaust of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. In the recent decades, new level of interaction is evident,
for example, in the use of traditional Japanese instruments,
such as the collaboration of koto player K Sawai and
Sofia Gubaidulina. By the end of the 20th century, open contacts
in the form of various concerts, pedagogic forums, festivals,
and competitions, were established between Japan and
Russia. The author's conclusion is that it is possible to enhance
ethnic identities of both cultures while avoiding their leveling,
homogenization and the loss of cultural uniqueness. That is the
way to develop mutual relationship in the 21st century.

Keywords: musical education, Japanese musical culture, national traditions, cultural connections