Folk Music of Japan

The examples of Japanese folk music presented in this collection were selected from 81 field recordings made in 1950–1951 by anthropologist Edward Norbeck, primarily in Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region on the main island of Honshu. The selected music, while necessarily not fully representative of the range of Japanese folk music, is a good starting point, and Professor Norbeck’s liner notes provide background on Japanese traditions and each track.

Track Listing

101	Sado Okesa	Singer, Shamisen player	03:01
102	Waka	Japanese singer	00:46
103	Bitchũ Kagura	Drummer, bamboo flute player	01:10
104	Bitchũ Kagura (Cont.)	Drummer, bamboo flute player	02:10
105	Ōmiya Odori	Singer, drummer	01:51
106	Shimotsui-bushi	Japanese chorus, shamisen player	01:24
107	Kagura-bayashi	Drummer, bamboo flute player, surigane player	03:18
108	Ashimori Ondo	Accordion player, bamboo flute player, shamisen player, drummer	05:25
201	Ishiya-bushi	Japanese singer	02:50
202	Itokuri-uta	Japanese singer with background vocalists	02:24
203	Maritsuki-uta	Japanese singer with background vocalists	01:21
204	Shiraisi Odori	Japanese singer	03:28
205	Shiraisi Odori (Cont.)	Japanese singer with background vocalists	01:38
206	Shiraishi Odori	Japanese singer with background vocalists	01:14
207	Shiraishi Odori (Cont.)	Japanese singer with background vocalists	04:02
208	Urashima Odori	Japanese singer with background vocalists	03:54