New Years in Japan brings back the traditional music. It is usually ignored all year but during this time interest increases from the spirit of the holiday.

Description:

In the article, Japanese Music gets support from theNew Year’s tradition,  Christopher  Y. Blasdel  refers to Japans traditional music and how it plays a great deal of importance to their culture.  During the holidays Japans traditional music suddenly seems to reappear and is constantly being listened to at that time. The New Year brings the traditional music to TV, radio, and stage. Several performances are given some of by Japans top artists including Oedo Sukeroku Taiko and Takeharu Kunimoto. Blasdel states, “…New Year holidays might remain somewhat formal, media in Japan has become an important aspect of the traditional performing arts” (1).  This means that this Japanese traditional music being performed through TV, Radio, commercials, and concerts are important to the media.

Evaluation:

This article might be an interesting one for someone who is currently living Japan, someone who is Japanese, or ones who enjoy educating themselves about the Japanese traditional music culture. It would be greatly appreciated by one who does not know about the tradition Japan conveys about music. You don’t have to enjoy the music itself but becoming knowledgeable about the tradition itself and the performances given is very interesting.

MLA:

Blasdel, Christopher. "Japanese Music Gets Support from New Year’s Tradition." The Japan Times 6 Jan. 2001. Print.