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Ainu music is the musical tradition of the Ainu people of northern Japan. Genres include the oldest, yukar (mimicry), which is a form of epic poetry, and upopo, in which "the second contrapuntal voice had to imitate the musical formula in the first contrapuntal voice (not heard until the last moment), at an interval much shorter than that in our western canons, since the second voice attacks the preceding musical formula before the first voice has finished it." (Nattiez 1990, p. 71) The most famous contemporary performer of Ainu music appears to be the revivalist Oki. The most useful English-language overview of Ainu music (with recordings and transcriptions) is by CHIBA Nobuhiko. ==Traditional Ainu music== Ainu music carries spiritual resonance in almost all of its forms, and it has played an important role in both the cultural history and the cultural renaissance of the Ainu people. Almost every type of Ainu song is sacred, and even the musical instruments are said to be imbued with souls (Ohnuki-Tierney 53). Traditional Ainu music can be divided into two major groups — everyday songs and epic songs. Everyday songs in Ainu tradition were sung in many situations and on an impromptu basis. They were often accompanied by the two most prevalent Ainu musical instruments: the ''tonkori'', a plucked zither, and the ''mukkuri'', a jaw harp played by women. These everyday songs are short, fairly simple, and center on an activity like a game or work. The act of singing is itself used as a game in some instances, such as Rekuhkara (Ainu throat-singing) competitions between women. Work songs are rhythmic, with lyrics and melodies based on the work with which they are sung. However, even such everyday songs have sacred rather than mundane meanings. "Chants like the ''kar upopo'' (sake-making song) and the ''iyuta upopo'' (the pounding song)…are not labor songs; rather, they are magic-oriented, for they are sung to ward off evil spirits," (Kazuyuki 283). Short, everyday songs are also a way of praying. These prayer songs are (or were) performed regularly before meals, after a fishing trip, to ask for luck in hunting, and in many other contexts. Unfortunately, material about everyday songs is very difficult to obtain. Many have never been recorded. Ainu epic songs, ''yukar'', are performed as long monologues. The singer performs the song entirely from memory, and, traditionally, in a non-formal setting such as a friend’s house or before the hearth at a gathering. While somewhat casual, these epics are still more formal than the short prayer songs mentioned earlier. Both men and women recite Ainu epics, though the vocal qualities of women are considered preferable to those of men. The epic songs are fairly rhythmic melodic chants. The voice of the singer usually fluctuates within words, and phrases and sentences are distinguished by the melody. Singers strive for their audience to understand every word. The epic is unaccompanied by musical instruments, though at times both the singer and the listener might tap ''repni'', or simple blocks of wood, against the hearth or the floor to help keep time and punctuate the epic. Certain paintings also show these epics being performed lying down, with the singer beating time on his or her abdomen with the hands, but this practice has faded into obscurity (Philippi 26). Epics themselves take several different forms. Following Philippi’s model and dividing them in two different ways, they can be distinguished by both subject and style. Philippi divides epic subjects into two groups: mythic narratives and heroic narratives (23). Mythic narratives are those epics featuring origin stories and stories of deities, while heroic narratives are those narratives featuring the cultural heroes of the Ainu. Mythic narratives can be told either from the point of view of a human observer or from the point of view of the divine participant. One of the most distinctive aspects of Ainu epics is this first person god point of view. Heroic narratives feature one of several major culture heroes, or recurring protagonists of mythical origins, such as ''Kotan-Kor-Kamui'', or the Owl God. Though these culture heroes are often presented as gods, they are more human than they seem. They are analogous to the Navajo and Apache Coyote; while he is a god, he is representative of human interests and foibles. Stylistically, epics can be divided into two more categories. Some epics are novelistic and feature a set chain of events involving gods and humans, while others, which Philippi refers to as parodies, feature abnormal situations — unexplained phenomena and dreams, presented without a clear chronological narrative (24). These "parody" epics are very rare. Epics, as well as a few of the more everyday songs, are regularly featured in Ainu ceremonies. For example, the most famous of Ainu cultural events, the "bear-sending ceremony," is accompanied by a whole host of songs, not the least of which is the "Song of a Bear," a mythic epic. This epic relates the story of the bear god, who, in saving his young son, is killed by human hunters. The song both presents the situation from the god’s point of view — he is confused when he is killed, and doesn’t recognize his own dead body for what it is — and prescribes the methods for the bear-sending ceremony. The premise for the bear-sending is that the bear god is trapped in his mortal body, and by killing the bear in a ritualized, respectful manner, humans are doing the god a favor and sending him home. The song describes the ''inau'', or carved sticks that are used as holy objects by the Ainu, as well as the prayers and ceremonies that are used to send the bear home. In this way, the ceremony and the epic are somewhat inseparable. The activities of the ceremony are outlined by the epic, and the epic accompanies the ceremony to reinforce it. Though the epic can be performed outside of the ceremony, it cannot exist without the ceremony as context, and the ceremony cannot be performed without the epic. These epics, as well as the everyday songs, represent the cultural heritage of the Ainu and allow us to understand customs and their mythic significance, but they also act as indicators of the relative well-being of the Ainu culture. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ainu music」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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