Japanese FOLK MUSIC is primarily HOMOPHONIC without explicit or implicit harmonic connotations of the Western type, but cultured music of Japan includes concepts of CONSONANCE and DISSONANCE. Like most Oriental music, Japanese music is melodic and rhythmic, with harmonic extension formed by couplings in seconds, fourths, and fifths. Consecutive progressions, particularly in thirds or sixths, are practically nonexistent. Rhythmic patterns possess great variety and in ancient music do not follow any binding METER.

STRING, WIND, and PERCUSSION instruments are represented in Japanese music in original forms, most of them derived from ancient Chinese and Korean instruments imported into Japan in medieval times. The most popular of Japanese string instruments are the KOTO, SHAMISEN (samisen), and BIWA. Also commonly used are bamboo flutes (e.g., SHAKUHACHI), small cymbals, bells, and a great variety of drums, especially of the hourglass type.

The most ancient Japanese music still practiced is GAGAKU, the orchestral music of the imperial court originating in the 8th century. It is still performed on imperial and other official occasions. Gagaku can also accompany a dance style called bugaku. Both are considered the province of the Japanese upper classes. The most popular of theater forms is KABUKI (from the 17th century), a stylized drama with a large musical ensemble, featuring singing and dancing with male actors, heavily costumed, playing the roles of both sexes. There are also several puppet theater genres categorized as bunraku, with a narrator-singer accompanied by a shamisen; and there are numerous songs of varying provenance, usually for solo voice accompanied by a string instrument.

Of the purely instrumental genres, there are large solo repertoires for the pitched instruments. The koto and shakuhachi even have many opposing schools of performance and composition. There is also a great deal of chamber music: one combination, the sankyoku from the late 19th century, features a trio of shakuhachi, koto, and shamisen.

The interaction between Western and Japanese music has led to several new trends. Early 20th-century Japanese composers attempted to learn Western music by imitation. KOSAKU YAMADA, educated in Europe, was the first Japanese composer to adopt European methods of composition in opera, symphony, chamber music, and songs.

Later composers sought to mesh the two worlds, or create a new style based solely on Japanese traditional music. Some of the most important Japanese composers later in the century include Yashushi Akutagawa, Kunio Toda, Ikuma Dan, Yoshirō Irino, Yoritsune Matsudaira, Jōji Yuasa, Toshirō Mayuzumi, Yoshio Mamiya, Yuji Takehashi, Akira Miyoshi, and Tōru Takemitsu.

In the U.S., Paul Chihara, an American composer of Japanese descent, employs Japanese modes in an advanced sophisticated manner. Others borrow the musical and theatrical elements of Japanese culture (especially noh).

Operas by modern Japanese composers usually follow European models. One of the most interesting Japanese-Western mixes has occurred on the dance stage, in the late 20th-century dance genre butoh. It combines traditional Japanese acting styles with modern dance and the use of electronic music as scores.