Soundscape of feast and the aesthetic consciousness of folk - a case-study on the autumn-feast of the Hachiman Shinto-shrine in Kutani / Hyogo Prefecture -

1995 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 06451013
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: 美学(含芸術諸学)
• Research Institution: Osaka Univiersity of Arts
• Principal Investigator: MABUCHI Usaburo Osaka University of Arts, Dept.of Arts, Professor, 芸術学部, 教授 (30030406)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): NAKAGAWA Shin Kyoto City University of Arts, Dept.of Music, Associate Professor, 音楽学部, 助教授 (40135637) ; SIMURA Satosi Osaka University of Arts, Dept.of Arts, Lecturer, 芸術学部学科, 講師 (60226264) ; NISHIOKA Yoko Osaka University of Arts, Dept.of Arts, Associate Professor, 芸術学部, 助教授 (20133514) ; TUKITANI Tuneko Osaka University of Arts, Dept.of Arts, Professor, 芸術学部, 教授 (80073261) ; TANIMURA Ko Osaka University of Arts, Dept.of Arts, Professor, 芸術学部, 教授 (90079608)
• Project Period (FY): 1994 – 1995
• Keywords: Atmosphere of feast / Soundscape / Symbol-sound / Form in time / Structure of tradition

Research Abstract

This project tries to apply the conception of soundscape to the analysis and to the description of the extraordinary mood of feast and to develop a new research method for traditional performing arts by folk. The entire atmosphere of the feast is felt only by the ear, but visually never, because the feast has such various programs as the portable shrines, the sacred tree, the float of the sacred halberd, two groups of dancers and still more, which proceed through all village streets and visit all the doors of habitants. Each program goes, indeed, concurrently in different places of the village all day long on the 15th September. We recorded the sounds of the village in certain places and on certain clock times of the different months as materials of everyday soundscape. On the contrary, the sounds of the feast were taken up at a central point of the village and nine hours long uninterruptedly. We find that event in time 1) develops itself on some balance of dynamics, eventually including silent durations and 2) has a symbol-sound, here the sound of drums accompanying the dances, which functions as a kind of ground, heard all day long, though off and on with breaks. This symbol-sound gave beginning and ending to the duration of the feast ; the dynamics of the festive sound wrought formative. This plastic formation of the festive atmosphere in Kutani was only possible by the appreciation by the local folk of the traditional performing arts, various preparatory cooperation including the dance-lessons given to boys by adults, the community-consciousness, etc.