Gunka

is the Japanese term for military music. While in standard use in Japan it applies both to Japanese songs and foreign songs such as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", as an English language category it refers to songs produced by the Empire of Japan in between roughly 1868 and 1943.

is the Japanese term for military music. While in standard use in Japan it applies both to Japanese songs and foreign songs such as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", as an English language category it refers to songs produced by the Empire of Japan in between roughly 1868 and 1943.

History

Meiji Restoration period

During the Meiji Restoration Period, Western composers and teachers taught Japanese people to write and make music in the Western classical tradition. Military marches were adopted in Japan, as part of a trend of Western customs integrating into the Japanese culture. Gunka was one of the major Western-influenced musical forms that emerged in this period and were used to encourage patriotism in the post-restoration era.

Post-war period

During the Occupation gunka performance was banned. However, the ban was lifted with the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952, and these gunka experienced a mild "boom" in the late 1960s, and by the early 1970s they had regained popularity in Japanese-controlled Micronesia and parts of Southeast Asia. A famous example of a Japanese gunka was the song "Sen'yū" written during the Russo-Japanese War. Gunka were common in pachinko parlors and are still commonly played in karaoke bars and shrine gates.

Characteristics

Instruments

Instruments of Western musical tradition are common in Gunka songs, such as trumpet, trombone, tuba, timpani, cymbals, glockenspiel, snare, and woodwind instruments as clarinet, flute and piccolo.

Metre, rhythm and tone

Due to its origin in military marches, gunka has a metre in four-four time. The most common rhythmical motif is a music theme of six quarters and a triplet pair. Gunka marches are composed in a major tone.

Topics

Fighting on the battlefield, sending a son to war, and waiting for a father's return were common topics in Japanese war songs.

Notable gunka

"Warship March" "Miyasan, Miyasan" "Aa Kurenai no Chi wa Moyuru" "Battōtai" "Fujin Jūgunka" "Roei no Uta" "Shussei Heishi o Okuru Uta" "Teki wa Ikuman" "Umi Yukaba" "Yuki no Shingun"

References

Bibliography

Satoshi Sugita (1972). "Cherry blossoms and rising sun: a systematic and objective analysis of gunka (Japanese war songs) in five historical periods (1868-1945) ". Dissertation submitted to Ohio State University.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1364250471 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.