JAPANESE ART SONG
日本歌曲
Let's Sing
Japanese Art Songs!
日本歌曲を歌いましょう！
Free resources for non-Japanese speakers
This website was created to help non-Japanese speakers sing Japanese Art Songs written in the Western classical music style. (It does NOT contain any relevant information on traditional Japanese songs or Japanese pop songs.) After Japan opened its ports and welcomed Western culture in the late 19th century, Japanese people were fascinated by Western music, and since then, numerous artistic songs have been composed combining Japanese poems and the Western classical music style. For a long time these songs, along with most other classical pieces written by Japanese and other Asian composers, were dismissed by Westerners merely as the inferior imitations of Western music. However, many Western singers, collaborative pianists, and voice teachers have recognized the beauty and high quality of these songs as well as the benefits of singing Japanese songs.
With its five simple and pure vowels, Japanese is one of the easiest languages to sing in . Japanese songs promote frontal vocal placement and vowel-oriented legato singing. There are many Japanese songs that are suitable for all levels of singers from young beginners to professionals. It is our hope that more singers all around the world will enjoy singing Japanese Art Song.
How to use this website
If you have a score without the Romanized transliteration of the text, these charts and notes will help you transcribe the text in Roman alphabet (Latin script).
When written in Roman alphabet, you will notice that Japanese is quite phonetic . This section will help you learn how to sing authentically in Japanese. Even if you know Japanese language quite well, please read this section carefully because, as you may know, sung diction is often different from spoken diction in any language.
This section discusses:
Learning Process and the General Style
Different Styles in Japanese Art Song
Stylistic Notes for Composers (to be added later)
This is the main resource page on this website, and we hope to add more songs in the coming years. This list contains only the songs whose texts are in public domain. For other songs, you are welcome to CONTACT US. We will try to help you as much as we can.
Each entry includes links to:
Text Sheet – Original Japanese text.
Roman transcription of the text.
English translations.
Some informative notes on the text and the music.
Text Reading – Audio recording of the text. First in the normal tempo, followed by a slow reading that allows you to repeat after each phrase.
IMSLP Score(s) – If available.
YouTube Video(s) – Selected carefully by us.
We will keep adding links to more resources. Currently, you can find:
Links to YouTube Recordings and a List of Japanese Singers
Brief History of Japanese Art Song (Coming soon)