雅楽(ががく)

ががく
noun
gagaku; traditional Japanese court music
culturemusic
1. gagaku; traditional Japanese court music
An ancient genre of Japanese court music and dance, performed at the Imperial Court and certain shrines and temples for over a millennium. 雅楽(ががく) encompasses both purely instrumental music and accompanied dances (舞楽(ぶがく)), and includes pieces of both Japanese origin and pieces transmitted from Tang-dynasty China and ancient Korea. It is one of the oldest continuously performed musical traditions in the world.
雅楽(ががく)が好(す)きだ。
I love gagaku.
宮内庁(くないちょう)には雅楽(ががく)を演奏(えんそう)する楽部(がくぶ)がある。
The Imperial Household Agency has a music department that performs gagaku.
雅楽(ががく)は千(せん)年(ねん)以上(いじょう)の歴史(れきし)を持(も)つ日本(にほん)の伝統(でんとう)音楽(おんがく)だ。
Gagaku is a traditional Japanese music with a history of over a thousand years.
雅楽(ががく)は2009年(ねん)にユネスコの無形文化遺産(むけいぶんかいさん)に登録(とうろく)された。
Gagaku was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2009.

雅楽(ががく) (literally "elegant music") is the formal music of the Japanese Imperial Court, with a continuous performance tradition stretching back to the Nara and Heian periods. The genre's name was borrowed from Chinese 雅楽(ががく) (yǎyuè), the ritual court music of imperial China, but in Japan 雅楽(ががく) developed its own distinctive repertory and instrumentation.

Forms

  • 雅(が) ("elegant, refined") + 楽(がく) ("music") → 雅楽(ががく)

Main subgenres

  • 国風歌舞(くにぶりのうたまい): native Japanese songs and dances of pre-Heian origin
  • 唐楽(とうがく): pieces transmitted from Tang-dynasty China (the largest body of repertory)
  • 高麗楽(こまがく): pieces transmitted from ancient Korea and northern Asia
  • 舞楽(ぶがく): dances performed to 雅楽(ががく) accompaniment
  • 管絃(かんげん): instrumental ensemble pieces, performed without dance

Key instruments

  • 笙(しょう): mouth organ (cluster chords)
  • 篳篥(ひちりき): double-reed pipe (carries the melody)
  • 龍笛(りゅうてき): transverse bamboo flute
  • 琵琶(びわ): short-necked lute
  • 箏(そう): thirteen-string zither (the 雅楽(ががく) version of the koto)
  • 太鼓(たいこ), 鞨鼓(かっこ), 鉦鼓(しょうこ): percussion

Common collocations

Similar / related terms

Cultural note

  • 雅楽(ががく) is performed at imperial ceremonies, certain Shinto rites at major shrines, and Buddhist services at temples such as 四天王寺(してんのうじ). It is also presented in concert form by groups such as the Imperial Household Agency Music Department and various civilian 雅楽(ががく) societies.
  • The slow tempos, sustained 笙(しょう) chords, and microtonal ornamentation give 雅楽(ががく) a distinctive sound that many listeners associate with traditional shrine festivals and imperial ceremonies.

Related Words

Compare: 邦楽(ほうがく) (traditional Japanese music)
Compare: 能楽(のうがく) (Noh theater and its music)
Compare: 琴(こと) (stringed instruments associated…)
Compare: 三味線(しゃみせん) (stringed instruments associated…)
Compare: 民謡(みんよう) (folk songs)
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Added 2026.5.10 10:56 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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