Danmono

Danmono () is a traditional Japanese style of instrumental music for the koto. The few pieces of its repertoire were mostly composed and developed in the seventeenth century, and all follow a strict

Musical style#

Each danmono piece consists of a number of movements, or variations (“dan” in Japanese means “step”). Each dan consists of 104 beats, except for the first. The first dan is preceded by a four or eight-beat introduction, called kandō. The few pieces that make up the danmono repertoire are all very similar in musical style. Listeners unfamiliar with the danmono style have trouble distinguishing one piece from another. The reason for the strong similarities between the danmono pieces is that originality was unusual for seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Japanese composers.

Repertoire#

The danmono repertoire consists of eight pieces, developed primarily during the seventeenth century. ;Source abbreviations: *ST: (1779) *BGT: (1812) *KK: (1822) *KZ: (1941) Although not considered part of the danmono repertoire, a forerunner of the danmono style was “”, published by Nakamura Sōzan in in 1664. The publication was aimed at the general population rather than professional musicians.

References#

;Notes ;Bibliography * *

Genre family: Japanese styles of music