Minyo - Traditional Japanese Folk Songs (4'15")
Culture
New
Minyo is the name given to the folk songs that the common people in Japan sang as they went about their everyday lives and work. Loved by men and women all ages and passed on orally, there are over 58,000 of these songs in many regional rhythms and styles. A distinctive characteristic is the special vocal technique known as kobushi, which produces a unique vibrating, growling effect. Some of these traditional songs can be extremely old: – there is an ancient one still sung today called “Kokirikobushi” that's been performed annually for over 1,000 years in Gokayama, a farming village in Toyama.
