Japanese multiculturalism: yes they can!

By Matthew Ward | Saturday, Mar 28, 2009

Here's a belated follow-up to the Soul Flower Mononoke Summit/Oki show in Kyoto last month.  Friggin' badass show, as one would expect.  Probably the best part of it is that Oki got up and jammed with Mononoke on a few songs near the end of the show, and you got this really interesting and beautiful mishmash of music and culture. 

See, Mononoke has always been about dispelling the myth that Japan is monocultural, and their music celebrates Okinawan, Ainu, Korean-Japanese, Chinese-Japanese and Buraku culture...  and to top it off, they have way more traditional Japanese culture in their music than 1000 J-pop bands.  For them, embracing multiculturalism is not a zero-sum game--it's more like "the more the merrier."  They have plenty of pointed political lyrics, but sometimes their biggest statements don't need any politics at all to make their point. 

So, anyway, for the last few songs, you had this wonderful clash of instruments:  Okinawan sanshin and shimadaiko mixed with Japanese chin-don percussion mixed with Korean chango mixed with the Ainu tonkori, plus bass guitar and clarinet from the West.  You had lyrics in Japanese, Ainu and Okinawan, and melodies from mainland Japan, Okinawa, Korea, China, and Hokkaido.  Somebody actually managed to get a little bit of it on film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBzjUAvfWQg

...not the best sound, but you get a bit of an idea. 

Anyway, while people debate about whether or not multiculturalism can exist in Japan, Soul Flower Mononoke Summit make music that shows that it has existed for a long time for anyone willing to open their eyes and ears to it. 

Yes they can! 

Matthew Ward's Profile

Late 30's, have lived in Asia for a lot of my life.

Interests: Music, politics, linguistics, learning languages, culture, food, traveling.

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