Gagaku

Gagaku is the imperial court music of Japan, performed continuously for over a millennium by the Music Department of the Imperial Household Agency and hereditary guild families. Its repertory combines kangen, instrumental suites for winds and strings, with bugaku, stately dances in elaborate costume, built from continental pieces imported from China, Korea and Central Asia between the fifth and ninth centuries and preserved by court, shrine and temple guilds. The breathy hichiriki oboe, ryūteki flute and mouth organ shō move at a glacial pace over sparse drums. *Reigakusha* leads the modern revival, and "Gagaku: Court Music of Japan" by *Tokyo Gakuso* remains its standard record.