Minyo
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The expression minyo covers all the folk music of Japan: it is a very large field, including work songs, ritual songs, bon odori uta (see above),romantic songs and lullabies. In most of these categories, the minyo are subdivided into those that are sung and danced by the general population on festive occasions and those that were created for special performance by local amateur or professional dance groups. The latter dances are sophisticated, approaching classical dance in complexity Throughout Japan,variations in industry, culture and climate have given rise to distinctive local styles of minyo, with differing levels of sophistication. Areas having a particularly rich tradition are Akita and Aomori Prefectures,Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture.
Instruments used for the accompaniment of minyo are similar to those of bon odori uta with the occasional addition of the kokyu, an instrument entirely confined to minyo and the only Japanese instrument played with a bow. The dancers use many kinds of colourful accessories, including hats decorated with fiowers, umbrellas, fans, tenugui work implements and small percussion instruments. Their costumes are usually the working costume of the area of origin. In mediaeval times, minyo was an important component in the development of classical secular dance and in recent years great efforts have been made to preserve this very rich folk heritage.
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