Shōmyō

Shōmyō (声明) is a style of Japanese Buddhist chant, used mainly in the Tendai and Shingon sects.^[1] There are two styles: ryokyoku and rikkyoku, described as difficult and easy to remember, respectively.

Shōmyō, like gagaku, employs the Yo scale, a pentatonic scale with ascending intervals of two, three, two, two, and three semitones.^[2]

References[edit]

^ John Whitney Hall (1988). The Cambridge history of Japan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521223520.
^ "Japanese Music". Cross-Cultural Communication: World Music. Green Bay: University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 2008-03-13.

Bibliography[edit]

Hill, Jackson (1982). Ritual Music in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism: Shingon Shōmyō, Ethnomusicology 26 (1), 27-39

External links[edit]

What Appears Through Chanting: Tendai Shomyo Ryokyoku
http://jtrad.columbia.jp/eng/s_tendai.html
http://www.eastvalley.or.jp/eng/kyoku.html
http://sound.jp/tengaku/Shichseikai-e/shomyo-e4.html

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[1] John Whitney Hall (1988). The Cambridge history of Japan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521223520.

[2] "Japanese Music". Cross-Cultural Communication: World Music. Green Bay: University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 2008-03-13.

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