Jiuta

Jiuta (地歌/地唄/ぢうた) is a style of traditional Japanese music. In the Edo period (1603–1867), pieces in the jiuta style were played on the shamisen, and were mostly regional to Kamigata. The name jiuta means 'song' (歌, uta) of 'a place' or 'a region' (地, ji) (Kamigata in this instance), and suggests "not a song from Edo". In the Edo period, jiuta were performed, composed and instructed by the Tōdōza, a guild of blind men; due to this, jiuta is also called Houshiuta (法師唄, 'song of monks'). Jiuta, as well as nagauta, is a typical form of Utaimono (歌いもの, lyrical music) in traditional Japanese music. Jiuta traces its oldest origins to shamisen music, and is the predecessor of a number of later shamisen pieces, having greatly influence the development of the genre throughout the Edo period; it can be said that both jōruri and nagauta stem from jiuta. In the present day, jiuta has spread across Japan, and in its course has been integrated into sōkyoku (music for the koto), and has strong ties with both shakuhachi and kokyū traditions. Despite the heavy involvement of many other forms of shamisen music in the development of the traditional performing arts, such as bunraku and kabuki, the form of jiuta retains a strong character as purely instrumental music relatively independent of these traditions.