Some time ago during the beginning of my Ph.D work, I did a small article on traditional Japanese Gagaku music, and it's relation to the music of the Samurai Spirits (Shodown) games from SNK. A personal favorite series of course. Anyway, here is part one of that article:

The Spirit of the Samurai,

Haunting Music With a RichPast:
Japanese Jo-Ha-Kyu Meets SNK’s Samurai Spirits

Paul “Wallace Esch”
Ethnomusicologist.




The early parts of the 1990’s hold as a catalyst in the age of video game music composition. The role of music in video games simply served as a functional additive to software that was meant to entertain the player in the mid to late 80’s. Little freedom was given to the composer, and even less recognition. The music was to simply function, with restraint to artistic expression, not just due to hardware limitations. The music was not meant to stand on its own as a higher form of art, and thus the little recognition of the composers work, regardless of its meaning and intent.

With the rise of video game popularity in Japan, so came a greater awareness of the artistic values, work, and talent put into this craft. Not only where more people playing games, but the interest in who created each of the artistic elements, and a valuing of that individuals work, became an important aspect. Video games, where being recognized as art in the early 90’s. Art books, and finally, soundtracks were being produced so that people could further enjoy the art in a more tangible form. Not only did this open a world of freedom for those responsible for the visual art in games, but also that of the music composers.

With sound technology improving, and the use of Red-Book audio in the early CD based games, composers had a large palette with which to make music that not only functioned for the game in question, but the freedom and ability to make that music stand on its own as a great work of art! Games on the Super Famicom and Neo-Geo had powerful PCM sound chips for supplying the composer with a wide range of realistic sounding instrumentation, and the PC Engine’s CD, and later Neo-Geo CD’s Red-Book audio lifted all limitation but space. The world was hearing a new age of music in video games, lead by people like Satoshi **** (Winds of Thunder), Yuzo Koshiro (Y’s), and the Konami Sound team (Dracula 4). Their soundtracks added a deep and rich score that complimented the games well, but also stood on their own account as great pieces of musical art. But soon, another fresh idea would be introduced to the world of video games, from the company of SNK, which has made a huge impact on the world of game scores.


The Introduction of a Cultures Rich Tradition

On July 7th, 1993, SNK released “Samurai Spirits” to the arcade public. The fighting game scene was huge, and Samurai Spirits was no doubt, a unique entry in the genre. Not only did it introduce the first fighting game that is weapon-based, but it was also the first fighting game to reach deep into Japanese history. Characters where based from real living persons, most of which where taken from Miyamoto Musashi’s “Go Rin No Sho” (A Book Of Five Rings). For this, SNK needed a special Music score.

At the time, most fighting games where scored with rock/pop melodies that, with no question, aided in the establishment of the games ambiance. SNK improved on this with a choice of rock that resembled heavy Metal more than Japanese Pop-Rock, and even Baroque Classical, much like the score of “Dracula 4”, but still something else was needed. It was then that the form of Japanese traditional music called “Jo-Ha-Kyu” was chosen for the main score.

This was a bold move by a game company, not just because it was atypical of fighting game soundtracks, but also because it was introducing a rich traditional score, with a deep and compelling history. Not only was this functional by its contrast, and its appropriateness to the setting, but its ability to be acknowledged as traditional compositions, make these scores stand out from the rest.



The Music form of Jo-Ha-Kyu

The most common form of traditional music in Japan, it is respected for its discipline and musicianship. It is found during the Tokugawa or Edo period (1600-1867), a time where Japan’s isolation from the rest of the world reached its height. Used as music for both the wealthy and poor, the music form of Jo-Ha-Kyu is applied to many instruments as well as the Japanese ensemble called “Gagaku”, which has strong roots in ancient Chinese music.

The translation of Jo-Ha-Kyu is based mainly on its rhythmic structure, as apposed to its melodic structure. Many, including myself, will argue that this form of music is melodic enough that it is absurd to ignore its importance of defining its musical structures. A direct translation of the term is this:

Jo= “Introduction”

Ha= “Breaking Apart”

Kyu= “Rushing”

This translation does indeed explain the music well. Most compositions, particularly the ones in the Samurai Spirits series, follow this form verbatim. The introduction sets the mood and feeling, only to break away from the initial setting, and rush into a fury of rhythmic interlude that brings the piece to a dramatic and emotional close, often with degradation in rhythmic speed at the final. A perfect example in the Samurai Spirits series is the “Sabare” or “theme” of “Haohmaru” from “Shin Samurai Spirits”. Listen to its structure, and hear the changes illustrated here.

Derived from Chinese and other eastern cultures, traditional Japanese music is a passionate art form that conveys deep emotional, and personal emotions, as well as epic stories told trough the sound of the music itself. Many pieces of Japanese music begin with the “Akuma”, or “Demon” chord. It is made of the most dissonant (a sound that needs to resolve) sound in music called a “Tri-tone”. It is used to ward off evil before a performance. Since the music in the Samurai Spirits series is not actually being performed in a concert setting, we do not hear the Akuma chord in any piece, except for Haohmaru’s theme in the CD version of Shin Samurai Spirits.


Pitches and Scales

As with western music, Japanese music divides the octave (from A to A if you will) into 12 tones. However, unlike most western scales (Major and Minor being the most common) which contain 7 notes, and the octave; Japanese scales are usually “Pentatonic”, a five-note scale, and the octave.

The most common of these scales are called the “Yo”, “In”, and the “Minyo”. These are also called “Hirajoshi”, “Kohjoshi”, and “Shinjoshi”. There is also the "Ryo" (male) and "Ritsu" (female) scales.They have a particularly haunting sound, and are used throughout the time line of the era. The Hirajoshi, and Kohjoshi, can be compared to 2 minor scales in the western music system: Natural, and Melodic, while the Shinjoshi is truly in a category all its own. They are heard most primarily in Samurai Spirits 1, 2, 3 and “Bushidoretsundan” (the RPG). “Amakusa Kourin”(Samurai Spirits 4) uses these three scales, free-form versions of these, and western scales within the traditional pieces, giving it a unique and unusual feel.

At many times during a piece, notes that are not part of the scale will often times be used. These notes out of the scale are called “Non-diatonic” notes, as opposed to “Diatonic” (In the scale) notes. This is part of its distinction from other forms of music. This is not the only form of music in the world that does this, but it was one of the first in recorded history to do this regularly. The introduction to the CD version of Amakusa Kourin is a perfect example of this. The flute seems to dance freely, forming a chaotic and disturbing melody with later resolves at the end of the piece.


OK, that's part one. Part two to follow soon!