Miyagi Michio, the father of modern koto music: His life, works and innovations, and the environment which enabled his reforms

The purpose of this research was to investigate the life, works and innovations of Miyagi Michio (1894-1956) and the environment in Japan after the Meiji Restoration which enabled his reforms. Japanese society since 1868 has looked to the West for inspiration, and traditional music suffered a great decline as Japanese people became consumers of Western music. Miyagi was a koto performer, composer and educator who used that interest in Western music to change koto music and restore popularity to the art. He did this by inventing new instruments and adopting techniques and forms from Western music. At the same time, he retained many of the traditional aspects of koto music in order to maintain continuity in the tradition. This dissertation examines how Miyagi used both Western and traditional techniques to revitalize koto music and the socio-cultural factors which enabled him to be successful.;All of the research for this dissertation was done in Japan through archival investigations, interviews, and koto and shamisen performance study. The first three chapters include relevant historical background on Westernization in post-Meiji Reformation Japan, Japanese music, and Miyagi's life. This is followed by details of Miyagi's innovations to instruments and playing techniques, and a general overview of his compositions. An analysis of nine of Miyagi's compositions demonstrates the ways in which Miyagi instituted his reforms. Finally, Miyagi's influence on the social structure of Japanese music and later generations of composers is discussed.;Miyagi believed that koto music had a rightful place in modern Japanese society, but that it had to change with the times. He used concepts and techniques from Western music, which dominated in Japan, in order to revitalize koto music. His ideas soon spread to other koto composers who also experimented with new concepts, but only Miyagi's works and innovations became widely accepted throughout the koto world. He also influenced composers and performers in other traditional genres, inspiring the reformation and development of the entire traditional music world.