TAKING THE TRADITION OUT OF TRADITIONAL: THE SHAKUHACHI IN THE NARUTO ANIME

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS IN

MUSIC MAY 2021

By Travis J. Shaver

Thesis Committee: Byong Won Lee, Chairperson

Kate McQuiston Christine Yano

Keywords: Naruto, anime, shakuhachi, fans

ABSTRACT

In my fiVe years playing the shakuhachi (the traditional Japanese bamboo flute), I haVe noticed that with increasing frequency, people come up to me with new and interesting ways in which they associate the sound of the instrument. The traditional association—and the reason I wanted to study the instrument—was its history as a Zen Buddhist tool to gain enlightenment. This is also almost the exclusiVe discourse in academic literature. HoweVer, among the public this association is changing, and I am more likely to hear audience members mention how they haVe heard the sound in and associate the instrument with its use in modern compositions like Tōru Takemitsu’s NoVember Steps and popular contexts like in a track of Linkin Park, Hollywood moVies like Jurassic Park, Video games like Okami, and anime like Naruto. With the global rise of Japanese popular and traditional culture and the Japanese goVernment’s use of it as a political and economic tool to increase soft power and their status as a cultural superpower through goVernment programs such as “Cool Japan,” phenomena like this are eVer more important to examine.

This thesis aims to inVestigate a small portion of this phenomenon, in particular the use of the shakuhachi in Naruto. I break down the dissociation from its traditional meanings and uses in the Zen honkyoku repertoire and sankyoku music and its transformation into a consumed sound. Using transcriptions of the score, I analyze how the shakuhachi is utilized in the score and why, connecting it to Japanese and Western sounds, scales, and genres. Finally, I also use surVeys and an interView to eValuate fan reaction to these items as well as their own creations using the sounds of the instrument. Throughout this thesis I argue that although the shakuhachi is still Very much connected to the history and culture, without this knowledge many Naruto fans are creating and attaching connections, meanings, and Value to the shakuhachi that are linked to this history and culture but at the same time new and detached from it.

TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii

LIST OF CHARTS, GRAPHS, FIGURES, ILLUSTRATIONS, PLATES, MAPS V

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND/OR SYMBOLS Vi

PREFACE Vii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1. Introduction 1

2. Chapter OVerView 4

CHAPTER 2 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SHAKUHACHI AND ANIME 7

1. Description and Brief Historical OVerView of the Shakuhachi 7

2. History of Sound in Anime and its Transnational Flow 22

3. Theoretical Underpinning of the Thesis: Meaning Making 36

CHAPTER 3 THE NARUTO ANIME AND ITS MUSIC 41

1. The Beginnings of Naruto 41

2. The World of Naruto 44

3. Why Naruto? 46

4. The Composer and the Performer—Masuda Toshio and Musashi 49

5. OVerView of the Soundtrack 51

6. Musical Analysis 54

CHAPTER 4 TRADITIONAL SOUNDS IN THE EARS OF NARUTO FANS 68

1. SurVey Results 68

2. Takeaways from the SurVey 75

CHAPTER 5 NARUTO PARTICIPATORY CULTURE AND FAN CREATION 80

1. Musicking With the Shakuhachi 80

2. Dōjin Culture and Comparable Practices 85

3. Symbolic CreatiVity with Naruto Music 91

4. Case Study: In the Life and Mind of Kyuubikaze, a Naruto/Anime YouTuber 99

CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 107

1. Summary 107

2. Impact and Applications 108

3. Areas for Further Study 110

APPENDIX A TABLE OF MUSIC IN THE FIRST FIVE EPISODES OF NARUTO 119

Episode 1—Enter: Naruto Uzumaki! 119

Episode 2—My Name is Konohamaru! 122

Episode 3—Sasuke and Sakura: Friends or Foes? 125

Episode 4—Pass or Fail: SurViVal Test 129

Episode 5—You Failed! Kakashi’s Final Decision 133

APPENDIX B SURVEY RESULTS 137

APPENDIX C KYUUBIKAZE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION 150

BIBLIOGRAPHY 163

LIST OF CHARTS, GRAPHS, FIGURES, ILLUSTRATIONS, PLATES, MAPS

Figure 1—Kinko and Tozan Utaguchi Differences 15

Figure 2—Tozan-ryū Licensing Structure 16

Figure 3—Sakura in Tozan (left), Chikuho (middle), and Kinko (right) Notation 17

Figure 4—Staff Notation of Sakura 18

Figure 5—Doughnuts? 32

Figure 6—Naruto World Map 45

Figure 7—Transcription of Afternoon of Konoha Melody 56

Figure 8—Sadness and Sorrow Shakuhachi Solo Transcription 57

Figure 9—The Rising Fighting Spirit Shakuhachi Part Transcription 65

Figure 10--Naruto on the Infamous Swing 74

Figure 11—Transcription of First 4 Measures of Final Piano Solo in Sadness and Sorrow 93

Figure 12—Transcription of HomuraGami's Sadness and Sorrow CoVer 94

Figure 13—Dirty Kid Music Primary Hip-Hop Parts Transcription 96

Figure 14—Dirty Kid Music Cabasa Accompaniment Transcription 97

Figure 15—Sad Funk Remix Rhythmic MotiVe Transcription 98

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND/OR SYMBOLS

Macron—This symbol is a line that appears aboVe elongated Vowels in romanization of Japanese words.

OST—Original Soundtrack

PREFACE

In this study, Japanese names are used in the traditional manner of placing family name first and giVen name second (e.g., Masuda Toshio). Throughout this thesis, Japanese words will be romanized using the ReVised Hepburn system. This means that elongated or long Vowel sounds will haVe a macron oVer them. A good example of this is 虚無僧―こむそう which could be transliterated as komusou, but is instead romanized as komusō. Also, phonemes that are easily confused such as a single “n” syllable/mora next to a syllable of n combined with a Vowel will haVe an apostrophe added to separate the sounds. For example, Kannon will be spelled as kan’non to easily split the “n” sounds (ka-n-no-n). Other words with only one n like manga can be easily separated into three syllables (ma-n-ga) without the apostrophe The only exception is for names such as Kyuubikaze. Japanese and other foreign words are italicized throughout with the exception of shakuhachi and anime because of the frequency of their use throughout this thesis. Quotations, particularly from the surVey are giVen Verbatim and not corrected for grammatical errors without use of [sic].

As they say, it takes a Village, and this is particularly true for someone as neurotic as the author. This is why I would like to acknowledge the following indiViduals for their inValuable assistance throughout this project: my thesis committee Dr. Byong Won Lee, Dr. Christine Yano, and Dr. Katherine McQuiston; Dr. Ricardo Trimillos for his assistance in early proposal drafts; Dr. Bonnie Wade for her helpful insight; my husband Mel Lorenzo Accad for being a sounding board and continuous support system; my good friend Shirel Bendat for giVing me an outside eye before I sent the first draft off to the experts; Kyuubikaze for willing to be interViewed by me; and for the anonymous indiViduals who took the time to fill out my surVey.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1. Introduction

   In August of 2016 I went to Japan to teach English. With an interest in what most people call “traditional” Japanese culture, I pursued many Japanese art-forms in my free time. One of my primary interests was in the country’s traditional Vertical end-blown bamboo flute—known as the shakuhachi—and I started lessons almost immediately after arriVing in Japan. It was with this focus on tradition that I entered graduate school with the intention to continue my studies on the traditional side of Japanese music. HoweVer, my interests began to shift as I encountered more and more people outside of Japan that seemed to haVe an interest in the shakuhachi sound eVen though they did not know what the instrument was.

   My Very first instance of this was when I played a traditional piece known as a honkyoku (本曲)for an outdoor “Concert on the Lawn” at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. An audience member approached me following my performance to tell me how much he enjoyed the piece. As the conVersation deVeloped, he became increasingly excited as he related how the performance helped him come to a realization. In his youth, he watched a popular Japanese animation (anime) titled Naruto. He conVeyed to me that he heard the shakuhachi repeatedly in the anime growing up, but he neVer knew what the instrument was until he heard me play it at the concert. Being more interested in the “traditional,” I was surprised to hear that the shakuhachi was used in Naruto as I had neVer seen the show before then. I began to ask myself how I neVer had known about this. I was thoroughly Versed on the literature and research of the shakuhachi. I spent years reading many English language articles and watching countless documentaries about the instrument, and yet Naruto neVer came up. So other than experiencing it firsthand, how else could I haVe known?

   As I began to watch Naruto, I was surprised at the ubiquitous use of the shakuhachi throughout the series. DelVing further into the topic of traditional instruments in popular media, I couldn’t stop unearthing instances of their use in moVies, TV shows, Video games, and eVen occasional Japanese comics or manga. As I taught classes on musical cultures of the world online, students in those classes surprised me eVery day with their intellect and the real-life connections they made to traditional musics and popular media, from the ways in which, for many, Chinese music becomes the music of the American film Kung Fu Panda (2008) to how the music of the Inuit brings to mind the image of Homer Simpson from the long-running American comedy animation The Simpsons (1989-present).

   This latter type of experience is also personally relatable and something that conVinced me to work on this project as a thesis early on in my studies at the UniVersity of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. This was my attendance at a Hawaiian music concert. Not highly Versed or knowledgeable in Hawaiian music, I was excited to hear and learn more about it. This concert heaVily featured the steel guitar. I had heard the sounds of the steel guitar before, and from the name, I could guess what it might look like. HoweVer, before the concert if someone played a steel guitar recording, I would not haVe been able to name it as the steel guitar. Now that it was on-stage front and center, this connection between sound and image was now complete. While the music was entirely of early twentieth-century Hawaiian music, I was unable to remoVe a curious image from my mind: that of the silly American cartoon about a sponge who liVes in a pineapple under the sea, Spongebob Squarepants (1999-present). As a child, I watched this series constantly and through it heard the sounds of the steel guitar. HoweVer, neVer haVing heard Hawaiian music, to me the sound of the steel guitar became strongly associated with Spongebob

   Squarepants. Throughout the concert, I was unable to remoVe this association, and I started to think about how this must be how the indiVidual at the concert felt.

   Right as I began to seriously delVe into this thesis, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and our worlds changed oVernight. Many researchers saw their projects crumble, and they had to reimagine and recast their research under the constraints of a deadly Virus. Some eVen had to change topics altogether. Interestingly though, my research hasn’t had to change much and if anything, the pandemic has made my topic all the more releVant. As the world has socially and physically distanced, more and more people haVe sought solace in content such as Naruto—both official and fan-made. We haVe also seen a shift in the way people interact with music. No longer able to physically connect and create music in person, indiViduals haVe sought creatiVe ways to make music online and in the comfort of their own homes. As I demonstrate in this thesis, the fans of popular media like Naruto are well equipped for this kind of enVironment and haVe been creating music in this way for years. They haVe been connecting with other fans from across the world in this way long before the pandemic began.

   Following all of these experiences and approaching this thesis, I had two central questions in mind. First, how do musical associations both persist and change oVer time? The second is slightly tied to the first: how is it that a familiar musical sound can transport listeners into distant memories? With these questions in mind, throughout this thesis I argue that although the shakuhachi is still Very much connected to the history and culture, without this knowledge many Naruto fans outside Japan are creating and attaching connections, meanings, and Value to the shakuhachi that are linked to this history and culture but at the same time new and detached from it.

2. Chapter Overview

In order to fully understand the present, it is essential to understand the past. This is why Chapter 2 will proVide background and historical information. The first section will focus on the shakuhachi and its history, and the modern/traditional transmission processes that dominate how the instrument is learned and perceiVed. The short historical oVerView shows that the instrument has a long and Varied history in a number of traditions and genres. It also questions the hegemonic narratiVe that it is exclusiVely a Buddhist instrument and examines the transnational flow of it. Insight into the history will show us how the shakuhachi came to be used in an anime and the significance of this phenomena. Next, I briefly surVey the history of sound/music in animation. This section will focus primarily on the early days of animation in Japan and more recently, localizations of anime abroad (those of the United States in particular) because this is where the idea of a “foreign traditional” instrument being consumed by those that may haVe neVer heard it before and may not eVen know what the instrument is while listening to it comes into play. The last section of this chapter will giVe a look at some of the theories that underpin this thesis and its argument.

Once familiar with the historical background, Chapter 3 will proVide information about the Naruto anime and how it came to be. The chapter then moVes on to the focus of this research: the music of Naruto. I begin by looking at the composer Masuda Toshio and the band that recorded his music for the show, Musashi. Although the chapter does examine the music as a whole, I will focus on the shakuhachi in particular. Beginning with a look at the shakuhachi player who recorded the music, this chapter examines how the shakuhachi takes oVer the soundtrack through its repeated appearance. Through an analysis of seVeral of the most common and popular pieces that utilize the instrument, I show how easy it is for fans to build an

emotional connection with the instrument. Throughout this chapter and the rest of the thesis, seVeral themes become apparent, perhaps most important of which is repetition.

Since the music does not exist in a bubble independent of people, Chapter 4 condenses findings from my surVeys, interViews, and interactions with Naruto fans and Viewers. This research was conducted almost exclusiVely online because of restrictions imposed after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on audience perceptions, reactions, and symbolic creatiVity of the shakuhachi in this context, this chapter focuses on what the use of the shakuhachi means to those that watch and enjoy it. Although this study does not haVe any geographic exclusions, the assumption is that the respondents to my English-language surVey are mostly outside of Japan. Therefore, this thesis is based upon fans outside of Japan, and further comparatiVe research would be Valuable to test the argument with Japanese fans. It is also important to state that “Naruto fans” is a broad label that crosses geographic, ethnic, linguistic, and other barriers. Because I cannot make claims that are not supported by the confines of my research, when I mention Naruto fans or simply fans, I am referencing what I know based only on the data collected for this thesis.

MoVing beyond mere consumption and perception, Chapter 5 will take a look at the ways in which the most dedicated fans play with Naruto music and the shakuhachi outside of the show. Before examining Naruto fan production, this is put into the larger context of participatory culture within other fandoms and compares the specific phenomena of coVering/remixing the soundtrack with other comparable fan creatiVity. Towards the end of the chapter, I analyze seVeral transcriptions of fan creations that use the shakuhachi—both those that inVolVe the indiVidual playing the instrument, and those that only manipulate the recorded sound.

Chapter 6 will summarize and conclude the main points and findings of my research. It discusses how a seeming constellation of topics come together to mean one thing: the remoVal of the shakuhachi from its “official traditional” context and the creation of a new association/tradition. It also proposes wider implications and applications of this research.

Finally, I present the many ways in which other academics could continue, build on, and expand this research.

CHAPTER 2

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SHAKUHACHI AND ANIME

Why do we haVe to look at the past and what does it show for the future? These are the questions that this chapter aims to answer. The first part of this chapter giVes a brief explanation of the shakuhachi and examines the long and history of the instrument. A look at the history not only proVides background and context for the present, but this oVerView also shows that this history is more complicated than is often presented. This chapter attempts to dismantle the seemingly hegemonic and monolithic narratiVe of the shakuhachi as existing exclusiVely in the space of “tradition” and specifically as a Buddhist instrument. In the second part of the chapter, I look at the history of sound and music in Japanese animation. Again, this historical look proVides perspectiVe to show how relatiVely noVel the use of the shakuhachi in anime is and how this noVelty is especially Varied in the context of the sound’s reception by international audiences.

The last part of the chapter ties the first two parts of the chapter together through the ideas of meaning making and Value. The histories of the two are also interlinked in that both are eVer-changing and eVolVing. The shakuhachi and music in anime are consistently being used and constructed in new and innoVatiVe ways, so in many ways the use of the shakuhachi in Naruto, and fan adoption of this music is in fact exactly in line with what has happened throughout the instrument’s history. This new use is just one new addition that can be added to the list. At the same time, this chapter also shows how the uses differ from the history and tradition. These perspectiVes are especially important when considering my argument that the shakuhachi in Naruto and fans’ relationship with the instrument and its music in the show is both connected to and disconnected from this history.

1. Description and Brief Historical Overview of the Shakuhachi

   The shakuhachi (尺八) is a Vertical end-blown bamboo flute of Japan. The name comes from the length of the most common size of the instrument: isshaku hassun (一尺八寸) or one shaku, eight sun. Shaku and sun were units in an early measurement system in Japan and China, relatiVely comparable to the foot and the inch. One shaku and eight sun would be equiValent to approximately one foot and nine inches, or fifty-four centimeters. This more common instrument is often called a D kan (D官) for the note it produces when all tone holes are coVered. The modern shakuhachi has fiVe tone holes that on the one shaku eight sun size, the main pitches produced from opening and closing these tone holes are D4, F4, G4, A4, and C5 or a minor pentatonic scale. The shakuhachi consists of three nodes/sections of bamboo, is made from the root end of the bamboo with the roots still seen on the bell, and many modern instruments are made to split in two pieces for portability.1

   The history of this relatiVely simple instrument is one entwined with religion and spirituality. This history consists of both historical fact and lore, myths, and legends—an early example being tales of the instrument in the Shōtoku Taishi (聖徳太子, Record of Prince Shōtoku) written around 600 CE which sees a mountain dancing after being moVed by the tones played by a player on horseback.2 Because of the specious and unstable nature of the instrument’s origin stories, there are times when distinguishing truth from fiction can be a bit difficult. Though there are paintings and artifacts that depict shakuhachi-like Vertical flutes that can be traced back much farther, the shakuhachi’s origins are usually determined to be in Tang dynasty China (唐朝, 618-907) because of the instrument’s mention in the Jiu Tang Shu

   
   

   1 Minoru Miki, Composing for Japanese Instruments, Eastman Studies in Music ; v. 57 (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2008), 35–36.

   2 Izumi Takeo, Paintings of Bamboo Flutes: A History and Genealogy of Shakuhachi Performance, trans. Philip Flavin (Sendai: Tohoku University Press, 2016), 12.

   (旧唐書, Japanese: Kutōjo, ‘Old Tang History’).3 Many of the earliest depictions of these shakuhachi are not of actual performances, but instead of the Buddhist Pure Land (浄土, jōdo) or a Buddhist conception similar to heaVen.4 This Tang dynasty shakuhachi is the one that was imported into Japan and played in the newly imported court music called yayue in China and gagaku (雅楽) in Japan. These early gagaku shakuhachi look Very similar to the modern-day shakuhachi with three nodes/sections and an obliquely cut mouthpiece. The primary difference is that these early shakuhachi had six holes—fiVe on the front and one on the back of the instrument.

   Some of these early shakuhachi were the property of Emperor Shōmu (聖武天皇,701-756 CE) and are preserVed at Tōdai-ji’s Shōsō-in (東大寺正倉院,Todai Temle’s treasure house).5 In addition to these well-preserVed specimens, there are many historical and literary documents that discuss the shakuhachi and its history in the court ensemble. The Heian Council of State directiVe from 804 CE Gagakuryō Gakushi no Jō (雅楽寮学師の条) contains a proVision that a shakuhachi instructor be included among the 12 official tōgaku (唐学, lit. “Tang Dynasty Music,” but used to denote gagaku music deriVed from China) musicians.6 This seems to be the heyday of the shakuhachi in gagaku, but after this date the slow decline of the instrument can be seen. Another directiVe from 848 CE states that the number of shakuhachi musicians in the ensemble should be reduced from three to two.7

   
   

   3 Lee, “Yearning for the Bell,” 39.

   4 Takeo, Paintings of Bamboo Flutes: A History and Genealogy of Shakuhachi Performance, 4.

   5 Christopher Yohmei Blasdel and Yuko Kamisango, The Shakuhachi: A Manual for Learning, 3rd ed. (Tokyo: Printed Matter Press, 2016), 71.

   6 Blasdel and Kamisango, 72.

   7 Lee, “Yearning for the Bell,” 44.

   During the Heian period (平安時代, 794-1185 CE), the court’s musical bureau was reorganized in a reform known as the Ninmyō-chō no gakusei kaikaku (仁明帳の楽制改革, the Ninmyō era music reform) and seVeral instruments were remoVed including the shichigenkin (七弦琴,7-string zither), the ōhichiriki, (大篳篥, large hichiriki or small double reed instrument) and the shakuhachi.8 Instead of an immediate remoVal, it was a gradual remoVal oVer time. A ryūteki (龍笛, transVerse gagaku flute) treatise, Ryūmei Shō (龍鳴抄) written in 1133 CE says that Prince Sadayasu (貞保新王) reconstructed the gagaku piece Ōshōkun (王昭君) from shakuhachi notation. In the noVel The Tale of Genji (源氏物語, c. 1020), Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部, c. 973-1031) paints a picture of the Heian court and mentions the interesting sounds of the shakuhachi and ōhichiriki. Almost entirely phased out by 1158, according to the Taigen-shō (體源抄), Zoku Kyōkun-shō (続教訓抄), and the Imakagami (今鏡, collections of historical stories from the late Heian period), Emperor Go-Shirakawa unsuccessfully tried to reViVe the shakuhachi at a New Year’s banquet.9 The shakuhachi was most likely out of the ensemble by the end of the Heian period, though Blasdel lists a mention of the use of the shakuhachi in gagaku found in the Taigen-shō (different from the preViously mentioned one of the same name, this one was a treatise written in 1512 by a leading court musician, Toyohara no Muneaki, 豊原の統秋) as eVidence that it was used in court music until the sixteenth century.10

   EVen though it moVed out of the court and its inherent ties to religion through the natiVe

   
   

   Shinto religion, as mentioned before, it has historically had connections to Buddhism. Some of its earliest Visual depictions are of BodhisattVas playing the instrument in the heaVen-like Pure

   
   

   8 Takeo, Paintings of Bamboo Flutes: A History and Genealogy of Shakuhachi Performance, 11.

   9 Blasdel and Kamisango, The Shakuhachi: A Manual for Learning, 74-75.

   10 Blasdel and Kamisango, 77.

   Land. Texts from around 800 CE also recount the use of the shakuhachi by Buddhist high priests to giVe “the pitch for the recitation of [chant] texts.”11 It is this spiritual connection to Buddhism that continued in the centuries following its decline in gagaku. Not only used as a tool to begin chants, it began to be used as a tool to spark satori (悟り, enlightenment).

   The most famous case of this is with the monk Ikkyū (一休, 1394-1481), who used it in this way and wrote about the spiritual properties of the instrument.12 Contrary to popular belief, this tradition did not consist of one continuous unchanging line from a Chinese master. The tradition continued to change significantly for centuries. In fact, the earliest monks including Ikkyū that played the shakuhachi actually played a somewhat different instrument called the hitoyogiri (一節切). Though still considered under the umbrella of shakuhachi, this instrument is smaller, has smaller tone holes (limiting the flexibility in pitches), only uses one node of bamboo, and does not use the root end.13

   Starting around the 16th century, the shakuhachi began to be played by beggar monks called komosō (薦僧), komo from the straw mat worn on their back and sō from the word for monk. These wandering monks had no organization and would play their instruments as a spiritual tool and to beg for alms, roaming around from temple lodge to temple lodge.14 During the Edo period (江戸時代,1603-1868), these monks began to create a loosely formed sect tied to the Zen (禅)sect Rinzai-shū (臨済宗) called Fuke-shū (普化宗). When the Tokugawa shogunate began to exert their control and many samurai (侍) lost their land and power, the ranks of rōnin (浪人, masterless samurai) increased. These rōnin used the prestige and priVilege of these

   
   

   11 Takeo, Paintings of Bamboo Flutes: A History and Genealogy of Shakuhachi Performance, 12–13.

   12 Lee, “Yearning for the Bell,” 68.

   13 Blasdel and Kamisango, The Shakuhachi: A Manual for Learning, 91.

   14 Blasdel and Kamisango, 82.

   wandering monks—now called komusō (虚無僧, monks of Void/emptiness)—to hide from the shogunate.15

   Because the shogunate was highly supportiVe of Zen Buddhism, the rōnin applied for official recognition to further solidify their safety and increase their priVileges. The shogunate allowed this since it would make it easier to keep tabs on these rogues by requiring all monks to be registered through the goVernment. This would also allow them to use the monks for their own purposes. In 1614, the first goVernment decree (慶長掟書, Keichō Okite Gaki) “designated the Fuke Sect as an organization for the accommodation of masterless samurai, proVided for limitations and policing of the komusō, and stipulated that the komusō must act as spies for the goVernment.”16 As a tradeoff, the sect was giVen special priVileges such as freedom to traVel around the country and exclusiVe rights to use of the shakuhachi.

   When the goVernment became suspicious of wrongdoings by the Fuke-shū, their status began to decline. To keep prestige in the minds of the goVernment and the public, the sect began to create their own mythology. In 1795 came the Kyotaku Denki Kokujikai (虚鐸伝記国字解), a document in Chinese and Japanese laying out the history and lineage of the Fuke-shū going back to the Chinese monk Puhua (普化) in the ninth century. For centuries considered a factual document on the history of the sect, it has now come under scrutiny as a propaganda document since much of the material cannot be factually and historically Verified.17

   Despite the release of this document, the goVernment continued to be suspicious and shortly after the Meiji period (明治時代, 1868-1912) goVernment took oVer, the Fuke-shū was

   
   

   15 Blasdel and Kamisango, 101.

   16 Blasdel and Kamisango, 99.

   17 Lee, “Yearning for the Bell,” 86.

   banned in 1871.18 After the banning, the preVious monks had to find some way to surViVe and to do this with the skills they already had, instruction to lay indiViduals began to increase exponentially. The structures within the religious sect were transferred to secular cognates found in arts like the tea ceremony (茶道). From here, the modern schools and concepts of the shakuhachi began.19

   While no doubt some truly belieVed in using the instrument as a spiritual too, the façade of a pure and wholly spiritual tradition is somewhat fabricated. Also, the shakuhachi may no longer be an officially sanctioned religious instrument, and much of the imagery surrounding it may be created, but these spiritual connections haVe held strong to this day. The militaristic mindset of the samurai, the rigid patterned forms common in Zen, and the bureaucratic structures forced upon the Fuke sect also continue to shape modern shakuhachi transmission processes.

   Much like other Japanese instruments and art forms, the shakuhachi is taught in separate schools, or ryūha (流派). Each school is set up in a hierarchical system with an iemoto (家元) at the top and successiVe layers continuing down to unlicensed beginners at the bottom. A student will pay their teacher for lessons, sheet music (gakufu, 楽譜), and licenses when they reach a certain leVel and part of that money will moVe its way up to the iemoto. Once a student enters a school, it is expected that they stay in that school and do not moVe to other schools or break school rules. For doing any of these things, the player could face expulsion which in turn could mean a loss in status and liVelihood.20

   
   

   18 Lee, 88.

   19 Blasdel and Kamisango, The Shakuhachi: A Manual for Learning, 112–14.

   20 Lee, “Yearning for the Bell,” 94.

   Although the Various temples and lineages of the Fuke sect could be seen as an early ryūha system, it was not formalized and the komusō freely borrowed pieces from one another.21 The modern ryūha system did not deVelop until the late Edo period. EVen though the Fuke sect still claimed to haVe official domain oVer the instrument, laymen still learned and played the shakuhachi. This secular world of the shakuhachi wasn’t truly recognized and formalized until Kurosawa Kinko (黒沢琴古, 1710-1771)—Fuke monk himself—notated thirty-three pieces, thereby creating what is now known as the Kinko-ryū （琴古流). These thirty-three pieces became the foundational repertoire (honkyoku) of the school.22

   Though not the first to use the shakuhachi in a secular way, Kinko marked a significant shift in the history of the instrument. Instead of seeing it solely as a spiritual tool, Kinko, his teaching, and his Versions of the honkyoku focused on the musicality of the shakuhachi. In addition, Kinko’s school and other later schools began to play secular pieces with shamisen (三味線, three-stringed traditional Japanese lute) and koto (琴, traditional Japanese 13-stringed zither), in what is now deemed sankyoku (三曲), but called gaikyoku (外曲, “outside pieces”) in the shakuhachi tradition due to the pieces being outside of the Zen heritage. These gaikyoku were pieces that were already popular within the repertoire of the Various koto schools such as the Yamada-ryū (山田流), Ikuta-ryū (生田流), and the popular jiuta shamisen (地歌三味線). With the rise of secular schools and the decline of the Fuke sect, the shakuhachi became somewhat of a money-making enterprise for many komusō monks who would sell lessons, sheet music, and

   
   

   21 Blasdel and Kamisango, The Shakuhachi: A Manual for Learning, 118.

   22 Blasdel and Kamisango, 110.

   licenses for a fee.23 After the Meiji ban on the Fuke sect, this “underground” secular shakuhachi world would deVelop into the ryūha system that is still in place today.

   The two main schools of shakuhachi today are Tozan-ryū （都山流）, a recent school deVeloped in Osaka during the early twentieth century, and the afore-mentioned Kinko-ryū. HoweVer, there are countless other smaller schools that were created following the Kinko-ryū including Chikuho-ryū (竹保流), Ikkan-ryū (一閑流), Myōan Sōetsu-ryū (明暗宗悦流), Myōan Shimpō-ryū (明暗真法流), Shinryū-ryū (真龍流), Seien-ryū (西園流), Taizan-ryū (対山流), Nezasa-ha (根笹派), and Kimpū-ryū (錦風流). Among the schools, there are three main differences: 1) the shakuhachi they play on, particularly the utaguchi (歌口, blowing edge/mouthpiece; see figure 1), 2) slight differences in repertoire, particularly in regard to koten honkyoku (古典本曲, “old” honkyoku or those related to the komusō tradition), and 3) notation style (see images 2-5).

   
   

   Figure 1—Kinko and Tozan Utaguchi Differences24

   
   

   23 Blasdel and Kamisango, 112–14.

   24 “Shakuhachi FAQ | Mejiro Co.,” accessed November 30, 2018, http://www.mejiro-japan.com/en/products/music-shakuhachi-shinobue-nohkan/shakuhachi-flute/shakuhachi-faq.

   Figure 2—Tozan-ryū Licensing Structure

   
   

   Figure 3—Sakura in Tozan (left), Chikuho (middle), and Kinko (right) Notation

   All that is needed to create another school is to decide on a repertoire list and create a new notation style.25 Creating a new school is easy, and in fact Blasdel says, “each indiVidual player becomes a ‘sect’ unto themselVes… the number of shakuhachi sects in Japan equals the number of shakuhachi players.”26 This is how many of the current smaller schools were created. It might be easy to create a new school, but the trouble lies in maintaining it. As Blasdel and Kamisango obserVe, “If someone creates a new style or school, they must find a way to attract disciples and keep them coming back, otherwise the school will end when the founder dies.”27

   
   

   
   

   25 Ibid.

   26 Blasdel and Kamisango, The Shakuhachi: A Manual for Learning, 118.

   27 Blasdel and Kamisango, 123.

   
   

   Figure 4—Staff Notation of Sakura

   While the iemoto/school system still has a strong hold on the world of traditional Japanese instruments, this is breaking down and it is not as strong as it once was. One of the largest driVing forces of this change is globalization. Musical cultures and instruments of the world haVe enjoyed increasing interest outside of their traditional national boundaries in the last century. The shakuhachi in particular has seen significant popularity as an instrument to be listened to, composed for, or played. It is important to note that because of the differences in power between peoples and nations, this spread does not happen in the same way eVerywhere. Japan itself is a global power, so it is able to spread its culture (and musical instruments) more easily than a less powerful country like Bhutan. People in the United States are also on aVerage richer than those in a country like Lesotho, so Americans are therefore able to access and explore something like the shakuhachi more easily. In order to address the uneVen nature of these flows, the term “transnational” is often used in the place of globalization.28

   
   

   28 Henry Jenkins, Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture, Postmillennial Pop (New York: University Press, 2013), 259, http://eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db= nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=529617.

   With globalization and popularization, traditional transmission processes and the iemoto system isn’t as strong as it once was—particularly outside of Japan. Furthermore, many of the traditional aVenues are not as accessible outside of Japan as they are in their natiVe home.

   Instructional books for indiVidual at-home study are common and can be found in English and Japanese (see Blasdel, Abbot, and others). The proliferation of summer camps, retreats, and masterclasses has caused exposure to multiple schools, notations, and traditions.29 Also, many use alternatiVe methods to learn such as YouTube and mimicking the sounds heard on TV and in moVies.

   Re-contextualization is a popular word when discussing the shakuhachi in modern Japan and abroad. Though often not the focus of scholarly research, there is some discussion on the shakuhachi in jazz, aVant-garde, and modern classical compositions. HoweVer, I would argue that these discussions are reminiscent of the “official” View of the shakuhachi as a traditional or Zen instrument. These genres and musical areas are still institutionally approVed canons toward the top of the academy’s musical hierarchy.30 But how many people actually haVe heard and/or perform these pieces?

   Articles that propose to discuss this re-contextualization mainly focus on the approVed history of the instrument and then giVe a Very brief nod to the fact that it is today used in other genres as if to say it exists, but it is not important and therefore will not be discussed. EVen when mentioned, it is common to immediately connect it in some way to the past. In an article about re-contextualization that focuses a lot on the historical, Seyama mentions jazz shakuhachi, only to reVert back to the history: “Jazz musicians perform frequently in concerts and in music

   
   

   29 Steven Casano, “From Fuke Shū to Uduboo: Zen and the Transnational Flow of the Shakuhachi Tradition to the West” (Masters Thesis, Honolulu, HI, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2001), 121.

   30 Paul Willis, Common Culture: Symbolic Work at Play in the Everyday Cultures of the Young (Buckingham: Open University Press, 1990), 2.

   programs on teleVision with shakuhachi players. HoweVer, locating the historical figure of the

   
   

   komusō in this contemporary context is not easy.”31 Why do we need to locate the komusō at all?

   
   

   Seyama also giVes a list of contexts in which the shakuhachi is used that is still releVant today; it includes:

   1. In the solo performance of the classical honkyoku;

   2. As part of the ensemble of traditional Japanese music

   3. As accompaniment to minyō (民謡, traditional Japanese folk songs)

   4. Accompaniment to shigin (詩吟, the chanting of classical Chinese poems)

   5. Part of the ensemble accompanying kayokyoku (歌謡曲, Japanese commercial-oriented popular music)

   6. As member of ensembles playing jazz, pop, and rock music

   7. In fusion or crossoVer performance with other instruments including both Western and non-Western musics;

   8. In contemporary, experimental, and computer music But does not go on to discuss any aspect of these in-depth.32

      Discussions on the transnational flow of the instrument also focus on the institutional bias towards the traditional aVenues of the instrument. Casano giVes a perceptiVe account of this flow in the West, focusing in large part on Japanese immigrants and immigrant communities in places like Hawai‘i and Brazil, and new recording technologies allowing people to access these traditions. But again, this primarily focuses on how the traditional transmission processes, school systems, and repertoire mentioned aboVe flowed to the U.S. with a brief section at the end on more contemporary uses. Interestingly, Casano obserVes: “There is presently not much literature in English on the deVelopments within the shakuhachi tradition following the end of World War II” which is still the case in 2021.33 This stall in scholarship stands in stark contrast to the fact

      
      

      
      

      31 Toru Seyama, “The Re-Contextualisation of the Shakuhachi (Syakuhati) and Its Music from Traditional/Classical into Modern/Popular,” The World of Music 40, no. 2 (1998): 77.

      32 Seyama, 77–78.

      33 Casano, “From Fuke Shū to Uduboo,” 4.

      that the shakuhachi continues to not only maintain these traditions but moVe beyond them in a Variety of ways.

      Also, one of Casano’s main arguments is that the rapid transnational flow of the shakuhachi can primarily be attributed to the effects of the boom in Eastern spirituality and, in particular, the popularity of Zen Buddhism outside of Japan.34 While this definitely may haVe been the case in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I think that Zen’s effect on the spread of the instrument abroad is a product of the Western romanticization of Zen and the academy’s emphasis on the more traditional and goVernment sanctioned and promoted Views of their culture and arts. When Casano did his research in the early 2000s I wonder if this Zen influence—though no doubt still a strong force on the flow of the shakuhachi—had begun to shift. Today, I would argue that there are just as many, if not more shakuhachi players and/or consumers that were introduced to the shakuhachi through some exposure in popular media and had their interest sparked by this exposure. Examples of this haVe begun to appear. An article of the Hōgaku Journal (邦楽ジャーナル, Japan’s traditional music journal) discusses a recent documentary moVie featuring a Chinese shakuhachi player whose interest in the instrument started with Naruto.35

      Now that the history of the more traditional aspects and the flow of it has been examined, what is Japanese anime and how did we get here? How did a traditional instrument once used as a spiritual tool come to be used in a popular medium? How did this popular medium then spread to disparate parts of the world, only for the shakuhachi to be heard by millions of foreign ears?

      And what are the implications for the instrument and the traditions?

      
      

      34 Casano, 95.

      35 “Shakuhachi Documentary Movie ‘Ichirou-Issei,’” Hōgaku Journal 396 (January 2020): 17.

2. History of Sound in Anime and its Transnational Flow

   While it is beyond the scope of this thesis to describe and look in-depth at the entire history of anime, I do belieVe it is important to take a brief look, particularly at the globalization, recent boom in its popularity, and how recent technological adVances haVe changed how it is spread and consumed. This growth is particularly important in regard to the music. Twenty years ago, eVen if the shakuhachi were featured in the soundtrack of an anime, unless a person outside Japan were a highly dedicated fan with the proper underground connections, they would haVe neVer heard it in the Version they watched.

   The author grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s, at a time when anime grew dramatically in popularity in the United States and not only more localizations of anime were accessible, but these localizations were Very popular and a part of the zeitgeist of the time.

   Localization is both a process of adapting a foreign product to be more easily consumable in a local market (e.g. changing the language) and the product of this process. With this said, the scores used in the U.S. localizations were different than the original Japanese ones. In fact, now there are two Versions of the popular anime Dragon Ball Z (1989-1996 for the original Japanese run) aVailable: one with the score used in the American localization for those that want to reVel in the nostalgia of their youth, and those with the original Japanese school for “purists.” Fast forward to Naruto and something like this isn’t an issue. Whether the fan grew up watching the dub (replacement of the original language Vocal track with the local language) or the sub (original Vocal track is kept and local language subtitles are added), is nostalgic (wants it as close to the Version they saw as a child), or a purist (wants it close to the original Japanese as possible), the score is the same.

   When did this change to a unified and global experience of the musical score in anime occur and why? During the early days of my research, I thought this may haVe been a change in

   music due to technological adVances. That is to say, I thought possibly the sound in early animation would haVe been together on one file and there was no separation of Vocal and music tracks. This would mean that localizations would haVe been forced to get rid of the music in the process of dubbing the VoiceoVer. HoweVer, since delVing further into the issue, it turns out that localizations of anime as early as the 1960s used the same music as their Japanese counterparts. If not because of technology, what was the reasoning for the later change when localized?

   Although there could be a Variety of reasons, I belieVe that the primary reasons that caused these musical changes are a combination of cultural changes outside of Japan and the growth in acceptance and popularity of Japanese culture.

   The early history of music and sound in Japanese animation is quite complicated and winding. Like much of Japanese history, it goes through stages of importing a foreign concept and then assimilating, or one might say “Japanizing” it.36 As a foreign inVention, the earliest instances of cinema and animation in Japan during the 1910s and early 1920s were direct imports of foreign silent films. As Japan was still early in its modernization/Westernization, a unique role, the benshi (弁士) had to be created for this new medium to be understood and accepted by the Japanese public. These announcers/narrators were men of many talents as he drew crowds to the theaters by calling them in from the streets, interpreted the film, explained foreign elements like kissing, and gaVe dialogue. These early “sound producers” were the star of the show for the Japanese audiences—not the actors and actresses of the films.37

   Following the inVention of the phonograph, the trend in film and animation was towards shorter 3-5-minute clips that could be accompanied by a record. This meant the end of the

   
   

   36 Bonnie C. Wade, Music in Japan: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture, Global Music Series (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005), 7.

   37 Jonathan Clements, Anime: A History (London: Palgrave Macmillan on behalf of the British Film Institute, 2013), 21.

   benshi, though their departure was gradual and embattled. It was also the beginning of what became common practice in Japanese animation for decades: Japanese animation to the soundtrack of Western classical art music. The earliest instances of this were Ōfuji Noburō’s (大藤信郎, 1900-1961) Kuro Nyago (黒ニャゴ,1928) and Kujira (鯨, 1927), the latter of which was meant to “be synchronized to a Victor Records release of Rossini’s William Tell Overture.”38

   Leading up to and during World War II, the imperial goVernment attempted to purge as many foreign elements as possible. Like in other industries and areas of life, the freedoms of the motion picture industry were restricted and aligned to the nationalistic and militaristic aims of the goVernment. Starting as early as 1925, the Police Affairs Bureau “gradually tightened up the regulations on cinema with the aim to partially restrict creatiVe freedom, so as to preserVe the national spirit.”39 More animated films used characters and themes taken directly from Japanese mythology that “better represented the perfect Japanese people, both in past and contemporary settings.”40 Early films were based on the famous folk tale stories/characters of Momotarō (桃太郎) and Urashima Tarō (浦島太郎). More nationalistic and propaganda films (国策映画, kokusaku eiga) appeared during the war.41 Though these were made in Japan and infused with Japanese themes, the Japanese music world was already thoroughly Westernized, so the sounds heard in these films were not much different from what came before—minus the more nationalistic, militaristic, and patriotic music that was heard in the latter kokusaku eiga.42

   
   

   38 Clements, 46.

   39 Maria Roberta Novielli, Floating Worlds: A Short History of Japanese Animation (Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis, 2018), 19.

   40 Novielli, 22.

   41 Novielli, 22–34.

   42 Novielli, 31.

   Following the war, the creation of original Japanese animation was essentially halted, due to both the dire financial situation the country was in and the restrictions placed on the nation by the American occupation forces. In fact, “according to the American plans, a huge distribution of foreign films would be the best means to easily spread democratic Values, and for this reason, many animations from the United States were released, helping to raise the popularity of this art.”43 This meant that once again, much of the sounds heard within animation were largely American-made. While occasional Japanese animation did make its way to Japanese audiences, it was still under the regulation of the Americans until 1951.

   Though Japan was essentially free from creatiVe control after 1951, the impact of the occupation and pre-war era was eVident in the ensuing years. Japan’s first major animation company, Tōei Animation (東映アニメーション), was founded the year Japan was released from occupation. It made clear that “one of the main purposes of the company was to produce high-leVel feature animations tantamount to Disney’s classic moVies.”44 So eVen with creatiVe control, Japanese animation and its music was still Westernized in nature. Any localization outside of Japan would not haVe proVed seVerely problematic.

   Fast forward to January 1, 1963 when Tezuka Osamu (手塚治, 1928-1989) created the first true Japanese TV animation: Tetsuwan Atomu (鉄腕アトム). While significant in other ways, one of the most important things to note about Tetsuwan Atomu is that this was also the first Japanese TV animation that was exported to the states. Not only was it the first TV anime to be brought to America, it was a rather swift turnaround as discussions with America’s National

   
   

   43 Novielli, 36.

   44 Novielli, 53.

   Broadcasting Company (NBC) began only months later in March, and the first episode of the show—now renamed Astro Boy—premiered in the United States on September 7, 1963.45

   In his book The Astro Boy Essays, Frederick L. Schodt mentions seVeral times that the NBC Version of Astro Boy was Very close to the original as was explicitly stated in NBC’s agreement with Tezuka. HoweVer, he goes on to list pages upon pages of changes that NBC made to the original to localize it and make it attractiVe to the American public. While the changes may pale in comparison to other localized Japanese animation, I belieVe it is safe to say that there were many significant changes. It also must be noted—and Schodt does a good job of this—that Tezuka made Tesuwan Atomu with a global audience in mind. He deliberately toned-down Japanese elements and attempted to make it as palatable to foreign audiences as possible. Despite this, NBC still had to make significant changes. As Schodt notes, Fred Ladd “was in the delicate position of haVing to preserVe the integrity of the Japanese original, but also to tweak it to make it acceptable to American audiences, who—in a pre-sushi, pre-futon, and pre-Japanese-autos era—were not accustomed to anything foreign, especially cartoons.”46

   Being broadcast in a nation in which most do not speak/read Japanese, signage that was in Japanese had to be cut. EVen some English words were remoVed for fear that American children would not be able to read them. Religious references and imagery were remoVed.

   Names of the characters had to be changed from Japanese-sounding names like Higeoyaji and Tawashi into names that would be more friendly for an English-speaking audience such as Mr. Pompous and Inspector Gumshoe respectiVely. Some of the more rigid restrictions were Violence and sex. While in Japan, depictions of Violence and sex were commonplace on teleVision for all

   
   

   45 Frederik L. Schodt, “Go, Go, GO Astro Boy!!,” in The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, Manga/Anime Revolution (Berkeley CA, UNITED STATES: Stone Bridge Press, 2007), 87.

   46 Schodt, 82.

   ages, in the United States, the display of eVen a hint of these elements was unthinkable in teleVision for children. So, this meant depictions of animal cruelty and nuclear war, reference to narcotics, nudity, and more had to be changed into something more acceptable. Dialogue mentioning death had to be changed to suggest indiViduals were not dead, but instead unconscious and in need of medical assistance. EVen Astro Boy himself who had machine guns built into his behind had to be fundamentally changed to fit American standards. Perhaps most interesting, eVen images of minorities were eliminated to whitewash the anime.47

   All of these changes were made despite the fact that they were included precisely to aVoid future changes, edits, and censorship. Tezuka hoped that his anime would be a success and eVentually shown across the world. He purposefully refrained from including too many elements that are too Japanese, “oriental” or “exotic.” For example, instead of including Buddhist and Shinto (神道) religious symbolism, Christian symbols were used instead. In order to appeal to non-Asian and/or multi-cultural societies, non-Japanese looking characters were included.

   Instead of using exclusiVely Japanese language signs, English language words were used for some signs, background scenes, or props. HoweVer, eVen this conscious sensitiVity was either not enough, or still unacceptable for localization outside of Japan.

   With all of these imposed changes, one thing that remained largely intact was the soundtrack. Though this should come as no surprise, because it is primarily composed of “classical music, including parts of BeethoVen’s Symphony No. 9.”48 Some of the only music composed solely by a Japanese artist was the theme song by Takai Tatsuo (高井達雄, b. 1933) which was changed in the American Version. Interestingly, the American Version of the theme

   
   

   47 Schodt, 82–85.

   48 Schodt, 69.

   song was highly popular in Japan and this new Version replaced the Japanese original.49 Another notable sonic change was one that is rather common in localizations of Japanese anime: that of trying to fill in moments of silence. Because the soundtrack of Astro Boy was maintained, only occasional sound effects had to be added, but later “a new score was created not only to make the show more familiar for a U.S. audience but to “supplement ‘dead spots’: silence in the original production.”50 This concept of space or ma (間) is quite common in Japanese culture and music, but absent in much of Western culture and society, making these moments awkward to many ears outside of Japan. This unique and fascinating sonic aspect of Japanese anime would take until much later—around the time of Naruto (2002)—to reach the majority of foreign audiences.

   All of this is to say that when Tetsuwan Atomu came to America, the American palate for anything Japanese was rather low. So much so that a cartoon Tezuka thought he had Westernized sufficiently still had to make significant changes—and much to the surprise and chagrin of the creator. He was particularly critical of the remoVal of Violence and said “Americans were so sensitiVe about scenes of Violence in fantasy. But they didn’t haVe much trouble going oVer to East Asia and killing people.”51 The only reason the music was left intact was because of its Western origin. In fact, a common sentiment among many Japanese anime is that “many young Viewers of the animation were not eVen aware that they were watching a show from Japan, since Japanese names and cultural oddities had been largely excised from the films.”52

   In the 1970s anime music began to sufficiently differentiate itself from Western cartoon music and deVeloped into a popular industry of its own. Sometimes it eVen deVeloped a life

   
   

   
   

   49 Schodt, 81.

   50 Brian Ruh, “Transforming U.S. Anime in the 1980s: Localization and Longevity,” ed. Frenchy Lunning,

   Mechademia 2, no. 5 (2010): 35.

   51 Osamu Tezuka, Tetsuwan Atomu, Sunday Comics Edition, vol. 2 (Tokyo: Akita Shoten, 1999), 71.

   52 Schodt, “Go, Go, GO Astro Boy!!,” 89.

   separate from the anime itself. As MacWilliams notes, during this time “companies began to release symphonic arrangements of soundtracks” and rather than children’s medley albums, single-program soundtracks became popular which “led to an increased emphasis on good music that could also be sold as recordings. EVentually it became common for a significant amount of high-quality original music to be included in a series.”53

   The epitome of this trend came in 1988 with the film Akira (アキラ). About a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, this Very popular moVie was a trendsetter in many ways, including the music. It is not a stretch to say that this film changed the way in which music was seen in Japanese animation. It was no longer just a background element that the aVerage Viewer could ignore.

   Although Akira is Very significant, it is a film and films usually haVe larger budgets than teleVision anime.54 EVen though teleVision anime were moVing towards the artistic quality of Akira, it wasn’t until 1997 when Akira found a teleVision contemporary with Cowboy Bebop (カウボーイビバップ). The significance of this short 26-episode series and its groundbreaking soundtrack will be discussed further in the next chapter in reference to its importance to the Naruto soundtrack.

   Unfortunately, as anime music was at its height, a large chunk of the world would not haVe had the opportunity to hear it. Localization of anime occurred in much the same fashion as Astro Boy for the following decades, in other words keeping it because of its similarity to Western counterparts, as illustrated in the soundtracks of popular classics like Speed Racer (マッハ GoGoGo, 1967-1968). HoweVer, by the time Japanese soundtracks became sufficiently

   
   

   53 Mark W. MacWilliams, Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and Anime (Routledge, 2008), 53, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315703152.

   54 The Japan Foundation & CGP, NY, [EP3] The Power of Music in Anime, accessed November 19, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru6BLPt6J6o&feature=youtu.be.

   differentiated from their American counterparts, American companies began to use their own replacement soundtracks. Starting in the late 1970s, Brian Ruh argues that “American teleVision producers not only adapted anime for U.S. broadcast but began changing so many elements of the shows so as to generate programs that were almost entirely American creations.”55

   In addition, while this thesis is primarily in reference to American localization, in the world of anime, as America goes, so does the rest of the world. Instead of dubbing and adapting from the Japanese original, because U.S. licensors often obtained the rights for all non-Asian distribution, other foreign localizations in the Americas, Europe, and abroad used the American Version to then dub and make any additional changes.56 Nowhere is this more eVident than in Haim Saban’s popular localizations:

   By tapping the foreign market for animation resources, Saban did his part to contribute to the glut of teleVision animation in the 1980s, although he essentially was watering down the elements that made them appeal to the original audience by replacing the original audio tracks with synthetic English ones. The business model obViously worked for him, and eVentually allowed him to concentrate more exclusiVely on the North American market during the 1990s.57

   
   

   This is not to say that eVery Japanese anime followed this pattern. There are some shows (including the aboVementioned Cowboy Bebop) that did appear in close to original form. HoweVer, they reached smaller audiences as they could only be Viewed on program blocks like Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, found in a specialty shop, or could only be obtained through less than legal means. Therefore, they only deVeloped “cult” followings.

   The more popular localizations including those produced by Saban, 4Kids!, and in Funimation’s early days howeVer follow this formula exactly. Popular shows like Digimon:

   
   

   
   

   55 Ruh, “Transforming U.S. Anime in the 1980s: Localization and Longevity,” 31.

   56 Ruh, 31.

   57 David Perlmutter, America Toons in: A History of Television Animation (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc, Publishers, 2014), 213.

   Digital Monsters (デジモンアドベンチャー, 1999-2000) Pokémon (ポケモン, 1997-present), Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン, 1992-1997), and Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボール Z, 1989-1996) changed so many elements that responses to the show could be drastically different. The music is a good example of this. The music of a film or show can giVe indiViduals cues on how to feel or what is coming in the show. It can also be a source of memorability and nostalgia. If the music is mediocre or not as effectiVe as the original, the show can suffer. The opposite could also happen. A good example of a positiVe change is the super catchy Pokémon theme song that inVokes nostalgia and cherished memories in me and many other 90s children. Other changes would change the show’s plot entirely and force it to become a completely different show. An example of this is Sailor Moon hiding some characters’ sexual orientation and gender expression. For American studios, lesbians, trans characters, and non-binary characters were too racy to show American children.58

   Some of these changes would haVe gone unnoticed at first View of the show. The music is an obVious example of this. While it may proVe to change reactions to the show, unless the child watching somehow watched the Japanese original, they would be obliVious to the fact that there is a different Version. RemoVal of Japanese text and names are other good examples of this.

   HoweVer, some changes were so odd as to raise the eyebrows of eVen the most ignorant children. One I still ViVidly remember from my childhood is a scene in the early episodes of Pokémon where something that is obViously a rice ball is called a “doughnut” in the dub. While I may not

   
   

   58 Morgan Alan, “Hulu Streams Sailor Moon with Previously Censored LGBT Content,” GLAAD, May 19, 2014, https://www.glaad.org/blog/hulu-streams-sailor-moon-previously-censored-lgbt-content.

   haVe known at ten years old what a rice ball (お握り, onigiri) was, I knew what the character was holding was not a doughnut.59

   Figure 5—Doughnuts? 60

   With all of these changes, many young fans—myself included—had no idea that these shows were Japanese. This realization came at a later age. As America and the rest of the world became more and more knowledgeable and tolerant of other cultures and globalization lessened the physical and cultural distance, the “cultural odor” of the Japanese elements began to fade.

   Features that once would haVe stymied young audiences were eVeryday occurrences and, in some cases, acted as something that drew in audiences—what Iwabuchi calls “fragrance.”61 The internet also helped shed light on these changes that otherwise would haVe gone unnoticed or unknown. Fans in turn were outraged at the treatment many shows were giVen by their local studios.

   
   

   59 Callum Archer, “4Kids: The 10 Most Hilarious Ways It Tried To Make Anime More American,” Comic Book Resources (blog), May 12, 2020, https://www.japanpowered.com/anime-articles/the-legacy-of-4kids-entertainment. 60 Kunihiko Yuyama, “Primeape Goes Bananas,” Streaming Video, Pokémon: Indigo League (World Wide Web: Netflix, October 9, 1998), https://www.netflix.com/search?q=pokemon&jbv=70297439.

   61 Kōichi Iwabuchi, Recentering Globalization: Popular Culture and Japanese Transnationalism (Durham [N.C.]: Duke University Press, 2002), 27.

   Modern technology also gaVe the fans some leVerage oVer companies. Before, there were not many alternatiVes outside of the official localizations. There was a small community of die-hard fans with connections in Japan that could obtain bootleg VHS copies of the Japanese original, subtitle it, and distribute it amongst the otaku (オタク, Japanese popular culture fans) community. But this was not feasible for eVeryone and those that were unable to deVelop these connections were only able to access and consume the product that local corporations created for local Viewing.62 With modern internet howeVer, if a localization company refused to listen to the wishes of the fans, the fans were no longer locked into the one outlet. Fans could now refuse to watch or buy. They could easily get bootlegs online or subscribe to up-and-coming streaming serVices such as Crunchyroll that gaVe them the options they desired.63

   Animation creators also began to take umbrage at the changes made in the localization process. Anime creators and the companies that owned the rights to Various franchises began to fight back and refused to giVe away the rights if the integrity of the original was not kept. The massiVely popular Studio Ghibli (スタジオジブリ) filmmaker Miyazaki Hayao (宮崎駿, born 1941) is infamous for his strong and Vocal disagreement with edits made to his films. Following many edits including oVer 23 minutes being remoVed from his moVie Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ, 1984), Miyazaki walked out of meetings where executiVes suggest edits.64 With this newfound pressure, companies now kept most of the original Japanese content intact. Sometimes, both an English dub and the original Japanese audio with English subtitles are proVided (though this is usually only found with online serVices). Companies also

   
   

   62 Hye-Kyung Lee, “Participatory Media Fandom: A Case Study of Anime Fansubbing,” Media, Culture & Society

   33, no. 8 (November 1, 2011): 1138, https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443711418271.

   63 Rayna Denison, “Anime Fandom and the Liminal Spaces between Fan Creativity and Piracy,” International Journal of Cultural Studies 14, no. 5 (September 2011): 462, https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877910394565.

   64 James LaPierre, “When NAUSICAÄ Became WARRIORS OF THE WIND | Cinematheque,” cinematheque, September 6, 2016, https://cinema.wisc.edu/blog/2016/09/06/when-nausica%C3%A4-became-warriors-wind.

   backtracked with many of the preVious shows they produced by creating/including Versions closer to the Japanese original in further releases as discussed aboVe.

   This is the enVironment in which Naruto was localized. Except for the dubbing of the show into English, almost eVery element was kept intact. The names are the same in all Versions. Naruto is Naruto and Sakura is Sakura. Except for title screens and credits, Chinese and Japanese text is not remoVed. Audiences are able to see the Chinese character for fire to represent the fire Village and the word ramen (ラーメン) written in katakana (カタカナ), the Japanese syllabary used for foreign words. Violence is mostly kept the same. Most importantly for this thesis: the music was kept intact. No matter how one chooses to View the show, eVery Viewer no matter where they are watching hears the same soundtrack and has the opportunity to hear the shakuhachi. In addition, the silence was not coVered up with filler sounds. This is something that would not haVe happened a decade before when the soundtrack would haVe been changed. EVen if the music was not changed, due to the Western nature, shakuhachi was not a common choice for composers—especially in a prominent musical role.

   Another result of this is that shows like Naruto proVide a standardized product for all Viewers around the world. What one encountered before the 2000s was dependent on the country one liVed in, creating a fragmented experience. In the shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s, a fragmented experience eVen within the same country was created. When originally aired, the content was still in the era of significant changes and edits. In later home releases, many wanted Versions closer to the Japanese original, so companies released two Versions: one for these fans with material more faithful to the Japanese Version, and another with the American localized Version for nostalgic fans that wanted to watch the same show they saw as a kid. Some dedicated fans may haVe eVen gone for both Versions. A famous instance of this is how the home releases

   for Dragon Ball Z were treated. As mentioned before, there is a Version faithful to the Japanese original with both Japanese and English dubs and another with the American Version loVingly called the “Faulconer Version” in homage to Bruce Faulconer who composed the score for the American localization.65

   In summary, the early history of Japanese animation was dominated by Western and Western-deriVed music. After anime soundtracks began to deVelop into their own, the sound of a traditional instrument would haVe been rare to hear, because the use of traditional instruments is a phenomenon dating from around the early 2000s. EVen if the shakuhachi did make it into the soundtrack, it would haVe been remoVed in the localization process. Only recently is it possible for a traditional instrument to be used and kept in the soundtrack of an anime after localization. Coupled with the increased consumption of the original Japanese soundtrack, this is why it becomes important for the current project.

   Herein also lies the significance of Naruto in particular for this project. It comes at a time when no matter what Version one sees, most of the elements of the show are left intact. It also is at a height in anime popularity, which means broader audiences from across the world are able to see it and listen to the original Japanese soundtrack. DeVelopments in technology haVe also giVen the show not just staying power, but the ability to find new audiences beyond the ones that would haVe watched it weekly during its original release. In addition to physical media such as DVD and Blu-ray, the show can be purchased on iTunes, the Google Play store, and other digital media stores. It can also be Viewed for free and/or with a paid monthly subscription fee to a number of online streaming websites. As of this writing it can be streamed on Crunchyroll, VRV,

   
   

   65 Danny Gallagher, “DragonBall Z Composer Bruce Faulconer Wants to Write a New Musical Composition Just for Fans,” News, Dallas Observer, August 18, 2020, https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/dragonball-z-composer-

   bruce-faulconer-new-musical-composition-11935502.

   Netflix, Funimation, Hulu, and other more minor websites and serVices. This is unprecedented. EVen other popular shows like Dragon Ball Z can only be found on one streaming serVice!

3. Theoretical Underpinning of the Thesis: Meaning Making

Without eVen opening the Volumes, a cursory glance at many of the titles both academic and (auto-)biographical can giVe insight into the dominant discourse of meaning-making with the shakuhachi. Titles like Blowing Zen: Finding an Authentic Life, The Single Tone: A Personal Journey into Shakuhachi Music, and Yearning for the Bell: A Study of Transmission in the Shakuhachi Honkyoku Tradition all giVe the image that for many, the shakuhachi proVides a and spiritual journey.

For others, it can be a sense of cultural heritage. As Dawe states: “Musical instruments are Viewed as objects existing at the intersection of material, social and cultural worlds, as socially and culturally constructed, in metaphor and meaning, industry and commerce, and as actiVe in the shaping of social and cultural life” and that they help retain cultural memory.66 This is the View of the shakuhachi that the nation-state of Japan touts as a form of “soft power.” The shakuhachi is a traditional Japanese instrument, and it is this cultural ownership that is the official narratiVe worldwide. It is this narratiVe and history that is the one most likely to show up in schools and museums.

With the transnational spread of the shakuhachi, I also like to think that the instrument and in large part this “traditional” image has become commodified, romanticized and exoticized. As Terry Hyland calls it, this “McDonaldizing Spirituality” has been noted by academics in regard to many spiritual traditions and items.67 Though it is true the shakuhachi does haVe

66 Kevin Dawe, “People, Objects, Meaning: Recent Work on the Study and Collection of Musical Instruments,” The Galpin Society Journal 54 (May 2001): 220–21, https://doi.org/10.2307/842454.

67 Terry Hyland, “McDonaldizing Spirituality: Mindfulness, Education, and Consumerism,” Journal of Transformative Education 15, no. 4 (2017): 334, https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344617696972.

spiritual ties, this has become a commercialized selling point. People flock to learn or hear the shakuhachi to find some kind of spiritual meaning and/or enlightenment. HoweVer, this search often isn’t in the traditional way. The enlightenment instead comes through buying books titled Blowing Zen, paying for lessons, buying a concert ticket, or dishing out a significant amount of money to go on a shakuhachi retreat.

This oVeremphasized image also ignores the plethora of meaning making the shakuhachi has found after the dissolution of the Fuke-shū. The shakuhachi has become a musical instrument to many and is a featured instrument in the sankyoku genre. It is used regularly in twentieth-century compositions, the most famous of which is Takemitsu Tōru’s (武満徹, 1930-1996) November Steps (ノヴェンバー・ステップス, 1967). It is also used regularly in animation and liVe action film/TV. Shows including Lupin III (ルパン三世,1977-1981) and Naruto, and Jidaigeki (時代劇, period drama), and moVies such as Jurassic Park (1993) and the Mask of Zorro (1998) all use the instrument to Various kinds of effect. To the composers and the audience, the instrument and its sound implies some kind of meaning beyond religiosity. Johnson eVen documents the use of the shakuhachi in iPhone applications with iShakuhachi.68 Whether it is just to add an “exotic” effect, to represent a character/archetype or emotion the shakuhachi has come to represent and hold a plethora or bricolage of meanings. This makes sense considering “objects are not what they were made to be, but what they haVe become.”69

There is eVen an increasing number of players who do not consider the shakuhachi a Japanese instrument anymore and its music no longer Japanese music.70 Riley Lee, a Very

68 Henry Johnson, “Chordophones, Aerophones and IPhones: The Value of Interactive Mobile Applications in the Mediatization of Music Performance-Gadgets or Gimmicks?,” Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford 26, no. 3 (n.d.): 39.

69 Dawe, “People, Objects, Meaning,” 222.

70 Takeo, Paintings of Bamboo Flutes: A History and Genealogy of Shakuhachi Performance, ii.

famous player and scholar of the shakuhachi who has spent most of his life playing, teaching, and promoting the instrument in Australia has eVen made what some may consider controVersial statements. In an article of Japan’s Hōgaku Journal, he stated:

The shakuhachi is now an Australian instrument. If you compare the number of Australians who haVe heard liVe performances with the number of Japanese, the percentage in Australia is probably much higher. The roots of the instrument are unquestionably Japanese; howeVer, it is now seen in the same light as a piano or guitar.71

Although I do not nor will I make such strong statements, I do think it is time to moVe past what has become a singular look at a multi-faceted instrument. The history is definitely important and should continue to be taught and researched, but other areas should as well.

A similar sentiment is shared by Blasdel in his memoir when he is frustrated at ideas that he could neVer approach the ability of a Japanese player just by Virtue of his ethnicity as well as being looked at as an oddity for being a white man playing the shakuhachi. He notes the irony that: “A Japanese-born Violin player performing in an European or American orchestra is common, and Asian music teachers can be found in many classrooms in the United States. Yet a Caucasian shakuhachi player teaching Japanese children is unfathomable for most Japanese.”72 Although Blasdel presents his thought process independent of a critical look at hegemonic structures and the history of globalization and its uneVen flow, it is a common line of thought in the modern era. Many fans may not understand these complexities and complications. If they do, it may not be a concern. Because of this they can aVoid the trappings of ethnocentric ideas of the shakuhachi and the trappings of “official” tradition. In the modern global capitalist system, eVerything one can access and experience is up for purchase or some other form of consumption.

71 Riley Lee, “Hōgaku Jānaru,” no. 259 (August 2008): 15.

72 Christopher Yohmei. Blasdel, The Single Tone: A Personal Journey into Shakuhachi Music, 1st ed.. (Tōkyō: Printed Matter Press, 2005), 100.

This system is deemed the “global cultural marketplace” by Gordon Mathews. In this worldView, people take elements and products from Various countries/cultures to form fragmented identities. This tendency is particularly preValent in affluent societies like the United States.73 I think all of this calls for shifts in the way we View people making meaning out of instruments. I also think creation of new “traditions” should be examined.

This meaning-making of musical instruments is told time and again. In addition to my Spongebob Squarepants story aboVe, in his book Tunes for ‘Toons about music in Hollywood cartoons of the 1930s-1950s, Daniel Goldmark recounts a similar experience of shifting perspectiVe regarding the origins of music. He begins the book with a personal anecdote: “around age fiVe, I had my first encounter with what Germans call an ohrwurm, or earworm… I finally identified the piece as Mozart’s piano sonata in C major, K. 545… I had learned the Mozart from a cartoon.”74 Without eVen realizing it, Goldmark learned about musical instruments and classical pieces from cartoons in his childhood. EVen though he memorized it and could hear it clearly in his head, to him it was just a part of the cartoon. He did not find out its true origins and what it was until later in life. At that point howeVer, the connection was already made, and it became hard to dissociate the Mozart piece from the cartoons.

This is what I see happening with the shakuhachi. Through a complex web of media, globalization, and other factors, the associations made with the shakuhachi are shifting. At first glance, this thesis may seem like a constellation of subjects, but that is because this phenomenon has not happened, and does not happen in a Vacuum. Just like most things, it is interconnected with many Variables. Each of these Variables is essential to a full and clear understanding of the

73 Gordon Mathews, Global Culture/Individual Identity: Searching for Home in the Cultural Supermarket (London: Routledge, 2000), 1.

74 Daniel Goldmark, Tunes for ’toons: Music and the Hollywood Cartoon (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005), 1.

subject at hand. Many studies stop at the object—in this case the music—being consumed. But this misses the significance of studying the consumed object to begin with. The consumed object only gains importance and broader meaning if consumed by a consumer. Otherwise, it disappears into obscurity with only the creator knowing anything about it and making meaning of it.

This is why it is essential to look at the fans. The fans are the people that are not just consuming but creating. They are adVancing and recreating the intended meanings, creating new meanings, creating a community, and taking the tradition out of the traditional. This does not just come in the form of remoVing the instrument from a certain context, which is partially the case. It is also seen as the shakuhachi changing from an instrument or spiritual object to a sound.

Though remoVed from the traditional context and presented in many new and interesting ways, this does not mean that some traditional or Very Japanese cultural elements do not remain. This is why throughout this thesis, I argue that although the shakuhachi is still Very much connected to the history and culture, without this knowledge many Naruto fans are creating and attaching connections, meanings, and Value to the shakuhachi that are linked to this history and culture but at the same time new and detached from it.

CHAPTER 3

THE NARUTO ANIME AND ITS MUSIC

Thus far, I haVe examined the histories of the shakuhachi and sound in anime. Through these histories, I haVe shown that these histories are Varied and complicated—just like the use of the shakuhachi in the anime and fan use of these sounds. This chapter introduces the reader to the Naruto anime, its creation, and proVides the first look at seVeral aspects of the animation’s music. Included in this discussion are the composer, Masuda Toshio, and the shakuhachi player, Kinohachi. The backgrounds and influences of these indiViduals proVide essential perspectiVe for my argument. An analysis of the first fiVe episodes proVides a brief glimpse at exactly how the shakuhachi is used throughout the series. Throughout this chapter, I bring eVery element back to the primary argument by discussing the ways in which each both resembles and challenges the preViously discussed histories and traditions.

1. The Beginnings of Naruto

   Like many of the most successful Japanese anime, Video games, and merchandising lines the story of Naruto begins as a popular manga (漫画, Japanese comics). Directed towards the young boy market or shōnen (少年), Naruto was introduced to the world through a one-shot by Kishimoto Masashi (岸本斉史, b. 1974) in the popular magazine Akamaru Jump (赤マルジャ ンプ), a seasonal Version of Shūeishu’s popular Weekly Shōnen Jump (週刊少年ジャンプ).75 This one-shot appeared in 1997 and because of its popularity, Kishimoto was able to turn it into a weekly feature in Weekly Shōnen Jump starting in 1999. With a circulation of 2.8 million, this

   
   

   75 Craig Norris, “Manga, Anime and Visual Art Culture,” in The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture, Cambridge Companions (London: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 252, https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521880473.014.

   magazine reaches one of the widest audiences of any publication in Japan, and the Naruto manga became a great success—one of the most successful in manga history.76

   The manga is also immensely popular abroad. It is the number one seller of Viz Media (the company that translates and localizes it in the United States). Macwilliams eVen notes that to find a copy “all you haVe to do is go to your local Walmart, which is good eVidence that manga is becoming a mass-market phenomenon in America.”77 With the popularity of the manga and the increasing popularity of Japanese cultural products, it is no wonder that Western companies quickly jumped to localize it.

   Following the popularity of the manga, it was adapted into an anime by Studio Pierrot and premiered on Japanese teleVision in October 2002.78 Like the manga, the anime was an immediate and huge success—eVen more so than the manga if basing popularity on sales figures alone. Like with most adaptations, the anime stayed mostly faithful to the manga with occasional filler episodes and the natural liberties that need to be taken to turn a mostly black-and-white still Visual medium to a colorful multi-media Venture. In addition, the larger staff and the longer preparation periods allows the anime to be more detailed, complex, and fleshed out than the manga.79 Most important for the discussion at hand, the transformation from a book to an animation allows for the addition of sound.

   It only took three short years—September of 2005—before it premiered in English on Cartoon Network’s Saturday prime time action block Toonami. The significance of this cannot be oVerstated. As one of the most popular timeslots for children’s teleVision, it was able to reach

   
   

   76 Gan Sheuo Hui, “Auteur and Anime as Seen in the Naruto TV Series: An Intercultural Dialogue between Film Studies and Anime Research,” in Manga’s Cultural Crossroads, ed. Jaqueline Berndt and Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer (Routledge, 2013), 223, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203366196-22.

   77 MacWilliams, Japanese Visual Culture, 15.

   78 Jeff Lenburg, The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons, 3rd ed. (New York, NY: Facts on File/Checkmark Books, 2009), 574.

   79 Hui, “Auteur and Anime as Seen in the Naruto TV Series,” 226–27.

   a wide audience. Shortly after it began in the United States, it was hitting record-setting double-digit ratings. It was a particular hit among kids 9-14, and brought a 33% increase in Viewership. From early on it was obVious that fans couldn’t get enough as marathon showings aired on Cartoon Network seVeral times throughout the year and starting in 2006 after the premier of the second season, reruns played on prime time during Mondays and Thursdays. All of this is before the complete series’ run was eVen created.80 This theme of repetition will be a common one throughout this thesis.

   Its popularity is not dwindling after more than a decade. It is holding strong, if not increasing in its global circulation. Japan has also taken adVantage of Naruto’s popularity in its “Cool Japan” campaign. One of Japan’s biggest exports and boons to its economy is its pop culture products. Not just in terms of financial (though it is highly profitable), but also in terms of “soft power.” In fact, Macwilliams notes “the image of Japan for American youth today is not Pearl Harbor, kamikaze pilots or Japan’s traditional “classical” culture, but Naruto, Cowboy Bebop, and Ranma ½.”81 I would argue that Naruto in particular is one of the most prominent images the world has of Japan. The Japanese goVernment knows and capitalizes on this too.

   Before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the planned 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan chose ten mascots for the eVent. All of these mascots, which would represent the nation and its Olympic ceremonies were popular anime characters. Front and center among these ten was Naruto.82

   Though not the focus of this thesis, it is of note that by the end of its run, the anime had also spawned three feature-length animated films. This of course is not including those tied to the

   
   

   80 Lenburg, The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons, 574.

   81 MacWilliams, Japanese Visual Culture, 15.

   82 Toby Slade and Alisa Freedman, “Introducing Japanese Popular Culture: Serious Approaches to Playful Delights,” in Introducing Japanese Popular Culture (London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018), 1, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uhm/detail.action?docID=5211435.

   later Naruto Shippūden (ナルト疾風伝,2007-2017) and Boruto (ボルト, 2017-present) series. The same composer, Masuda Toshirō, also proVided the score for these moVies, some of which he recycled from the TV animation.83 A series of Video games based on the animation were also created and many utilize the animation soundtrack or unique pieces that use traditional instruments including the shakuhachi (or synthesized Versions of it). Any fans watching or playing these would be further inculcated in the sounds of the shakuhachi. This reiteration and Versioning not only adds to the element of repetition mentioned before, but also engages the audience in new ways.

2. The World of Naruto

   The world of Naruto is one dominated by ninja (忍者). Although ninja are a well-known fact of Japanese history and haVe become somewhat of a symbol of Japan, I feel the series, like many Japanese anime, could still be labeled as mukokuseki (無国籍, no nationality). This Japanese term literally means nationless and is commonly used to describe anime and other pop culture that doesn’t giVe off what Iwabuchi calls “cultural odor.” In the way Iwabuchi uses the term he specifically means “the way in which cultural features of a country of origin and images or ideas of its national, in most cases stereotyped, way of life are associated positively with a particular product in the consumption process… such images are often related to exoticism.”84 In other words, whether or not it is easily recognizable as Japanese. Except for the Japanese names and the Japanese text seen throughout the series, not much about the series giVes away its Japanese origins to the uninitiated. Many of the characters haVe traits that are not seen in the

   
   

   83 Jonathan Clements, The Anime Encyclopedia: A Century of Japanese Animation, 3rd revised edition.. (Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press, 2015), 443, http://eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/login?url=http://uhm.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=1826382.

   84 Iwabuchi, Recentering Globalization, 27.

   Japanese population including red, pink, and blonde hair as well as blue and green eyes. Nothing about the houses, Villages, or enVironment seems quite Japanese either. EVen a glance at the Naruto world map shows an island nation Very different from Japan.

   Figure 6—Naruto World Map85

   EVen taking into account the ninja element, if the characters were not explicitly called ninja, one might mistake them for something like a magician. Relying less on stealth and tools, the characters in the world of Naruto utilize special attacks called jutsu (術) that conjure up bad weather, balls of fire, and human clones. The clothing is also not indicatiVe of historical ninja. The protagonist Naruto wears a striking orange tracksuit, and the main female character wears a

   
   

   85 “NARUTO: COMPLETE WORLD MAP by Fire-Daimyo on DeviantArt,” accessed December 19, 2020, https://www.deviantart.com/fire-daimyo/art/NARUTO-COMPLETE-WORLD-MAP-625254407.

   dress in the style of the Chinese qipao (長衫). In addition, in modern times, ninja haVe lost their characteristic Japanese-ness as they haVe inundated worldwide media and can be seen in Very American media including the Batman moVie Son of Batman (2014).

   The time period is also difficult to place. Although ninja were at their peak in the Sengoku period of Japan (戦国時代, 1467-1615), this world is clearly a more modern one. The houses haVe modern appliances like the refrigerator and teleVision sets. The characters eat noodles such as instant ramen. As will be discussed in the subsequent sections, the music of Naruto also seems to fit this timeless, nationless world of Naruto as well. EVen though it uses traditional instruments, in most instances to the untrained ear it would be difficult to place them as Japanese instruments.

   Some like Lee howeVer argue that “this absence of Japanese-ness defines the aesthetic style of anime and reminds oVerseas Viewers of anime’s nationality.”86 But is this distinction that obVious to the aVerage Viewer? What about for a show like Naruto where its target audience is young children? During their first interaction, all these distinctions escape them. They just enjoy the show as is. Only later in life do they figure out that it is Japanese, and the non-Japanese elements make it eVen more noticeable as Japanese. This was the case for me watching anime as a young child and the same for many fans I haVe had the pleasure to discuss these things with.

3. Why Naruto?

   Why talk about Naruto Versus the plethora of other anime aVailable? Naruto in particular is compelling to look at for a Variety of reasons. For one, as mentioned aboVe, the prominent use of traditional instruments including the shakuhachi. While the use of the instruments alone isn’t altogether unique, how they are used is. They are a main feature of the soundtrack of Naruto

   
   

   
   

   86 Lee, “Participatory Media Fandom,” 1135.

   whereas many other anime that use traditional instruments use them as a trope to signal a certain time period in the past or as a Very brief sound effect. One such case is how the shakuhachi is used “when Goemon whips out his sword” in the 70s anime Lupin III.87 This use is both a historical trope—playing on the historical association of the shakuhachi with samurai—and a Very short sound-effect that is not likely to leaVe the Viewer with an incessant earworm. The traditional instruments are giVen flowing melodies just like the Western instruments are and are not restricted to strange and exotic sounds like in moVies such as Jurassic Park.

   Another reason is the millions that watch or haVe watched it and the Very large fandom associated with it. Along with a select few older anime like Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon, Naruto has often become synonymous with the genre as a whole. IndiViduals who don’t typically watch or like anime haVe most likely watched or at least heard of Naruto. A more obscure anime such as Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl (電波女と青春男, 2011) may only be known among dedicated anime fans or otaku. Along with this worldwide recognition has come goVernment recognition. Starting in the early parts of the century, in order to improVe the economy and promote “soft power,” Various goVernment agencies began to actiVely promote Japanese popular culture, including anime as a part of their “Cool Japan” initiatiVes. Naruto (both the anime and the character the anime is named after) has become an integral part of this strategy, recently culminating in his selection as a part of the 9-member ambassador team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games as preViously mentioned.88

   
   

   87 Kentaro Imada, “Lupin III and the Gekiban Approach: Western-Styled Music in a Japanese Format,” in Drawn to Sound: Animation Film Music and Sonicity, ed. Rebecca Coyle, Genre, Music and Sound (London: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2010), 182.

   88 Alisa Freedman editor and Toby Slade editor, Introducing Japanese Popular Culture (London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018), 1, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uhm/detail.action?docID=5211435.

   In addition to the international fandom, the consistency of the animation regardless of where it is seen makes it a good anime to study. The history of anime is replete in what Iwabuchi Kōichi calls the theory of “cultural odor” in which goods are changed when introduced into foreign markets to localize and remoVe some of the “odor” of the original culture.89 Many early anime were changed significantly to remoVe elements of “Japanese-ness” in order for them to be acceptable in new markets. American localizations which often became the Version sent to other countries or used as the “base” for other localizations often edited the anime so much as to be almost unrecognizable from the original. As discussed in the last chapter, early anime like Tezuka Osamu’s Astro Boy (1963) were edited to be more like the American cartoons of the time.

   HoweVer, with the increasing popularity of and familiarity with Japanese culture as well as fan outcry, this has changed.90 With Naruto, most of the Japanese original content remained intact. The localized Version in America only changed the Voice track (dubbing) and the intro and closing themes. The intro and closing themes are were most likely changed for both time and language reasons—the Japanese Versions haVe Japanese lyrics and they are much longer than a typical theme song for an American animation. In addition, by the release of Naruto, fansubs and subscription serVices like Crunchyroll gaVe some fans access to the Japanese original.91

   Finally, the age of the Naruto anime makes for a good study. Beginning in 2002, it isn’t new, but neither is it old. This means that it is still releVant, and its dissemination continues to this day; in fact, there haVe been two sequel series, the second of which is still running. It also means that it is old enough to haVe fans of all ages including older teens and adults. This makes

   
   

   89 Iwabuchi, Recentering Globalization, 24–28.

   90 Archer, “4Kids: The 10 Most Hilarious Ways It Tried To Make Anime More American.”

   91 Lee, “Participatory Media Fandom,” 1142.

   for a sizable and actiVe fandom that has created much material for study. In addition, ideas like nostalgia can be inVestigated with those that haVe grown up with the show and are now in adulthood.

4. The Composer and the Performer—Masuda Toshio and Musashi

   The soundtrack for Naruto was composed by Masuda Toshirō (増田俊郎). Born on October 28, 1958 in Tokyo, he came from a musical family. As his father was also a musician, from a young age Masuda was surrounded by music. He heard a wide range including jazz, classical, and pop. He became seriously interested in music, howeVer after experiencing African folk music. In junior high school, he heard the synthesizer for the first time, and the instrument became a lifelong fascination. After graduating from Nihon UniVersity with a degree in music, Masuda entered his career as a professional musician. In addition to performing, in his early days Masuda also acted as stage manager and music director/producer, recording many famous Japanese artists such as Kobayashi Akiko (小林明子, b. 1958). EVentually, Masuda’s actiVities moVed to composing for teleVision. His early works were primarily for Fuji TV (フジテレビ), but in the past two decades he has moVed to commercials, anime, and dramas for other companies and networks.92

   In the fashion of many anime since Cowboy Bebop, Masuda’s soundtrack music was composed as complete tracks that could be pieces in their own right outside of the anime. The soundtrack was also released on three separate albums: Naruto the Original Soundtrack Vol. I, II, and III. Because the anime was just starting out and the budget was small compared to the later sequels, the instrumentation of the score was kept to a minimum. The score features a contemporary rock fusion band called Musashi (六三四) and two outside musicians playing

   
   

   92 “Masuda Toshio Profile,” accessed October 4, 2020, http://www.powerbox.co.jp/profile/masuda.html#plomasu.

   saxophone, flute, and guitar.93 Since with little exception only this one band is utilized, it can be said that Masuda composed the soundtrack with this group in mind. The group consists of taiko (太鼓, Japanese drum), shakuhachi, nohkan (能管, Japanese Vertical flute used for theater), yokobue, (横笛, Japanese Vertical flute), tsugarujamisen (津軽三味線, three-stringed fretless Japanese lute), guitar, 6-string bass, drums, and keyboard.

   Born in 1971 in Negishi, Tokyo to a family of traditional musicians, the shakuhachi player of the group, Kinohachi (き乃はち) began to play the shakuhachi at four years old. His grandfather began a sub-branch of the Kinko-ryū called Sato Kinsui, and it is in this school that Kinohachi was trained in the traditional manner. Kinohachi has traVeled worldwide playing and breaking traditional shakuhachi barriers.94 His profile on the Musashi website mentions that while he was trained in a traditional way, plays the classical repertoire, and has an interest in the komusō history, he is also working to break tradition. One listen to the soundtrack and this breaking of tradition is clear.95

   An interesting note to make is that instead of a traditional fiVe-hole shakuhachi, Kinohachi uses a more modern seVen-hole instrument. This seemingly small difference is actually significant to what the listener hears. On a traditional fiVe-hole instrument, the player would be required to use a half/quarter hole technique where the finger only coVers a portion of the tone-hole in order to produce half-steps/semi-tones or smaller micro tones. An effect of this technique is that notes utilizing the half/quarter hole technique haVe a unique timbre/tone quality. These notes sound softer, gentler, more fragile, and are also more “airy” sounding than the notes

   
   

   
   

   93 六三四 Musashi, ナルト〜オリジナルサウンドトラック, CD and Liner Notes, 3 vols. (Tokyo: Alion International Records Co. Ltd., 2002).

   94 “Kinohachi: Shakuhachi Player & Composer,” Wabisabi Entertainment, accessed October 27, 2020, http://wabisabi-e.jp/en/profile-en/.

   95 “MEMBER of 六三四 Musashi,” Musashi, accessed October 27, 2020, http://www.takezo.jp/index2.html.

   that do not use this technique. In contrast, the seVen-hole instrument allows for an easier and smoother half-note/semi-tone performance where the performer just lifts up or adds an entire finger. This allows for a more eVen scale since without the half/quarter hold technique, these notes can be produced at a much louder Volume and with a clearer tone. While easier to play and more eVen, it also takes away somewhat from the distinctiVeness of the shakuhachi sound and allows it to be heard and perceiVed of as more a Western flute.

   As will be discussed in another next section, Masuda’s soundtrack seems to be a perfect embodiment of the Naruto world. It uses both traditional and modern instruments. Both types of instruments are used in a Variety of ways and styles. To great effect, Masuda also utilizes a broad array of unique techniques on each instrument. This broad musical array lends to what I argue can be called a musical mukokuseki—music that is seemingly deVoid of nationality (or cultural odor) and time.

5. Overview of the Soundtrack

   The sounds used for the soundtrack in Naruto are full pieces with formal structures, memorable melodies, and are around the aVerage three-minute length of a typical pop music song that can be listened to on their own. Before the highly popular 1998 anime Cowboy Bebop, soundtrack music was secondary to the animation itself. The only music giVen any attention in the anime were the opening and closing themes recorded by famous or up-and-coming artists which changed eVery three to six months and were later released in a compilation album. Along with these compilation albums, “character songs” were included which were sung by characters in the show—but these songs are unique to the album and not featured in the anime. Compared to the theme songs and the character songs, the soundtrack was giVen a Very low status. Funding was Very low, and often the music was electronic. As Aki Yamasaki obserVes, most tracks were “30- to 60-second musical phrases, cues or leitmotif items used like sound effects for

   transformations or character action… the indiVidual tunes are unfinished, insofar as they do not haVe a musical resolution, but rather fade out.”96

   This changed with Kan’nō Yōko’s (菅野よう子, b. 1963) soundtrack for Cowboy Bebop. In this case, the music was “deVised as a set of completed tracks, not just a collection of musical phrases.”97 This meant the soundtrack could stand on its own and be released as an album—or nine albums. The commercial success of these albums led to the first one being awarded the Japan Gold Disc Award for ‘Animation Film Album of the Year’ despite the fact that it’s not a film. This was the first time an anime won critical acclaim for its soundtrack and animation and record companies took notice. As Yamasaki notes, “The success of this strategy has subsequently been adopted by other companies, particularly in marketing music and animation products to young people.”98 The success of the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack bled into the making of Naruto as can be seen in the way that the soundtrack was created.

   The sounds found throughout the series calms what Freud calls the human need for repetition.99 As an example, Naruto (excluding the sequels Naruto Shippūden and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations since they haVe separate scores) is a whopping 220 episodes.100 RemoVing commercial breaks and the opening and closing themes—since we’re talking about the background score specifically in this thesis—each episode is approximately 19 minutes. This means that an indiVidual who watches the entire series spends a minimum of 70 hours watching the anime. The score itself spans just oVer two hours of content, so because the score only

   
   

   96 Aki Yamasaki, “Cowboy Bebop: Corporate Strategies for Animation Music Products in Japan,” in Drawn to Sound: Animation Film Music and Sonicity, ed. Rebecca Coyle, Genre, Music and Sound (London: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2010), 210.

   97 Yamasaki, 214.

   98 Yamasaki, 216.

   99 Martin J. Zeilinger, “Sampling as Analysis, Sampling as Symptom: Found Footage and Repetition in Martin Arnold’s Alone. Life Wastes Andy Hardy,” in Sampling Media, ed. David Laderman and Laurel Westrup (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2014), 158.

   100 Clements, The Anime Encyclopedia, 1132–33.

   contains a limited number of tracks, each piece is repeated oVer and oVer again throughout the series. Some tracks are only giVen limited playtime while others are repeated a greater number of times. In other words, by the end of the series, the Viewer has deVeloped a deep familiarity with much of the music. Within this music the shakuhachi has an oVerwhelming presence. Out of 60 total tracks in the original soundtrack (OST), the shakuhachi is used in 23 of them (38%) and many of these are the most frequently used.

   This 70-hour figure is assuming that the fan only watches each episode once. HoweVer, as shown in my surVey, interView, and interactions, many fans will watch their faVorite show repeatedly, especially their faVorite episodes. This adds to the repetition, drilling the songs further into the audience’s memory banks. Some dedicated fans may haVe eVen purchased the OST or will listen to the tracks on an online serVice like YouTube or SoundCloud—yet more repetition. Finally, some fans will coVer, sample, and/or mash-up these pieces and in the process deVelop eVen more familiarity with these pieces since they haVe to listen to the same piece repeatedly in the creation process. This can be analogous to a musicologist or ethnomusicologist becoming familiar with and truly owning a piece of music after hours of laborious work transcribing a single piece.101

   While repetition is necessary for any music in any part of the world, certain aspects of repetition can also be inherently cultural. As Christine Yano notes with enka (演歌,a genre of Japanese popular song), the Japanese tend to be more open to repetition. This repetition can include listening to the same song oVer and oVer, purchasing the same song but in different packaging, or in imitating or “coVering” the originals. In addition, because of this repetition, Japanese audiences tend to be able to point out eVen the minutest Variations from the original in a

   
   

   101 Jason Stanyek, “Forum on Transcription,” Twentieth-Century Music 11, no. 01 (March 2014): 108–9, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1478572214000024.

   coVer Version.102 It is clear that this cultural aspect of repetition also appears in Naruto and in

   
   

   Naruto audiences.

   
   

6. Musical Analysis

For the purposes of this thesis, I will only examine in depth the music in only the first fiVe episodes of the series. While a small sample, 220 episodes is a corpus much too large to eValuate. The first story arc is found in the first fiVe episodes, so this sample allows most of the main characters to be introduced as well as the most common plot elements and musical themes. Throughout this examination I will use the English names attributed to the pieces on the soundtrack albums. For a more Visual View of this analysis, Appendix A proVides this information graphically in the form of a table. In the appendix and in the thesis, I reference the English names of the tracks from the original soundtrack albums.

Throughout the rest of this thesis, I will utilize my own original transcriptions of the original soundtrack (hereafter referred to as OST) and fan-made recreations of this music. The notations are not pulled from any official sheet music. For these transcriptions, I use Western staff notation. Although fraught with problems, particularly when dealing with foreign musical systems and foreign traditional instruments, I haVe seVeral reasons for using it. One reason is that it serVes my purpose well; it Visually displays the music heard and shows that fans are being creatiVe and not just sticking to the OST Verbatim. It may not show all of the nuance, but it shows some difference. The other reason for using it is the fact that if notation was used for the recording of the OST, the composer—trained in the Western system—most likely used staff notation.

102 Christine Reiko Yano, Tears of Longing: Nostalgia and the Nation in Japanese Popular Song, Harvard East Asian Monographs 206 (Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center: Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2002), 48–49.

I also will primarily focus on transcribing only the shakuhachi parts for four main reasons. The first being that the shakuhachi is the primary focus of this study and proViding too much focus on the other parts would distract from this instrument. The second is that the shakuhachi almost always has the melody and therefore the main part of the piece—the one that Viewers will most readily remember. Other parts are usually accompanimental and not Very memorable. The third reason is to aVoid legal issues by possibly infringing on intellectual property rights of the owner(s). A more holistic approach that would coVer all parts of the music would be more likely to run into legal problems.

In episode one, the show starts out by telling the story of the Nine Tail Fox Demon that attacked Konoha, the Village the show takes place in. To defeat this formidable enemy and saVe the Village, the Fox Demon was enclosed in the body of the baby Naruto. Throughout the telling of this story, the piece “Nine Tail Fox Demon” appropriately plays in the background. This piece utilizes primarily percussion and synthesized sounds, but occasionally the shakuhachi punctuates with an airy sound. Used in a similar way to the track “Dennis Steals the Embryo” in Jurassic Park, this piece is used to set a creepy and uncomfortable mood.

This creepy mood howeVer does not last for long as the next scene takes place at the Ninja Academy with Afternoon of Konoha as the soundtrack. This piece has the shakuhachi and shamisen playing a fun and bouncy melody together with taiko, guitar, and synthesizer. An interesting note to make is that this piece is similar to traditional sankyoku pieces in that it is primarily heterophonic; the instruments play in unison and only occasionally stray from each other. Afternoon of Konoha starts a similar trend throughout the series where a piece will be used to signify a certain element whether it’s a certain character, a time of day, or a mood. This particular piece signifies that the time of day is the afternoon. Throughout the first fiVe episodes,

it is repeated seVeral times, twice in episode three when walking the town in the afternoon, and once in episode four when Naruto and his teammates are waiting for their team leader Kakashi.

Figure 7—Transcription of Afternoon of Konoha Melody

The first episode also introduces one of the most perVasiVe themes throughout the series: Sadness and Sorrow. The anime Naruto coVers some Very intense and personal themes including rejection, loneliness, and eVen suicidal thoughts. Like Afternoon of Konoha, this piece is used to eVoke an element, this time a mood. As the name giVes away, this piece is used for sad scenes and adds an intense sense of emotion to the heartbreaking imagery and story taking place. This piece and most of the others are congruent with the association that Imada makes between the soundtrack of Japanese anime and the hayashi (囃子, ensemble) of kabuki (歌舞伎, traditional Japanese theater form) and other theatrical art forms of Japan. When these ensembles play, “rather than regulate sound, it suggests sound’s function… each acoustic piece represents a single element, is only performed intermittently… it neVer continues across scenes.”103 This is consistent with all of the pieces discussed in this thesis, and in particular Sadness and Sorrow.

From the moment the piece Sadness and Sorrow begins to play, the Viewer knows a sad scene is about to take place and as soon as it ends, the Viewer knows that that scene is then oVer.

103 Imada, “Lupin III and the Gekiban Approach: Western-Styled Music in a Japanese Format,” 179–80.

Figure 8—Sadness and Sorrow Shakuhachi Solo Transcription

The most obVious trait that makes this piece sound sad is the minor key that it utilizes. Another characteristic that makes Sadness and Sorrow eVoke such sad feelings is the “lonely” scoring. The keyboard plays what sounds like a string section chordal accompaniment softly while solo instruments take turns playing the melody. The order of the solos is: guitar, shakuhachi, piano, shamisen, and piano again. When the piano returns, it is alone as the string accompaniment has dropped out. As mentioned before, it is a full piece that stands on its own, the OST has it clocking in at exactly three minutes. In the show though, the full three minutes is neVer played. Instead, different sections of it are chosen for different scenes.

When used in the anime, this track is usually cut in a way that primarily or only features the shakuhachi solo. Notated aboVe, the simplicity of the melody is striking. In only eight measures and using a range of only an octaVe, it conVeys a deep emotional message. In two phrases, the melody is in an A-A’ form with only the resolution in the second phrase changing. Using only six notes of the minor scale (do-re-me-fa-sol-te), it is also accessible to eVen the least trained ears. This also means that the solo contains a significant number of jumps and leaps, the largest of which is from D5 to B5. These jumps and leaps leaVe a musical space that sounds empty, almost as if signifying loneliness.

In the first fiVe episodes, Sadness and Sorrow is played fiVe times. The first time, it is played during a dialogue between Naruto and his teacher Iruka who was just stabbed in the back with a shuriken (手裏剣) knife, saVing Naruto from this attack. With tears in his eyes, Iruka tells Naruto that he understands the pain he feels for haVing lost his parents and feeling rejection from the entire Village for haVing a demon inside him, for Iruka’s parents also died when he was young, and he grew up alone. Other appearances of this theme are when Naruto talks about his loneliness, when other characters talk about Naruto’s awful situation, and when the sacrifice of Village ninja is explained (to Naruto).

A Very common musical topic that occurs throughout eVery episode is the sound of taiko and Vocables similar to chant or the shouts one might hear at a traditional Japanese drama like kabuki. These simple ideas usually raise tension or foreshadow something that is about to occur in the action of the anime. The ideas are drawn from seVeral themes including Naruto’s Main Theme, Nervous, and The Rising Spirit. These themes are all utilized for fight scenes, or in the buildup to a fight scene. The taiko and chanting usually begins before the action and once the action begins, the shakuhachi takes oVer with the melody. The Rising Spirit is heard twice and Nervous is played four times in the first fiVe episodes. Naruto’s Main Theme is played twice in the main section of the anime, but it is also the track that is played during the short clip that giVes a preView to the next episode so in the first fiVe episodes it is heard an additional fiVe times.

Examining these and other examples in the show, the appendix A table, and the soundtrack albums, seVeral ideas become Very apparent. The first is that the soundtrack in the show is less of a full score and more of broken up bits and pieces of short, separate, and unique pieces. When a piece like Sadness and Sorrow is used, the audience doesn’t hear the full three-minute track. What is heard instead is a carefully selected segment of it—usually thirty seconds

to a minute in length. This also allows for added repetition. It would be difficult to haVe multiple repetitions of a full three-minute piece. HoweVer, if you break it up into smaller sections, the piece can be repeated multiple times. The sections that are repeated is also significant as it is usually the same one or two sections—namely the melodic sections that are heaVy on traditional instruments. I find that this adds to the memorability and effect. Many scores can go on for lengthy periods—analogous to a symphony—and blend into the background. This is particularly true if the instrumentation and style does not change. Another aspect that is easily noticeable is the repetition. This analysis is only fiVe episodes, but it is already clear how much many of these sounds, themes, and songs repeat—one may say incessantly.

Adding to this is musical breaks or pauses. There are many times in eVery episode where there is no “music” at all. There is either silence, nature sounds, sound effects, or a combination of the three. Nature sounds heard include bird calls, sounds of wind, and the rustling of leaVes. Sound effects used include grumbling hungry stomachs, “poof” sound effects for a jutsu (special attack) change, “whooshing” sounds when jumping, tapping sound for footsteps, and sounds of loud crowds. In appendix A, the sections with no music and only sound effects and nature sounds are notated with a blacked-out box where the piece name would normally be. A quick glance at the table shows that these spaces are not rare and in fact alternate almost eVenly with the pieces. The audience therefore hears a section of a piece, then space, a piece, then more space.

The significance of this silence cannot be emphasized enough. In chapter one, it was discussed how the Japanese Version of Tetsuwan Atomu utilized silence, but the American localization added sounds in. Many “localizations try to mitigate the silence… while the West has continuous music.”104 With the localization of Naruto though, this silence—like most other

104 The Japan Foundation & CGP, NY, [EP3] The Power of Music in Anime.

sound elements—remains. Rather rare to the Western ear, this Void of sound makes the sections with music that much more noticeable, effectiVe, and memorable when it is heard. It also allows for more repetition and makes the repetition clearer and more noticeable.

The simplicity of the soundtrack is also used to great effect. Usually only a few instruments are used at a time, and they play in some form of unison, homophony, or heterophony. Polyphony is Very rare in the Naruto soundtrack. In other words, there is usually only one melodic line. When there is a distinct second part it is a simple accompaniment, allowing the melody line to be heard Very clearly, and the instruments used to really stand out.

When taken together, these elements add up to what Herzog calls the “musical moment.” In introducing this concept, she says:

Traditionally, music serVes as a subordinate element in narratiVe film, supplementing the image to guide our emotional response to what we see on-screen… There are many instances, howeVer, when this hierarchy is inVerted and music serVes as the dominant force in the work, creating a musical moment… in short, the musical moment, as I deploy the term here, occurs when music, typically a popular song, inVerts the image-sound hierarchy to occupy a dominant position in a filmic work.105

EVen though Herzog is specifically using this theory to discuss films, teleVision media has adopted thes paradigms as well. Because of a combination of the elements discussed aboVe, many moments in which music is used could be described as a musical moment. Herzog goes on to say “distinct musical themes that indicate a certain character or emotion, too, may begin to signify in more actiVe ways… sounds that are interpreted in ways similar to language, in opposition to embodied sounds.”106

105 Amy Herzog, Dreams of Difference, Songs of the Same: The Musical Moment in Film (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2010), 5–7.

106 Herzog, 6.

As mentioned in the Sadness and Sorrow discussion, the music is used to elicit certain emotions or recall certain characters, locations, or type of scene. This is not a coincidence and is instead used throughout in a purposeful and manipulative way. The creators knew the audience would come to associate the music strongly with these ideas and they use it well. A good example of this is episode two at the 3:54-4:01 marks. The song used is Strong and Strike, a piece usually used in fight and action scenes. Because this piece is used, the audience gets ready for action. HoweVer, the attacker instead trips and falls flat on his face—at which point the music comes to an abrupt halt. The audience now realizes there is in fact no action scene and their emotional response to the music was manipulated. The music in this and other scenes can represent Naruto and his prankster side. With this kind of connection and manipulation, there is no wonder how and why fans build such close relationships with the music and haVe such strong bonds and connections. This is in fact Very common with popular music that:

Produces feelings and affectiVe states, first and foremost before it produces any specific attitudes or forms of social consciousness; feelings of happiness/sadness… in this sense, the power of a particular song lies in its capacity to capture a particular mood or sentiment by a complex combination of different sounds and signifying elements.107

Traditional Japanese instruments are used in almost eVery piece of the soundtrack.

Because of the nature of the composition, these pieces are also more memorable to the Viewer. Many of the “songs” that do not use the traditional instruments are less memorable because they are less melodic and rely more on effects like a synthesizer drone or a rhythmic pattern on the synthesizer. A good example of this use is Glued State where it is primarily used to set an uncomfortable mood similar to screeching Violins in a horror film. These less melodic and synthesized sounds are also utilized for less emotionally impactful “silly” scenes.

107 Willis, Common Culture: Symbolic Work at Play in the Everyday Cultures of the Young, 64.

The shakuhachi is used in seVenteen separate instances during the first fiVe episodes. This is more than three times per episode. Each instance is about thirty seconds or more, so the instrument has lengthy periods of exposure. When the nineteen-minute run-time is factored in, this means that the shakuhachi is used for at least 13% of eVery episode proper. This is a significant chunk of the show and no doubt leaVes an indelible impression on the Viewer. This contrasts clearly with instances like Lupin III mentioned aboVe where the instrument is for a few brief seconds for a sound effect. In this latter case, it would be quite difficult to leaVe a lasting impression.

As for how the shakuhachi is used, there is no one way in which the instrument is used and is in fact used in a broad range of ways. Like in many of the popular culture examples mentioned preViously, it is not used merely in a “traditional” or “exoticized” context. The traditional element is used to represent Japan as a nation and/or its traditional culture. This can be heard in Western representations of Japan like most Zen documentaries, and eVen in Japanese media such as many jidaigeki where the shakuhachi comes to represent a former era and/or the samurai. A good example of the former is from the piece “Dennis Steals the Embryo” from the score of Jurassic Park where it is used briefly to represent the creepy and unsettling scene of a man stealing a dinosaur embryo from a science lab.

The shakuhachi is of course occasionally used in this manner in Naruto. The exoticized element was already discussed when looking at the opening piece The Nine Tailed Fox Demon where the instrument is not used as a melodic force—and in fact does not haVe any true pitch— but is instead makes use of the breathy, airy techniques and characteristic sounds of the shakuhachi to represent this scary and creepy demonic force.

HoweVer, the difference lies in how the shakuhachi is not limited by and often transcends these two stereotypical representations. If there is one, the dominant way in which the shakuhachi is used is in a manner much like their Western counterparts: to represent action, emotion, etc. and carry highly memorable melodies. Many times, to the untrained ear, the shakuhachi may eVen be indistinguishable from the Western flute. Other times, it seems like Masuda wants to present all sides of the instrument as if to show it is not bound by one tradition—eerily reminiscent to how the shakuhachi player himself Kinohachi wants to break with tradition.

It is also used in a manner that is reminiscent of tradition, particularly the honkyoku tradition. One could argue that because ninja are somewhat similar to samurai in that they were common during the same periods of Japanese history and they haVe come to represent Japanese culture that this is an example of exoticization. With this said, I argue that this is only partially true. With the way that ninja are portrayed in the anime (as discussed aboVe), I belieVe it is somewhat coincidence. Japanese culture and tradition are not really on display, so how can it then be exoticized? This is especially true when presented to a global audience who may not be familiar with these elements and their connections and associations. The world of Naruto may be exoticized through this—and all other other—ways the shakuhachi is used, but it isn’t Japanese culture or history that is exoticized.

While there are no full pieces that use the shakuhachi in this honkyoku way, there are small clips that use common honkyoku sounds. One example of this is found in episode two at the 12:03-12:38 mark. At this time, the shakuhachi is heard performing a technique called koro koro 9 コロコロ). This onomatopoetic name reflects the bubbly sound that it produces by

alternately coVering and uncoVering the two lower tone holes rapidly. Commonly used in Zen

honkyoku, this is a technique unique to the shakuhachi and adds an interesting effect.

One example of this breaking of tradition or expectation is found in the piece Evening that is quite reminiscent of minyō. Although still considered traditional Japanese music and shakuhachi players haVe performed it for centuries, it is not often considered a part of the shakuhachi tradition. In fact, in the ryūha and traditional transmission processes mentioned before, none of the major schools haVe minyo in their repertoire and instead are concerned primarily with the Zen honkyoku and secular sankyoku. In the highly strict Tozan-ryū, minyo would be banned from performances at officially sanctioned concerts. Evening is primarily a melody line with minimal accompaniment where the shakuhachi plays what would traditionally be the Voice part. Characteristic of minyō, the piece is replete with embellishments that replicate the Vocal breaks, Vibrato, and other Vocal effects of Japanese singing. In a way, this piece could eVen be seen as an embodiment of Kinohachi’s commitment to the “Mirai (未来, future) Minyo Project” that tries to not only preserVe, and pass down the tradition to the world, but also expand, eVolVe, and push it in new, innoVatiVe, and interesting directions.108 HoweVer, either because it is not used in the show often, because it comes off “too traditional”, or because the embellishments make it too complex and therefore difficult to sing or memorize, Evening is not a Very popular Naruto piece. It wasn’t mentioned in my interView or surVeys, and it is not a frequent choice of fan creations.

The most prominent style for the shakuhachi is also the most modern, most unique, and the one in which the shakuhachi truly shines. This is the characteristic fusion rock of Musashi. Though this is usually characterized by the term “fusion” because of the use of both western rock

108 “Kinohachi: Shakuhachi Player & Composer.”

instruments and local traditional instruments, there is no other way in which it is easily distinguishable from rock in the typical sense. This and other rock fusion pieces are almost always used in fight scenes or the lead-up to fight scenes. The Rising Fighting Spirit is a popular fusion piece mentioned a few times in my surVey. It begins with just drums (including taiko) playing an energetic rhythm. Then in measure fiVe, the electric guitar and drum set come in to giVe it a driVing rock feel. The strong electric guitar in particular is Very effectiVe in conVeying this.

Figure 9—The Rising Fighting Spirit Shakuhachi Part Transcription

After eight measures of this rock accompaniment, the shakuhachi comes in with the melody. Like most of the shakuhachi melodies in the show, this melody is simple and repetitiVe.

In eight measure phrases, the first eight measure phrase repeats almost exactly in the second phrase. EVen within the eight measure phrases, there is a lot of repetition with half notes and quarter note triplets being the two primary (almost exclusiVe) rhythms utilized. The primary difference between the first two phrases is the ending, and specifically the second to last measure. Interestingly enough, it is this rhythmic motiVe that is then picked up by the shakuhachi when it returns after a nine-measure break. This dotted quarter and two sixteenth note rhythm is repeated in eVery measure is repeated in eVery measure until the quarter note triplet motiVe returns, this time going down the E minor scale to create a Very final sounding ending. Unlike the smooth and legato Sadness and Sorrow, this solo is articulated throughout. This articulation is Very uncharacteristic of the shakuhachi and helps it fit into the rough rock of the accompaniment. Despite the finality of this ending, there are eight more measures plus a one measure coda with the focus on the electric guitar like the beginning.

In all of these examples and countless others, the shakuhachi is primarily used to represent one character in particular: Naruto himself. Naruto’s themes are the only indiVidual character themes that use the instrument in a recognizable and memorable way. Orochimaru’s Theme does use the shakuhachi only for its airy sound effects, so not only is it barely recognizable as the shakuhachi, it is not melodic or memorable, and it is drowned out by the loud and already airy organ that is the primary instrument of the melody. In fact, traditional instruments in general seem to represent Naruto—though to a lesser extent than the shakuhachi. The only other character themes that use traditional instruments are the Konohamaru theme which uses the shamisen and the Jiraiya theme which is reminiscent of kabuki theater music.

While not eVery scene Naruto is in features the shakuhachi, eVery scene (with two exceptions) that use the shakuhachi in the first fiVe episodes I examined features Naruto or

something representing Naruto (i.e. the nine tailed fox) in the scene. While this use may be a coincidence since Naruto is the main character and so it makes sense that he would be featured in most scenes, I do not think this is the case. I think the shakuhachi was used deliberately to represent the character of Naruto, and especially to represent him when he is at his emotional highs and lows.

When used repeatedly to represent Naruto and his emotions in the show, it becomes a stylized formula, patterning, or patterned form that Christine Yano calls “kata.”109 This term, which Yano borrows from Japanese culture and its traditional arts can be useful to describe the way in which the shakuhachi is used in Naruto. The shakuhachi becomes a kata (型 or 形) for Naruto and a way of remembering, recognizing, and expressing the show and the character. This in turn becomes a way for fans to show their loVe for the show. This will be examined further in the next chapter.

109 Christine Reiko Yano, Tears of Longing: Nostalgia and the Nation in Japanese Popular Song, Harvard East Asian Monographs 206 (Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center: Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2002), 24.

CHAPTER 4

TRADITIONAL SOUNDS IN THE EARS OF NARUTO FANS

In the preVious chapters, most of the information presented has focused on the past, and in particular on static texts. This chapter is the first study of how people react to and make meaning and Value from these texts by presenting and analyzing the results of an online surVey of fans. The surVey was conducted in English, and therefore the assumption is that most of the surVey respondents are non-Japanese. Because I am also arguing that many fans outside Japan may come to the music and the shakuhachi without the historical, cultural, and background knowledge presented in the preVious chapters, these surVeys are an important window into this part of the thesis. The surVey also shows how despite this lack of knowledge, how the meanings and Values these respondents haVe made both connect to and differ from the earlier meanings and Values.

1. Survey Results

   In order to obtain an objectiVe View of what some Naruto fans think about the music, how they engage with the show and its sounds, their interaction with the music outside of the anime, and their knowledge of the shakuhachi, I conducted an online surVey consisting of eighteen questions. While surVeys do haVe their drawbacks such as the possibility of influencing answers with the wording of the questions, possible misinterpretation of question meanings, and the possibility of falsifying answers, I belieVe the benefits outweigh these negatiVes. The surVey was 100% anonymous and 100% Voluntary. Demographic information was not collected at the time of this surVey. HoweVer, the surVey was conducted entirely in English. My assumption, though not confirmed through questioning, is that the respondents to the surVey are not Japanese. Rather, they are natiVe English speakers. The surVey was conducted on Google Forms and separated into three sections. In order to moVe to a successiVe section, a certain response was

   required. The first question asked if they haVe eVer seen the show. If no, the surVey ends. Following this question are seVeral generic questions about the show, leVel of fandom, and general questions about the music. At the end of this surVey was the question “do you know what the shakuhachi is?” If they said no, the surVey ends. If the respondent said yes or “maybe/I think I’Ve heard of it” the system moVes them on to the final portion of the surVey with questions specific to the shakuhachi, its role in the show, and the respondent’s relationship to the instrument.

   Respondents found the surVey through Various fan hubs such as the Naruto sub-reddit on reddit.com, Naruto forums, Naruto Facebook groups, and word of mouth. Because this research was conducted in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic both recruitment and completion of the surVeys were conducted entirely online. Participants were asked to complete the surVey with their current knowledge and without consulting any outside sources. A total of 56 responses were collected in a span of two months. Because each question was Voluntary and because of the barrier questions, not eVery respondent answered eVery question. Response numbers to each question range anywhere from eleVen to the full fifty-six. All questions and responses appear in Appendix B.

   A glance at the answers to the Various questions reVeals parallels to the ideas discussed in preVious chapters. When asked “how many times haVe you watched the series in its entirety?” only 35% said they “haVen’t seen the entire series.” 28% haVe watched it only once and 11% watched it in its entirety twice. Perhaps the most surprising number is that almost a third— 32%—haVe watched the entire series more than twice. The repetitious aspect is obVious for those that haVe seen it once, but this must be more pronounced, and the music and the shakuhachi in particular most likely has become ingrained in the memories of these Viewers.

   The next question, question number four, “what are your thoughts on the musical soundtrack of Naruto” and question number fiVe “is there anything that you find unique or interesting about the soundtrack of Naruto?” proVides insight into this impact. Many responses were generic positiVe remarks such as “hype,” “cool,” “impressiVe.”

   In addition, key words that I haVe used many times in this thesis, including “repetitiVe” and “memorable” occur throughout the surVey responses. Many of these are in response to open-answer questions. These words haVe not been included anywhere in the surVey. These answers are therefore spontaneous. In question number four, one person’s thoughts on the music were that it was “epic and repetitiVe.” Another commented that “It’s Very catchy and melodious, eVen eVokes emotions such as sentimentality.” In a similar Vein, others said, “It’s beautiful and brings out a lot of emotion,” and “They’re captiVating! Their unique soundtrack really capture my emotions eVery time I watch the anime.” Though not explicitly mentioning the word memorable, the following response makes this quality clear: “They really giVe a big boost to the ongoing sequence while watching. When I hear them again, I remember the scenes where the background music is played.”

   One indiVidual said: “I think it’s a great soundtrack that I really enjoyed, I’Ve only recently seen the anime so I don’t feel like it really impacted me as much as it would haVe say if I had been kid watching it for the first time and growing with the series.” This proVides further impact to my comment before on why the anime Naruto is a good case study: it has been around for a decent amount of time, allowing many to grow up with it and therefore the music has had a huge impact and become a part of their life.

   Many fans also clearly took notice of how the soundtrack sets the scene and eVen purposefully manipulates emotions. One commented, “I enjoyed the way the music set the tone

   for each scene, especially if the scene was sad or serious.” Questions four and fiVe attempt to get a general feel of how the respondent feels about the music, asking not only what their thoughts on the soundtrack are, but what they think makes it unique or interesting. Not one respondent had a negatiVe impression. All thoughts on the soundtrack are positiVe such as “fantastic” and “makes you hype.” Others are more descriptiVe, with one saying the music and the show are inseparable: “they really giVe a big boost to the ongoing sequence while watching. When I hear them again, I remember the scenes where the background music is played.” Another had a similar sentiment when they said: “when listening back to it I can always remember what song goes to which fight or comedic moment.” SeVeral respondents specifically mentioned the nostalgia that the music eVokes, eVen specifying that it makes them think of the friends they used to watch it with. In these two questions, seVeral respondents also mentioned the use of traditional Japanese instruments as a unique and memorable element that fits the show quite well. These are most likely the indiViduals that later said they know what the shakuhachi is.

   Yet another indication of repetition is displayed in question seVen “Do you own the soundtrack of Naruto, or haVe you eVer listened to it outside the anime (e.g. listening to it on YouTube)?” A staggering 72% said yes. This means that a majority of the audience is not just consuming the already repetitious music exclusiVely within the show. They are actiVely seeking it out and consuming it outside of the context of the anime. This actiVe engagement is most likely why when asked in question eight “what instruments can you name that are used in the soundtrack,” many participants could list seVeral instruments. The four most common instruments mentioned are the piano with eight mentions, the guitar with thirteen mentions, some Variation of drums with sixteen mentions, and some Variation of flute (flute, bamboo flute, pan flute, shakuhachi) with twelVe mentions.

   This actiVe engagement outside of the anime also explains why a large number of respondents could remember the name of specific pieces/tracks. Question six asked “What is/are your faVorite track(s)? Note: If you cannot remember the name, one of the scenes it’s found in, the general feeling of it, etc. will do.” Common pieces mentioned include Rising Fighting Spirit, Naruto’s Theme, Strong and Strike, and Naruto’s Daily Life. HoweVer, the one named by the most respondents was one examined in-depth in preVious chapters: Sadness and Sorrow. Eight participants said the name of the piece and another three that couldn’t remember the name listed a general feeling of sadness that the piece eVoked. Of interest for later discussion, two that couldn’t remember the name of a piece said some Variation of “a piece with the flute.” Also, important to note is that with the exception of Naruto’s Daily Life, all of the pieces mentioned haVe the shakuhachi in them. This means the pieces that are used the most, the most remembered, and the ones that create the greatest perceiVed emotional effect are the ones that use the shakuhachi.

   To take Herzog’s theory of the “musical moment” a step further, I argue that in the case of Naruto, one could describe the moments in which the shakuhachi is used as a shakuhachi moment. In these moments, the music not only dominates the scene, but the shakuhachi dominates the music.

   As mentioned earlier, the final question in the second portion of the surVey asks whether the indiVidual knows what the shakuhachi is. In order to be as open as possible, I did allow those that were unsure if they knew what it was to continue to the third part. Question 12 (the first question in the third and final “shakuhachi” section) asks “how, when, and where did you learn about the shakuhachi?” A few respondents were Very clear in saying they first heard the instrument in Naruto, and either then looked it up or later on found out what it was—just like the

   audience member in my opening anecdote. One respondent noted: “It's when I first heard the said musical instrument on naruto battle scenes, and then I searched it up on the internet” On a different question, number fourteen, someone responded: “I heard it on Naruto and didn’t know exactly what kinda flute it was. Then I went to a Japanese festiVal when I was still in school and there was a booth of different instruments and demonstrations for kotos, Shamisens, shakuhachi, and a few others.”

   Other responses to question twelVe were a bit Vague with one-word answers such as “internet” and “I’m high school.” It is possible that these responses are analogous to the aboVe (i.e. they heard it in high school watching Naruto, they heard it in Naruto and researched it on the internet), although the short responses do leaVe questions as to the specifics.

   When asked whether they knew the “flute-like” instrument in Naruto was the shakuhachi when watching it for the first time, about half said they knew it was the shakuhachi and the other half said no or they are not sure. In a follow-up question, many of those that said yes said other contexts in which they haVe heard the shakuhachi are the examples discussed before (i.e., meditation music, TV, etc.). Others appeared to be confused by the question and gaVe answers that mentioned instances of the shakuhachi within Naruto, possibly giVing away that Naruto was and is their primary context for the instrument. One more response to this question is particularly noteworthy: “I thought it was a traditional western flute (at the time, I didn’t know what a shakuhachi was).”

   Another question that was split around 50/50 was when asked whether or not the surVey-taker became interested in the shakuhachi after hearing it in Naruto. 50% said no, and the other 50% said yes or maybe. The latter 50% are likely the indiViduals that mentioned in preVious questions that they looked the instrument up on the internet or engaged with it in some way later

   in life. One respondent eVen mentioned that they were able to take lessons through their workplace.

   The final question asked “when you hear the shakuhachi in Naruto, what images/thoughts come to mind?” Tying into the themes of emotions, personal connection, and memorability, it is amazing how many respondents said Very similar things. “Haku, Naruto swinging in the swing outside the Academy, Naruto remembering Sasuke,” “I think of scenes where Naruto is sad. His childhood, as Sasuke leaVes, etc.” and “Naruto by himself on the infamous swing” all point to Sadness and Sorrow. Other answers that touch on the argument of this thesis include: “Forest, something is about to happening, something happening currently is important to the story,” “Fight scenes LOL” “Just Naruto, mostly.” “Naruto” and “keep on fighting.”

   Figure 10—Naruto on the Infamous Swing110

   While all of the questions and responses are important and support the primary argument of this thesis, question seVenteen (the second to last) is perhaps the most significant. When asked

   
   

   
   

   110 Hayato Date, “Naruto,” vrv.co Streaming, Naruto (World Wide Web: Crunchyroll, 2002), https://vrv.co/series/GY9PJ5KWR/Naruto.

   “When you hear the shakuhachi in other media, does it make you think of Naruto? Or when you hear it in Naruto, does it make you think of something else?” a whopping 84% said that it makes them think of Naruto. This means for those that know what the shakuhachi is, regardless of their leVel of knowledge on the instrument, how they found out about it, the other media they haVe heard it in, and all other factors, an oVerwhelming majority think of Naruto wheneVer they hear the sounds of the instrument. The connection between the anime and the instrument haVe become inseparable.

2. Takeaways from the Survey

In summation, from the surVey it’s easy to see that a majority of the listeners do not know what the shakuhachi is. HoweVer, it is also clear that most of them are not just passiVely hearing the music. Most of the respondents remembered the score in detail and made detailed comments about their emotional connection to the music. The pieces that people mentioned the most were in fact the ones that feature the shakuhachi the most prominently. This shows that eVen if they don’t know what the instrument is, it is leaVing an impression on them and painting their perception of the instrument and the sounds it makes. In addition, a total of 72% engaged with the music in some way outside of the context of the anime.

Of those that do know what the shakuhachi is, a majority discoVered the shakuhachi through the show. They knew the sounds they were hearing were new and interesting and took it upon themselVes to research the instrument. Now that they know what the instrument is and haVe most likely heard it in seVeral other contexts, a large majority—close to three quarters—picture Naruto wheneVer they hear the instrument. Strikingly, respondents didn’t just mention that they picture the show in general when they hear the shakuhachi. Through responses such as “Naruto by himself on the infamous swing” and “Haku, Naruto swinging in the swing outside the Academy, Naruto remembering Sasuke,” it becomes eVident that many described the Very

specific scene of Naruto sitting on a swing in front of the academy, a scene that is usually accompanied by Sadness and Sorrow.

In other words, the shakuhachi is moVing away from a symbol of Japan and traditions such as Zen Buddhism and becoming a symbol of Naruto (both the character and the show). This is possible because of what Arjun Appadurai calls the social imaginary, where

The image, the imagined, the imaginary— these are all terms that direct us to something critical and new in global cultural processes: the imagination as a social practice. No longer mere fantasy (opium for the masses whose real work is elsewhere), no longer simple escape (from a world defined principally by more concrete purposes and structures), no longer elite pastime (thus not releVant to the liVes of ordinary people), and no longer mere contemplation (irreleVant for new forms of desire and subjectiVity), the imagination has become an organized field of social practices, a form of work (in the sense of both labor and culturally organized practice), and a form of negotiation between sites of agency (indiViduals) and globally defined fields of possibility. This unleashing of the imagination links the play of pastiche (in some settings) to the terror and coercion of states and their competitors. The imagination is now central to all forms of agency, is itself a social fact, and is the key component of the new global order.111

Within the social imaginary, Appadurai presents us with fiVe dimensions of global cultural flows. Most important for discussing changing representations of the shakuhachi through its use in Naruto are 1. Mediascapes, 2. Technoscapes, and 3. Ideoscapes.

Technoscapes is perhaps the clearest to define as it just means “the global configuration, also eVer fluid, of technology and the fact that technology, both high and low, both mechanical and informational, now moVes at high speeds across Various kinds of preViously imperVious boundaries.” So many people are able to hear the shakuhachi in Naruto precisely because of the Various forms and the high speed of technology. Technoscapes can also encompass a whole world of creation using the shakuhachi that will be discussed in the next chapter.

111 Arjun Appadurai, Modernity at Large Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, Public Worlds ; v. 1 (Minneapolis, Minn: University of Minnesota Press, 1996), 31.

The global cultural flow of ideoscapes can encompass anything broadly construed as an idea or an image, though “they are often political and frequently haVe to do with the ideologies of states and counter ideologies of moVements explicitly oriented to capturing state power or a piece of it.”112 The discussion on the shakuhachi being a traditional instrument and/or a Japanese cultural object can fall under ideoscapes. This is the master narratiVe of the instrument, but because of the global flows, this is changing. The political concept of soft power has also been an influential ideoscape. Soft power has helped both spread this master narratiVe but also the Naruto anime which has shifted its perception away from it.

The third, most important, and probably most complicated flow is mediascapes. As Appadurai notes, this flow refers

both to the distribution of the electronic capabilities to disseminate information, which are now aVailable to a growing number of priVate and public interests throughout the world, and to the images of the world created by these media.

What is most important about these mediascapes is that they proVide large and complex repertoires of images, narratiVes, and ethnoscapes to Viewers throughout the world, in which the world of commodities and the world of news and politics are profoundly mixed. What this means is that many audiences around the world experience the media themselVes as a complicated and interconnected repertoire of print, celluloid, electronic screens, and billboards. The lines between the realistic and the fictional landscapes they see are blurred, so that the farther away these audiences are from the direct experiences of metropolitan life, the more likely they are to construct imagined worlds that are chimerical, aesthetic, eVen fantastic objects, particularly if assessed by the criteria of some other perspectiVe, some other imagined world. Mediascapes, whether produced by priVate or state interests, tend to be image-centered, narratiVe-based accounts of strips of reality, and what they offer to those who experience and transform them is a series of elements (such as characters, plots, and textual forms) out of which scripts can be formed of imagined liVes, their own as well as those of others liVing in other places.113

When it comes to the shakuhachi and Naruto, mediascapes means a lot. As an anime with sound,

Naruto and the soundtrack are first and foremost a form of media.

112 Appadurai, 36.

113 Appadurai, 35.

Going deeper howeVer, Naruto presents the Viewer—particularly the younger audience— a complex and interconnected amalgamation of elements. The show presents elements diVorced from their more customary associations and representations. It presents an imaginary and fantastical world that as mentioned before is almost nationless. After watching for so long, the real and fictional worlds become blurred and audience has built an emotional connection to the show and its music. It proVides the Viewer an opportunity to imagine themselVes liVing the life of someone liVing in another place—either the real Japan or the fictional world of Naruto. The soundtrack and the instruments used in turn become the soundtrack of the persons life.

This is in line with an obserVation that I made at my first experience at an anime conVention in May of 2019. During the conVention, I attended a Naruto panel hosted by a local anime YouTuber who specializes in Naruto content and is famous for his Naruto cosplay.

Before, during, and after the panel, the Naruto Main Theme—utilizing the shakuhachi was played on a loop with the host’s cellphone. It wasn’t just that the panelists wanted to set the mood for a Naruto panel. It was as if Naruto could not be discussed without its music, without the sounds of the shakuhachi. The audience was not just talking about Naruto but transporting themselVes to the world of Naruto which is not complete without the shakuhachi. The two are inseparable.

ObVious from this interaction, the surVey responses, and the material discussed in later chapters, was that the Viewers and fans Value this music, and in particular the sounds of the shakuhachi within this music. Appadurai’s study does a good job explaining some of the ways in which this material circulates. HoweVer, it is a bit dated and he does not do a good job of explaining why it circulates. To explain this, Timothy Taylor argues: “things—whether tangible or intangible—circulate because they haVe Value for people… where there is circulation and

Value, there is exchange, not just of money but of time, work, action.”114 This Value manifests in fans watching the show and listening to the music oVer and oVer, by making meaning with the sounds of the shakuhachi. This can easily be compared to the spiritual Value that has been traditionally placed on the instrument. Because this spiritual Value was placed on the instrument, it circulated. Although similar in that the fans are circulating the sounds of the shakuhachi because of the Value they and others place on it, the ways in which it is used and circulated can be drastically different and will be the topic of the next chapter.

114 Timothy D Taylor, “Circulation, Value, Exchange, and Music,” Ethnomusicology 64, no. 2 (2020): 255, https://doi.org/10.5406/ethnomusicology.64.2.0254.

CHAPTER 5

NARUTO PARTICIPATORY CULTURE AND FAN CREATION

Once music is created, does it stay static, or do the listeners find ways to change and eVolVe it? Do these new creations relate to traditions in some way, or are they completely diVorced from them? This chapter focuses on these questions as they relate to Naruto fans creating new music using the shakuhachi sounds from the animation. The transcriptions of musical examples and the interView of a YouTuber who uses the instrument and its music in his Videos show just how far from the contexts of the first two chapters the instrument has traVeled. As always, these creations bear connections to the past, but moVe the instrument and traditions into the future through innoVatiVe ways that are tied to the life of the indiVidual creator.

Combining the shakuhachi and its sounds with a faVorite musical genre or a rhythm from one’s home country push the boundaries of what the shakuhachi can be. It is important to note here that as stated preViously, “Naruto fans” is a large category group that crosses geographic, ethnic, linguistic, and other barriers. Since I cannot make claims that are not supported by my data, when I mention “Naruto fans,” I am specifically talking about what I know based on the data collected in my work for this thesis.

1. Musicking With the Shakuhachi

   Naruto fans I haVe examined, interViewed, and surVeyed do not just listen to the music, they actiVely engage with it. This engagement Varies on a wide spectrum, but all of it adds up to a highly actiVe experience with the music and its instruments. As discussed in preVious chapters, when thinking of an instrument and in particular one with a long history such as the shakuhachi, the default mode is to think of its traditional modes of transmission. The idea that the instrument primarily exists in the realm of performing on the instrument—in the case of the shakuhachi, actually blowing into it—is the preValent mode. Many ethnomusicology ethnographies look at

   the people creating and performing the music. In this study, I look at the fans and how they engage with the music and make meaning with the music. In some cases, it does occur in the dominant mode of playing an instrument. HoweVer, this could also be as simple as listening to music. In fact, this is how the Vast majority of people musick.

   As early as 1977, the concept of musicking—the simple transformation of the noun music to a Verb to musick—has drastically expanded the way in which music is thought of. Christopher Small notes:

   To music is to take part, in any capacity, in a musical performance, whether by performing, by listening, by rehearsing or practicing, by proViding material for performance (what is called composing), or by dancing. We might at times eVen extend its meaning to what the person is doing who takes the tickets at the door or the hefty men who shift the piano and the drums or the roadies who set up the instruments and carry out the sound checks or the cleaners who clean up after eVeryone else has gone. They, too, are all contributing to the nature of the eVent that is a musical performance.115

   
   

   As Small indicates, musicking can take place in a Variety of ways. Although music is often seen as a one-time act for a select few indiViduals where static compositions with no room for change once composed, performed, or recorded, Small argues that this is not the case.

   The act of musicking establishes in the place where it is happening a set of relationships, and it is in those relationships that the meaning of the act lies. They are to be found not only between those organized sounds which are conVentionally thought of as being the stuff of musical meaning but also between the people who are taking part, in whateVer capacity, in the performance; and they model, or stand as metaphor for, ideal relationships as the participants in the performance imagine them to be: relationships between person and person, between indiVidual and society, between humanity and the natural world and eVen perhaps the supernatural world.116

   
   

   In the discussion at hand, fans are enacting their desire for repetition, their desire to musick, and breathing new life into the music of Naruto. They are musicking with the

   
   

   115 Christopher Small, Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening, Music/Culture (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1998), 9.

   116 Small, 13.

   shakuhachi. The fans are enacting symbolic creatiVity and archontic production through their actiVity in a musical dōjin culture. Before taking a look at musicking with the shakuhachi in Naruto, this chapter will briefly examine this phenomenon of fan engagement. ActiVe engagement is not unprecedented in modern fandoms and has been discussed at length by Various scholars.

   Henry Jenkins, an expert on fans and fan studies has discussed this topic at great length and many of his concepts are useful in this discussion. The shakuhachi in Naruto takes place in what Jenkins describes as “modern conVergence culture.” It does not just take place in one specific form of media or medium; it is eVerywhere. The sounds of the shakuhachi are used in the anime, the official soundtrack compilation albums, in the Naruto moVies and Video games. As mentioned before, this content can also be accessed on a Variety of deVices and platforms. HoweVer, this is just taking into account the conVergence of the “official” products created by the owners of the Naruto franchise, but conVergence does not stop there. As Jenkins explains:

   ConVergence does not depend on any specific deliVery mechanism. Rather, conVergence represents a paradigm shift—a moVe from medium-specific content toward content that flows across multiple media channels, toward the increased interdependence of communications systems, toward multiple ways of accessing media content, and toward eVer more complex relations between top-

   down corporate media and bottom-up participatory culture.117

   
   

   So, a large part of conVergence culture is the bottom-up aspects, or those that are created by the fans.

   While his arguments are intriguing and I use them throughout this chapter, I would like to note that I would like to see a more nuanced discussion in Jenkins’s work on those that may not actiVely create a consumable work. In his discussion on “participatory culture,” he draws a stark

   
   

   117 Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide (New York: New York University Press, 2006), 243.

   contrast with this and “passiVe media spectatorship.” In Spreadable Media, he does recognize that audiences are not in fact always passiVe, but his theory of spreadability only “Values the actiVities of audience members to help generate interest in particular brands or franchises.” While this aspect is definitely important, he fails to recognize that there are gradations to consumption and production and eVen if one mainly watches or listens—eVen if they may not discuss it out loud and “spread” their ideas and fandom—there is some actiVe thinking and processing occurring. Neither actiVity is better or lesser than the other—and this is why I try to look at both—but Jenkins primarily concerns himself with the consumable aspects.

   Like Jenkins, some may posit that watching teleVision is an inherently passiVe actiVity.

   
   

   Viewers do not engage with teleVision in the way that they would say reading a book or painting a work of art. HoweVer, many academics ferVently argue against and disproVe this idea of passiVity. In his book, Common Culture, Paul Willis describes what he calls symbolic creatiVity and symbolic work in modern day consumptiVe actiVities like watching teleVision, listening to music, and eVen putting on clothes and decorating a room. Similar to my discussion on how the shakuhachi has almost exclusiVely been examined in the context of a centuries old context/tradition, Willis goes into detail about how uniVersities decide what art is important (institutionalized canons) that is often far from how most people experience it. This creates “an internal ‘hyperinstitutionalization’ of ‘art’—the complete dissociation of art from liVing contexts… where the merely formal features of art can become the guarantee of its ‘aesthetic’, rather than its releVance and relation to real-life processes and concerns.”118

   In terms of teleVision, Willis argues that by choosing to watch and continue to watch a show, consumers are actiVely engaging. When watching a show, Viewers are constantly

   
   

   118 Willis, Common Culture: Symbolic Work at Play in the Everyday Cultures of the Young, 2–3.

   eValuating the product and forming opinions on it. At any time, the Viewer can choose to stop watching, but to choose to keep watching is actiVe engagement. When an indiVidual consistently chooses to watch a show, meaning is then created from the show and its elements. All of this is what Willis calls symbolic work and creatiVity. EVen if consumers do not make a physical or further consumable product (e.g. a new song), they are doing work and creating things.119

   Further, Willis introduces a term that is highly releVant to my argument: what he calls a “grounded aesthetic” or “the creatiVe element in a process whereby meanings are attributed to symbols and practices and where symbols and practices are selected, reselected, highlighted and recomposed to resonate further appropriated and particularized meanings. Such dynamics are emotional as well as cognitiVe.”120

   As De Kosnik describes, an archiVe is “a site in which documents remain stationary, as if they are dead and mummified, outside of time and inaccessible to its raVages… ‘archiVe’ does not now necessarily refer to a material site; sometimes it is a metaphor… new media haVe made possible archiVes that are designed to be fluid and constantly altered by crowdsourced updates.”121 This is another excellent way in which I like to View the music of Naruto—as a digital archiVe in which fans then borrow from and alter.

   To describe this form of creation, De Kosnik uses the term “archontic production” in which fans take items from the source text or archiVe—the foundation—and then creates something that comments on or adds to it. In effect this makes the archiVe eVen larger. In other words:

   Archontic production, as it pertains to reworkings of popular media, is the process by which audiences/receiVers of mass-produced and mass-distributed cultural

   
   

   119 Willis, 9.

   120 Willis, 21.

   121 Abigail De Kosnik author, Rogue Archives: Digital Cultural Memory and Media Fandom (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2016), 274.

   texts… seize hold of these commodities as a Vast archiVe of usable resources from which they select desirable parts as the raw material for their own reVisions and Variations… archontic producers treat mass media texts as starting points from which to launch their own narratiVes, images (still and moVing), sounds, graphics, and/or animations—new, highly indiVidualized texts that serVe their ends and satisfy them far better than mass-produced culture eVer can.122

   
   

   As mentioned in the last chapter, though fans may not be familiar with preVious traditions—what might be called archiVes—the shakuhachi as used in Naruto introduces a new archiVe. Fans then create highly indiVidualized texts based on this archiVe with or without knowledge of the preVious archiVe.

   While in some cases fans may be dissatisfied with the mass-produced culture, in the case of Naruto, I belieVe that they produce material from it precisely because they like it/are satisfied with it. Because they enjoy it so much, they want to play around with it and spread it. By adding to the archiVe, “archontic producers are in fact users of culture rather than consumers, consisting of, and creating, indiVidual and unique bodies.”123

2. Dōjin Culture and Comparable Practices

   Though described in these and other ways by Western academics, there is a common Japanese term for this Very phenomenon of actiVe fan engagement that has been used for decades: dōjin (同人). Dōjin literally means “same person” and denotes amateur creations. Today these amateur creations are tied to popular media products that are otherwise professionally and commercially produced. In essence, they can be considered what Fiske calls a “shadow culture economy” occurring simultaneously with the official cultural economy.124

   
   

   122 Abigail De Kosnik author, 277.

   123 Abigail De Kosnik author, 277.

   124 Lisa A. Lewis and John Fiske, eds., “The Cultural Economy of Fandom,” in The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media (London ; New York: Routledge, 1992), 31.

   Originally tied to primarily written media like books and magazines, dōjin zasshi (同人雑誌) or

   
   

   dōjinshi (同人誌) haVe a history that can be traced back to the Meiji period (1868-1912).

   
   

   With the spread of computers and internet, interest and participation in dōjinshi has skyrocketed due to the accessibility both financially and creatiVely. Dōjinshi has also spread to media outside of written materials to art, figures, games, and music.125 The spread has also become a worldwide phenomenon with indiViduals selling their dōjin creations, professional artists selling these products on the side, and some being noticed and recruited by the companies that produce the official goods.126 This culture of fan-made products can be seen in full force like at the Kawaii Kon described aboVe with entire rooms dedicated to the selling of dōjin items. The legality of these products, the selling of them, the sharing of them, and the attitude of the companies that own the rights to the characters, images, sounds, etc. is unique to the Japanese pop culture market and differs between practices.

   Despite the fact that dōjin culture is so widespread and has such a rich history, there is next to no literature on the specific phenomenon of fans creating amateur works using the soundtrack of anime. Other comparable fan products haVe been discussed to some extent including Vocaloids, fansubbing, and AMVs. Each of these phenomena are markedly different but do proVide some insight to the discussion at hand.

   AMV, or anime music Videos are mashups of Various Visuals taken from the animation and edited in such a way as to match up with a musical track. This track howeVer is unrelated to the anime and is typically a pop or rock song popular at the time of the making.

   
   

   125 Fan-Yi Lam, “Comic Market: How the World’s Biggest Amateur Comic Fair Shaped Japanese Dōjinshi Culture,” Mechademia, no. 5 (2010): 239.

   126 Lam, 240–41.

   Vocaloids (Vocal androids) are characters that “haVe deVeloped from Voice synthesizer software.”127 The software typically contains sounds for at least one character’s Voice and fans use the software to create new songs—lyrics, melodies, harmonies, etc.—for the character. From there, fans can share their creations with other fans, listen to other fan songs, make comments, and eVen haVe their pieces performed at a concert.128 This phenomenon is epitomized by the highly famous and unmistakable blue-haired Virtual idol Hatsune Miku (初音ミク). This illustrates a major difference between Vocaloids and other dōjin media in that instead of fans creating and companies either ignoring the infringing of copyright or pursuing legal action, the fans are actiVely encouraged by the owners of the characters and the software companies to create and share their art.

   Another somewhat comparable practice is fansubbing where fans will obtain anime, translate the Japanese into their language, proVide subtitles in their language, and share it online with other fans. This is a global process that trespasses “oVer temporal, spatial and linguistic boundaries.”129 Also this is done with no compensation except appreciation and recognition from other fans and is instead “driVen by fans’ loVe for the chosen medium.”130 Reception is mixed by anime companies. Although fansubbing practices “differ from simple copying and sharing” they “entirely rely on existing, copyright-protected cultural products.”131 Because of this, legality is an issue, but was often oVerlooked. Companies that localized anime in the US often use

   
   

   127 Ian Condry, “Hatsune Miku: Virtual Idol, Media Platform, and Crowd-Sourced Celebrity,” in Introducing Japanese Popular Culture, ed. Alisa Freedman and Toby Slade (London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018), 124, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uhm/detail.action?docID=5211435.

   128 Condry, 124–25.

   129 Lee, “Participatory Media Fandom,” 1132.

   130 Lee, 1137.

   131 Lee, 1132.

   fansubbing for testing demand, the producers in Japan sometimes saw it as positiVe (e.g., a labor of loVe, helping to spread the anime abroad) while other times legal action was sought.132

   Though all slightly different, one commonality between all of these art forms is the fans. The fans are giVen (or assume) their own agency and interact with their faVorite media to create new art. For the most part, the fans are not paid for the work that they do and instead do it in their own free time, exclusiVely because they loVe the specific media and because they want to support and promulgate the fandom. In addition, like Vocaloids and AMVs, the dōjin soundtracks are utilizing music. With Vocaloids howeVer, the music that is being created is entirely a fan creation and not a piece of music already recorded and under copyright. AMVs do use the Visuals of the anime which are under copyright to the Japanese companies, but do not use the music from the anime and instead reproduce an already recorded pop/rock track typically from the home country under copyright. Fansubbing while offering a look into the work fans are willing to do, largely sticks to the original without trying to create something new.

   They can also all be classified under the classification of “spreadable media.” Jenkins defines spreadability as: “the potential—both technical and cultural—for audiences to share content for their own purposes, sometimes with the permission of rights holders, sometimes against their wishes.”133 In addition, it can refer to:

   the technical resources that make it easier to circulate some kinds of content than others, the economic structures that support or restrict circulation, the attributes of a media text that might appeal to a community’s motiVation for sharing material, and the social networks that link people through the exchange of meaningful bytes.134

   
   

   132 Lee, 1140.

   133 Jenkins, Spreadable Media, 3.

   134 Jenkins, 4.

   In other words, in all of these dōjin cultures, fans use modern Web 2.0 platforms like YouTube to spread both the “original” media, and their new Versions to more and more people. This process can essentially be a neVer-ending process between not just “isolated indiViduals but within larger communities and networks, which allow them to spread content well beyond their immediate geographic proximity.”135

   Other than the aboVe similarities, the soundtrack scene is a different animal and can often be hard to categorize. Most of these can come under the umbrella of either sampling, remix, coVer, or mash-up. CoVering is simply performing a remake of a preViously recorded track. “Sampling is…. A more specific technical and aesthetic practice, whereas remix eVokes the larger, looser, and more fluid approach of a total work… sampling can be thought of as the ‘taking,’ remix as the ‘recombining.’”136 Often, these terms can be used simultaneously, other times it can be hard to pin down eVen one. One of the hardest aspects that makes it hard to describe and pin down is the sheer number and Variety of songs aVailable and in Various formats. The simplest fan interaction with the soundtrack is the uploading of the OST onto an online streaming site for fellow fan consumption. Another form is the coVer, where a fan or fans will transcribe the music and play it themselVes. The coVers can be the full piece, a short clip, using one or more of the original instruments, with or without the original in the background for support. They can be as close to the original as possible, add a little ornamentation, or be a highly altered Version. Others use pieces of the OST and make a new track using those pieces.

   Still more use the full OST, but add a few elements electronically to change the genre (e.g., into hip hop).

   
   

   135 Jenkins, 2.

   136 David Laderman and Laurel Westrup, Sampling Media (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2014), 4.

   Why do fans spend so much time consuming and creating this music? What do they get from doing it? One explanation is the “stickiness” of the media. Malcolm Gladwell popularized this term that describes “media texts which engender deep audience engagement and might motiVate them to share what they learned to others.”137 In short, fans do it because the content is something they want to spread, something that they want to consume, spread, manipulate, and create with.

   In his article on fansubbing, Hye-Kyung Lee lays out seVeral other answers to these questions. The simplest answer is because of their loVe and affection for the manga, anime, group, etc. IndiViduals tend to enjoy spending their free time doing things that they like (i.e., hobbies, sticky content) and this is just one expression of that. They also get a sense of pleasure, fun, and reward from doing it. This is particularly preValent if the product will be shared with others. There is a sense of gratification when sharing it with other fans. They also gain enhanced knowledge and skills of both the anime and whateVer they may be working on. For example, if they are making a remix, they may gain more knowledge of the anime and its music, how it is structured, and of the software they use to put it all together. They also gain a sense of community among the worldwide fandom.138 Henry Jenkins has talked extensiVely about these communities and their participatory culture where “members belieVe that their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connectedness with one another.”139 Within these communities, “community memory can be just as important as their [the fan’s] own. Memories attached to particular samples can act as a priVate sign network.”140

   
   

   137 Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, 1st ed. (Boston: Little, Brown, 2000), 123.

   138 Lee, “Participatory Media Fandom,” 1137.

   139 Jenkins, Convergence Culture, 257.

   140 Samantha Close, “Popular Culture through the Eyes, Ears, and Fingertips of Fans: Vidders, Anime Music Video Editors, and Their Sources,” in Sampling Media, ed. David Laderman and Laurel Westrup (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2014), 205.

3. Symbolic Creativity with Naruto Music

   When it comes to Naruto, one of the simplest ways in which musicking takes place is just listening to the music in the show. Many may View fans as being passiVe obserVers, but eVen this is a form of musicking. Viewers are actiVely listening and building connections to and thoughts about the music. If fans enjoy the music within the show, some then search out and listen to the music outside of the anime. My surVey shows that 72% of respondents haVe consumed the music in some way outside of the show. Some may haVe legally purchased one or more of the official soundtrack albums and listened that way. Many more listen to the soundtracks in less legal ways. Pieces (with no changes) are uploaded to online platforms like YouTube and Soundcloud—often the same piece is uploaded multiple times on each platform by multiple users —and each upload has millions of Views/listens. By comparison, a typical traditional shakuhachi piece uploaded to an online serVice has an aVerage of about 50,000 Views/listens.

   Not that numbers represents the importance or Value of a piece or tradition, but instead is an indication of the reach and popularity of it. When discussing fan/audience numbers, De Kosnik uses a popular book as an analogy:

   As many fans as there will ever be of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice ([1813] 2012), that is how large the Pride and Prejudice archiVe will become, for the archiVe will house all of those readers’ interpretations and new Versions, including all films and teleVision miniseries and noVels and Web series, all scholarly essays and commentaries, and all fan works as well. The archiVe remains open to new entries, and each new entry changes the entirety of the archiVe.

   
   

   So the one way in which numbers matter is in expanding the archiVe, expanding the reach of the new meaning(s). This is in contrast to the traditional transmission processes that are marked by their exclusiVity and rigidity. Many haVe a hard time eVen accessing the archiVe due to barriers in the tradition—those of language (it is hard to learn if you cannot read the notation or understand the teacher), access (one may not haVe a teacher or

   materials aVailable near them), and money (the instruments, lessons, and certifications are expensiVe) are large things keeping people from contributing to the archiVe. In addition, there is a rejection in traditional forms from adding to the canon. There is a tendency to oVeremphasize preserVation which causes the thing to stagnate. Also, while all entries would still technically be a part of the archiVe, many may not eVen be accepted by the main contingent of the tradition. On the other hand, most in the Naruto world would be welcomed with open arms and it would be open and aVailable to almost anyone with an electronic deVice.

   In addition, the surVey results that were reVealed in the last chapter show that for many Viewers, they do not stop at just listening to the music. My surVey results show that 12% haVe made their own creations using the soundtrack music. These creations are then also listened to by other fans and accumulate Views/listens. This new meaning, tradition, archiVe, culture, howeVer it is described becomes perVasiVe and eVentually becomes a form of education. De Kosnik notes “educational theorists argue that archontic production is a critical component of the training of future generations, but this type of making has a long history, particularly in minoritarian communities.”141 The fans are learning about the shakuhachi (consciously or not) through Naruto and/or the fan-made creations. They are expanding their knowledge of making music and educating themselVes on how to play the shakuhachi because of and through what might be called the honkyoku of the Naruto tradition.

   Because of its massiVe popularity among fans and creators and therefore a substantial amount of examples for study, I will primarily focus on Sadness and Sorrow in this section. The first piece I look at is a modified coVer on the shakuhachi. Uploaded under the username

   
   

   141 Abigail De Kosnik author, Rogue Archives, 293.

   HomuraGami, this Version is similar to the shakuhachi melody, but it takes excessiVe liberties.142 The first and most obVious one is the key. The OST Version is in e-minor, but the coVer is in g-minor, so the shakuhachi player is about a third higher throughout. If this were the only change, it would be insignificant, but the coVer is also double the length. In fact, the performer seems to be combining elements of the shakuhachi solo in the beginning, and the closing piano solo shown below. The higher register almost seems to be an attempt to bridge the registral gap between the two solos.

   
   

   
   

   Figure 11—Transcription of First 4 Measures of Final Piano Solo in Sadness and Sorrow

   Not only this, but there are obVious embellishments and changes throughout. A look at the second and fourth measures show some added notes. Measures eight and nine haVe some quick embellishments and glissandi that are not found in the original. Since the performer is playing alone and not in an ensemble, he also takes liberties with the rhythm. Often the barlines do not match up Very well with the original. They could eVen be left out, but I nonetheless keep them intact for comparison with the OST.

   
   

   142 HomuraGami, Naruto Sadness and Sorrow Shakuhachi Version, YouTube Video, 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2TD4rfvYtQ.

   
   

   Figure 12—Transcription of HomuraGami's Sadness and Sorrow CoVer

   What is the most fascinating to me is a look at the comment section. Viewed 4,180 times as of April 20, 2019 there are many fans that seem to haVe had their interest in the shakuhachi either inspired or nourished by Naruto and are seeking out materials like this Video. User yulyx comments “I haVe a 7 hole shakuhachi and i might try this song and see how it goes. 5/5 ofc !”

   This comment bears similarities in nature and the sentiment with those of many other fans. A search on YouTube and Soundcloud for “Naruto coVer” or “Naruto shakuhachi” or any similar search terms will reVeal a handful of other coVers both modified and attempting replication. CoVers done with piano, Western flute, and harp, coVers done one plastic flutes and bamboo flutes of all sizes can be found. A Very intriguing coVer I found, uploaded by BrawlXMusic turns the minyo-esque eVening into a honkyoku played on a large shakuhachi.143

   
   

   
   

   143 BrawlXMusic, Shakuhachi Solo by Flute Ninja-Naruto- Evening.Mp4, YouTube Video (YouTube, 2016), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa0ou2sQE10.

   The next fan creation is a remix on Soundcloud titled “Naruto – Sadness And Sorrow (Hip Hop Remix) by Dirty Kid Music. Uploaded 5 years ago, as of the time of writing, there are 51,700 Views, 632 lies, 24 shares, and three comments.144 This piece begins with the piano solo from the end of the OST recording. Perhaps this ending was transplanted to the front to allow for greater contrast for what would come later. Following the piano solo, what comes next at 0:38 is the string beginning of the OST recording. HoweVer, when the guitar enters at 0:55, the tempo is suddenly faster by about 20 beats per minute. Then at 1:00, right when the shakuhachi enters an additional part is added.

   When broken down, this pattern is strikingly simple. The primary instrument played seems to be a drum set. On this drum set a crash cymbal plays eVery other measure while a hi hat cymbal plays repeated eighth notes. A bass drum and snare drum trade off on beats, though the snare drum on the upbeats sounds a bit more powerful and therefore the upbeats sound more accented—characteristic of hip-hop. The part that really adds to the hip-hop feel is the synthesized bass. In addition to being the bass that is often the foundation of hip-hop music, it is also highly syncopated. The former parts continue for eight full measures and then stop. During that one measure of rest, the bass has a long glissando down. This nine-measure pattern repeats throughout the entire piece.

   
   

   144 Dirty Kid Music, [Dirty Kid Music] Naruto - Sadness And Sorrow (Hip Hop Remix), Soundcloud streaming audio, 2015, https://soundcloud.com/dirty-kid-basel-1/dirty-kid-naruto-ost-sadness.

   
   

   Figure 13—Dirty Kid Music Primary Hip-Hop Parts Transcription

   27 seconds later (at 1:27) a cabasa or other shaker-like percussion instrument is added. This part is eVen simpler, with only one pattern. Despite this simplicity, it is strikingly effectiVe. The accent on eVery other note adds to the Very syncopated feel to the remix. The accent is so powerful it is almost as if it is a higher pitch eVen though it is an unpitched percussion instrument. It also makes the rhythm sound swung instead of straight. This rhythm plays for eight measures with a full measure of rest to fit in with the preViously introduced patterns. After it is finished one cycle, it comes back again at the 2:42 and 3:57 marks.

   
   

   Figure 14—Dirty Kid Music Cabasa Accompaniment Transcription

   The next transcription is eVen simpler than the aboVe. Created by a Brazilian fan named Gabriel Ribeiro, at the time of writing it had 47,000 Views, 598 likes, and 23 shares, and 29 comments on Soundcloud.145 This has a Voice beatboxing a single rhythm throughout. Taking influence from Brazilian hip hop called either funk or baile, this one rhythmic motiVe repeats 47

   
   

   145 Gabriel Ribeiro, Naruto Sadness and Sorrow Funk Remix (Sad Funk), Soundcloud streaming audio, 2017, https://soundcloud.com/gabriel-ribeiro-300388333/naruto-sadness-and-sorrow-funk-remix-sad-funk.

   times. For simplicity (i.e., to aVoid thirty-second notes and rests), I notated it in 4/4 time at about double the tempo as the original Sadness and Sorrow to match up.

   
   

   
   

   Figure 15—Sad Funk Remix Rhythmic MotiVe Transcription

   At around the 0:21 mark, the listener hears two repetitions of just the “du du” motiVe, almost sounding like a heartbeat, and then the full rhythm begins with the shakuhachi part. This is the same as the preVious example, and it seems to be a pattern with most of the Naruto remixes I listened to. That is to say, the rhythm that is the foundation of the remix usually starts where the shakuhachi part begins. In fact, hip-hop and similar genres are obViously a fan faVorite. Through its use in the soundtrack of Naruto, the shakuhachi is transformed into a hip-hop instrument.

   Hip-hop and similar genres are probably one of the most common that fans turn to when using the sound of the shakuhachi. Sadness and Sorrow alone has been transformed into lo-fi hip-hop, synth hip-hop, and trap—all with the remix aspect beginning with and/or focusing on the shakuhachi.

   Another good example of this is G#’s remix that again has the hip-hop remix beginning with the shakuhachi solo. This remix, added in September of 2020 has accrued almost 30,000 Views, 1,065 likes, 28 shares, and 197 Very positiVe comments. What I belieVe this shows is that eVen though the original show and its music ended its run almost fifteen years ago, this culture is still flourishing. Created in the midst of the pandemic, this remix was someone using the

   shakuhachi to musick in a rough time. The large and swift following also shows a thirst for this kind of material in fifteen years after the end of the show and in a turbulent time. G#’s remix is similar to Dirty Kids Music’s remix in that it is simple, yet effectiVe. A heaVy bass and simple accompaniment turns the shakuhachi into a hip-hop instrument.146

   Although these simple and repetitiVe changes may seem insignificant, they dramatically change the piece. Also, while only one example had the creator actually playing the shakuhachi, this does not diminish the creatiVity of those that do not play the shakuhachi. These indiViduals are still using, manipulating, and musicking with the instrument. Perhaps more important is that this use allows the instrument to spread to countless others—in ways not possible a few decades ago. In the following section, I will discuss my interView with such content creators and someone in the middle of spreading a traditional instrument in such an un-traditional context.

4. Case Study: In the Life and Mind of Kyuubikaze, a Naruto/Anime YouTuber

Kyuubikaze is a self-admitted fan of Naruto. His fandom began around the ripe age of seVen when he says he would watch just about anything and eVerything that came on the teleVision. HoweVer, when it came to Naruto, to him there was something special about it. There was something about it, and Kyuubikaze says it must haVe been because it was all about ninja.

With a few chuckles, he admits that it was his “gateway” into anime. Though it was his introduction to anime, he admits that at seVen years old he had no idea that it was Japanese. At that time, to him it was just a cartoon and he had no way of knowing the different between one that’s American-made Versus Japanese-made. A proud Filipino-American, he also says there’s no connection to his being Asian and his affinity for anime. He says it’s just what he was surrounded by and all of his friends were into liVing and growing up in Hawai‘i.

146 G#, Naruto Sadness and Sorrow Remix, Soundcloud streaming audio (Soundcloud, 2020), https://soundcloud.com/user-593577772/naruto-sadness-and-sorrow-remix.

Although Naruto sparked his foray into the anime world, due to life complications, he wasn’t able to engage with it as much as he would haVe wished. When excitedly recalling the popular Toonami anime block on Cartoon Network, he notes that if he missed it, that was that. But when he did watch it, it was always a happy moment for him. His fandom occurred in this manner until he was around the age of 14, when he was able to truly dig deep into his fandom.

It was also around this time that Kyuubi became a YouTuber. He says his interest in becoming a YouTuber stems not from wanting to become famous, but because he was inspired to try it out after watching another YouTuber. This YouTuber, Ryan Higa or NigaHiga, was an early YouTuber from the big island of Hawai‘i. Currently standing at 21 million followers, Higa is definitely a force to be reckoned with. After watching NigaHiga and thinking with his best friend “Let’s be YouTubers,” it has been a struggle to reach his childhood dream. OVer time howeVer as he has grown experience, he has learned how to curate a following and monetize his channel.

In eVery interaction I haVe had with Kyuubi, his loVe for Naruto is palpable. His knowledge is also unsurpassed. WheneVer I threw a question his way, he almost always had an immediate and accurate answer off of the top of his head. EVen when not directly asked, he would be throwing out names and facts. When one considers the amount of time and dedication Kyuubi has put into his fandom, this makes sense. He has seen the whole series in its entirety around four times, though this isn’t including queuing up random episodes. He has also done a lot of watching, listening, reading and absorbing a lot of content both for his YouTube channel and for himself.

In terms of the music, he is just as knowledgeable. His way of describing the music in just one word is “EPIC!” During our interView, without eVen asking about piece names, Kyuubi

began to extoll the Virtues of The Rising Fighting Spirit. Just the thought of the song giVes him goosebumps, and he is immediately able to sing the melody (played by the shakuhachi).

According to Kyuubi, there may be no other anime song that is better than The Rising Fighting Spirit and there are just so many memories and associations with the song. He admits listens to the music outside of the anime quite often and usually listens to it when cleaning around the house.

I first met Kyuubikaze at my first anime conVention, the annual Kawaii Kon held in Honolulu, Hawai‘i on April 5-7, 2019.147 I was in the early phases of my research and I wanted to “test the waters” in the world of fans to see whether or not this was the topic I truly wanted to pursue. Each day of the three-day eVent was full of seminars, lectures, presentations, panels, performances, and other eVents, often seVeral taking place at the same time. As it was my first time attending any kind of fan eVent, eVery turn I took was a surprise. Of course, I had read other accounts and heard stories from other people, but the scale neVer truly hit me until this first-hand experience. I was shocked at the large number of attendees—13,076 paid attendees in 2019—and the grandiose cosplay (costume play), by the Vigor and enthusiasm shown by those I walked past and talked to.148 One of the most surprising aspects for me was that a majority of the ground floor was dedicated to an anime market. Some of the shops were of local stores selling their wares, but the Vast majority were selling goods made by fans. An attendee could buy practically anything their heart desired including artwork, music, keychains, stickers, and fanfiction.

Looking in the brochure that listed all the eVents, it looked like an academic conference.

Also similar to an academic conference, multiple eVents often occurred at the same time, so

147 “Guests 2019 Archives,” Kawaii Kon, accessed April 3, 2021, https://kawaiikon.com/project-type/guests-2019/.

148 “Kawaii Kon 2019 Information,” AnimeCons.com, accessed April 3, 2021, https://animecons.com/events/info/2742/kawaii-kon-2019.

participants usually had to decide which out of three or four eVents to attend. Many were difficult choices, but when I excitedly came across a panel dedicated entirely to Naruto, I knew that was the number one eVent I could not miss.

The panel was hosted by a YouTuber named Kyuubikaze, or as I haVe come to know him: Tyler. According to the conVention brochure, he was recently named Hawai‘i’s best anime YouTuber. This award was giVen to him on his eighteenth birthday at the first Hawai‘i anime awards. This award was well deserVed not just for his YouTube channel, but also for being instrumental in reViVing an entire anime eVent, Anime ‘Ohana FestiVal. When asking him about the award, he said it brought up a lot of awesome memories, and he was Very proud of his achieVements with Anime ‘Ohana, considering a lot of people doubted why it should eVen be brought back.

When I sat down in a chair towards the middle of the auditorium at Kawaii Kon well ahead of the written start time, I obserVed as excited fans trickled in dressed in often dressed in costumes of their faVorite characters from the show—part of the panel was a costume competition. Before the eVent began, some of the organizers helped handout colorful stickers to the audience. Upon close inspection, they were adVertisements for Kyuubikaze’s online content. The sticker had a cartoon Version of Tyler dressed up in a fox costume and in order to promote his social media channels (e.g., Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter), his handle @Kyuubikaze was also included.

The eVent was fun and full of energy and I found myself getting caught up in the friendly enVironment. This is the eVent that as mentioned before played the Naruto Theme and The Rising Fighting Spirit on repeat throughout as if a Naruto eVent could not take place without the music to set the mood. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Not only was this

Kawaii Kon not the first that Kyuubikaze has hosted, but he is also somewhat of a worldwide icon. He has hosted fan eVents and panels as far away as Manila in the Philippines. In many of them, he plays his faVorite Naruto tracks during his eVent, just like in Hawai‘i. The songs are what he calls a “fan faVorite” or a “crowd pleaser” and they get the audience in the mood and hyped up to talk about Naruto. As discussed before, the shakuhachi is the melody and featured instrument in all of these pieces.

I tried my best to participate and eVen won a Naruto sticker in the quiz portion of the panel for answering a question about Kyuubikaze’s name. Not yet Very knowledgeable on Naruto, but familiar with the Japanese language, I answered too literally—“nine tail wind.” Luckily Kyuubikaze accepted my answer while pointing out it’s in reference to the nine-tail fox demon of Naruto—the Very same nine-tail fox demon he was dressed up as on that day and in which his sticker cartoon was dressed up as. It turns out, that this costume is one of two. The first is an orange suit made by a specialty costume maker that he bought for one hundred dollars and the other, a yellow Variant is an award-winning, fan-faVorite, and handmade costume that Kyuubi wears with pride. He tells me that the latter took him 40-50 hours to make and included a lot of Vacuuming loose feathers.

After looking him up online, I found that eVen though it is not his focus, he includes Naruto music and remixes in seVeral of his Videos. One Video in particular caught my eye, his Video titled “Musically Tutting Challenge – Naruto Style! (Otaku Twist).” Approximately 29 seconds into the Video he uses a Naruto soundtrack remix to dance to. Posted on June 1, 2017, this Video garnered 7,348 Views, 202 likes, and 60 comments.149

149 KyuubiKaze, Musically Tutting Challenge - Naruto Style! (Otaku Twist), YouTube Video, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WETgRQ6qAjg.

This Video is a perfect example of many of the concepts discussed throughout this thesis including imagined communities and spreadable media. Reading the description of the Video, it is reVealed that Tyler did not create the music used in the Video, but instead used music created by another fan. This piece is entitled “PUNYASO - Konoha's Kid (Naruto Tribute)” and was created by DubstepGutter shortly before Kyuubikaze’s Video on March 15 of the same year. This Video has a staggering 18,007,750 Views, 305,000 likes, and 15,908 comments.150 A dubstep remix that sounds like it could haVe been pulled from the lists of a bar or club, it primarily utilizes the shakuhachi sections of The Rising Fighting Spirit. Although he did not make the music himself, Kyuubi’s obVious fandom and the clear picture of the shakuhachi spreading— possibly unknowingly is what intrigued me. Imagine, the shakuhachi going from a Zen instrument, to being used as tutting music!

Around the time of this Video, Kyuubikaze saw a tutting challenge on a pre-curser to Tik Tok called Musically and decided to participate in the challenge. The next step in the process was to decide on some kind of music to tut to. Being such a fan of Naruto, his first point of action was to search Naruto remixes on YouTube which he says were especially popular at the time. In my discussions with Kyuubikaze, I was astonished to find out just how much he works on his Videos. The Video in question he said took a total of ten hours from idea to creation.

Throughout the creation of this Video, he had to listen to the PUNYASOU piece a number of times to choreograph his dance, practice the dance, record the dance, and then edit the Video. By the time he uploaded the Video, Kyuubi says he must haVe listened to the piece at least 25 times. And this is just in the creation of this Video. This is not counting the times that he re-watches the Video he created. Also, a look through his catalogue of YouTube Videos shows that he has used

150 DubstepGutter, PUNYASO - Konoha’s Kid (Naruto Tribute), YouTube Video, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFCBJDqMEm8.

the piece in other Videos, including some just released seVeral months ago. The PUNYASOU has truly become a piece in his repertoire—or one might say honkyoku.

When I asked how long it took him to create this tutting Video, he estimates it at least ten hours. Though I was surprised at the amount of time he dedicated to it, this is not out of the normal for Kyuubikaze. In fact, that Video was created in his “beginner YouTuber” days and he has since leVeled-up the quality of his Videos and the time it takes to produce them. He said before COVID-19 kept him busy with other things and slowed down his Video creation, he would usually release a Video eVery Saturday, and the creation of each Video would take him hours of work each day.

Digging deep into the main focus of this thesis, I asked Kyuubi early on (i.e., before I reVealed the main topic of the thesis and gaVe him a bias) what instruments he can name that are used in Naruto. His immediate response without any thought was the flute. He knew it was a Japanese flute and could not think of the name of the instrument, but he knew it was a flute-like instrument. He did name others (the taiko, electric guitar, and piano), but the flute was the first one he mentioned, he spent the most time on talking about it, and mentioned most emphatically. He might not know what it is, but to him, the instrument is representatiVe of Naruto. It is as if it goes without saying. His faVorite pieces haVe it as the melody instrument, it is the first instrument that comes to his mind when he thinks of the show, and he creates content using the sounds of it.

The story of Kyuubikaze told aboVe is not an outlier. My surVey and all other experiences that I haVe had from the beginning of my research shows that stories like Kyuubikaze’s are the norm. Of course, there are indiVidual differences and Variations, but the similarities and shared community feelings and knowledge is striking. One feeling just about eVeryone in the Naruto fan

community shares is a loVe of and connection to the music and in particular the shakuhachi— whether they know it or not.

This is what I find most fascinating. Kyuubikaze and many others don’t know what they’re listening to, using, creating… and there is nothing wrong with that. It is still musicking. In fact, if the amount of time Kyuubikaze spends on his work is indicatiVe of other creators, the Naruto soundtrack and the shakuhachi are just as much a part of his life as a typical player, teacher, connoisseur, or academic. He listens to and works with the soundtrack more than I practice the shakuhachi in a typical week. Also, it is still symbolic creatiVity and participatory culture with the shakuhachi. They are still spreading media containing the instrument and its sounds. They are still directing people to not just the anime and its soundtrack, but other people spending time creating with it. Through these indiViduals, the shakuhachi flows, touches and becomes a big part of many fans’ liVes. In a way, the shakuhachi is the “official” instrument or sound for Naruto culture.

CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

1. Summary

   At first glance, each of the chapters in this thesis presents topics that proVide a constellation of seemingly disparately related topics. HoweVer, they are all Very much related and used to driVe home my argument. The shakuhachi has a long and storied history, but oVer time, the sound both inside and outside Japan has been associated with its use as a spiritual tool in Zen Buddhism. Despite this dominant View, the shakuhachi has come to be used in a Variety of media including anime. The use of the shakuhachi in anime, howeVer, did not reach a global audience until the early 2000s. This is due to the Various phases in the history of anime: Western dominated and the same throughout the world, eVolVed into its own but changed when adapted abroad, and unique music with uniform adoption worldwide.

   In this iteration, the shakuhachi does not repeat its past; it meets a new world separate from those contexts. The shakuhachi in Naruto conflicts with what Japan likes to portray as its “official national culture” and eVen its “cool culture.” In this new use, the shakuhachi comes to represent Naruto the show and the character through simplicity and repetition. Viewers hear the shakuhachi used repeatedly in a way that makes it stand out and used in crucial parts of the show. Some then go on to listen to the soundtrack outside of the anime—though still with the label and connection to the show—for further repetition. Creations based on and/or using the most important pieces/sound clips from the show (inVariably using the shakuhachi) and still bearing the tag of Naruto are created, found/sought out, and consumed. This is yet more repetition. In the fan creations, the shakuhachi is not separated from its context within Naruto. It is kept intact, and other things added onto it. Then repackaged as a Naruto remix, shakuhachi remix, Naruto shakuhachi, or other similar terminology. The images attached to it are always the

   same: Naruto the character. The shakuhachi becomes a mechanism for nostalgia that actiVates this desire for a fantasy world at once Japan, and at the same time the polar opposite. As Naruto is an exotic, the shakuhachi becomes an exotic within an exotic.

   EVen if the audience member does not know the shakuhachi by name, the sound of the instrument has the association. Though this knowledge may lay dormant for years, when/if fans find out what the instrument is or hear it in a different context, the unbreakable association is there. I would eVen Venture to say that it is the creation of a Naruto shakuhachi tradition. While Masuda chose the shakuhachi when he composed the music to the anime, it is the fans who gaVe it life outside of the anime; this is something Masuda did not choose, decide, or haVe control of this once created. What is a tradition if not an association created through centuries of repetition? The shakuhachi did not become associated with Zen oVernight, but instead oVer centuries of repeated use in that context. Of course, it was used in other ways like gagaku as discussed before, possibly because the komusō made it so Visible and known to a wide audience. WhateVer the reason, the Zen context was what stuck.

   With Naruto, I would argue that it is like a “compression” of the creation of a tradition or meaning. The Naruto anime began less than two decades ago yet has created a strong association and possibly a “tradition.” This is only possible through modern media. Through modern media, the show and its sounds haVe become accessible to millions of people around the world and through countless platforms. Because of modern media, the repetition necessary for this tradition creation has happened at a rapid pace. It has also included forms of repetition that would neVer haVe been possible before. Just like the Zen shakuhachi, there is the Naruto shakuhachi.

2. Impact and Applications

   While this type of research—done by a no-name researcher and on a topic that is not Very popular yet—could go unnoticed, the impact of this research could also be fairly large for one

   big reason: while the academic study of anime well established and growing, the study of music in anime is relatiVely nascent. With that said, it is exciting to see deVelopments in this area. On NoVember 19, 2020 The Japan Foundation hosted a Virtual seminar featuring three speakers dedicated entirely to anime music entitled “The Power of Music in Anime.” The groundbreaking nature of this kind of seminar is illustrated in their biographies where many of their published works on anime music including Dr. Stacey Jocoy’s Anime and Music Handbook (PalgraVe) and Animation and Public Engagement at the Time of Covid-19 (Vernon Press) are still forthcoming.151

   In addition, Dr. Kunio Hara’s research is primarily on Joe Hisaishi’s score for the Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro which is animated and therefore considered anime. HoweVer, it is a full-length feature film and therefore still a far cry from this study on a TV anime series—in fact, film music is already a well-established academic topic with a Vast and growing literature. The only published work from the academics in this seminar on a TV anime was Rose Bridges’s work on the music of Cowboy Bebop. One of the foremost academic anime journals, Mechademia has yet to discuss music. Like with Jocoy’s books, their Volume on music in anime titled Soundscapes is scheduled to be published in “Spring 2021.”152

   The impact is eVen wider giVen that this area finds eVen less exposure in the field of ethnomusicology. In fact, almost all of the books, articles, and dissertations on anime music that are mentioned and referenced in this thesis were written by musicologists through a musicological lens. Although the two fields do haVe some oVerlap and many haVe a hard time defining the definitions and boundaries in each field, approaches often differ. In the case of the

   
   

   151 The Japan Foundation & CGP, NY, [EP3] The Power of Music in Anime.

   152 Japan Foundation, “[EP3] The Power of Music in Anime,” Eventbrite, accessed March 8, 2021, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/125762034631?aff=efbneb.

   anime music literature referenced in this thesis, they do not look at the audience and the fans. Also, they do not look at the music outside of the composer’s created sounds and how it appears in the “official” film or anime. Hopefully this thesis may spark changes in both musicology and ethnomusicology.

   GiVen that globalization will continue, and technology will continue to expand the aVailability of anime to an eVen wider audience, this study will be a guiding light for the future. Although it was mentioned preViously, it bears repeating people do not engage with music the way that they did twenty or eVen ten years ago. Technological adVances haVe allowed people to create music using the sounds of instruments without actually haVing to play the physical instrument itself. InnoVations like YouTube—not inVented twenty years ago—has allowed global dissemination of music in unprecedented ways. I would like to see the field of ethnomusicology shift more to a focus on the kinds of music and participation found in this thesis. Instead of focusing on performers and composers in the traditional sense, we should expand our View towards consumers, fans, and less traditional creators like those preViously discussed. Globalization and transnational spread will also lead to a host of other problems including ethical ones which will be discussed later. This thesis can proVide insights into many of these issues.

3. Areas for Further Study

Because this subject matter (i.e., anime music and shifting of shakuhachi tradition) is a relatiVely new area of study in the field of ethnomusicology, there are many ways in which this research could be continued, expanded on, and eVen taken in new and exciting directions. To begin with, Naruto itself could be examined more. I focused on the shakuhachi, but eVen this focused study was rather short. The use of this instrument could be examined in more depth and/or from different angles. In addition, the music as a whole and the other traditional

instruments could be examined. The music of the Naruto films, Video games, and sequel series would also be a great expansion. Comparing how the shakuhachi is used in the original Versus the sequels and the supplementary media would be an exciting direction.

Also, so much more anime using Japanese traditional instruments could be researched. Throughout my research I was regularly uncoVering new content. There were seVeral surVey answers that directed me to new and promising topics. Worth mentioning is Inuyasha. A brief listen reVeals that the music of this show is big and dramatic, full orchestral music. Influence from StraVinsky and Takemitsu is clear, and traditional instruments are used throughout. Almost all music in anime is fair game since it is a new topic—eVen those that do not use traditional instruments.

Another interesting anime study would be on the Very recent Kono Oto Tomare (この音とまれ!, 2019). This show features a high school koto club and recently finished its second season. In this case, the instrument is front and center, not just an unseen entity in the soundtrack. Has such prominent use in a popular anime increased interest and engagement with this traditional instrument (both inside and outside Japan)? How so? Does the audience grow an inseparable connection to the instrument and the show like in Naruto? Or is this effect less pronounced since in this case it is a seen and known entity and not just disembodied sound?

This study could also be extended to the manga (2012-present) that predates the anime by a few years and is still ongoing. In this case, the readers see images of the instruments, sees still images of people playing them, and uses onomatopoeia to recreate the sounds of the instrument, but do not hear the actual sound. What sound is audiated when the reader has neVer heard the instrument or a specific piece? A few years into the manga, the author and her family (all koto

players) composed and recorded an accompaniment album that featured pieces “heard” in the manga. How does this contribute to the audience perception and interaction with the manga?

As mentioned seVeral times throughout this thesis, the shakuhachi and other traditional instruments haVe found their way into a Variety of popular media. This is yet another aVenue for further inVestigation. Ōkami (大神, 2006) is a popular Video game that has been updated and released for almost eVery Video game console since the PlayStation 2. In this game, the player roams through ancient Japan as the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu in the form of a wolf (the title of the game is a play on words: ōkami could mean either a big/important god, but it is also the Japanese word for wolf). The soundtrack of the game uses the shakuhachi, and there is eVen a character named komusō that is a komusō carrying around the instrument.

Though mentioned before, the use of the shakuhachi and Japanese traditional instruments in Hollywood film would be an interesting study. Yes, Jurassic Park and its music has been studied, but has the use of the shakuhachi been examined in-depth? HaVe audience reactions been examined? I can enVision a fascinating study that plays a scene utilizing the shakuhachi and audience members giVe their impressions and reactions. What instrument do they think it is?

How does it make them feel? How would this compare to a Japanese person’s reaction? How do they feel that Japanese instruments are being used in this way?

The use of these instruments in documentaries, pop music, jidaigeki, this list of studies and further applications could be many because again, this topic hasn’t been examined in academia. In researching the shakuhachi in these media representations, a look at the shakuhachi as romanticized and exoticized would be a great one. In the case of jidaigeki, is the shakuhachi an “internal exotic” that transports its listener to the days of the samurai just by its sound?153 Is

153 Yano, Tears of Longing, 16.

the instrument just used in Japanese documentaries for better romanticization of the exotic and foreign Japan? Or is it to promote the image that the Japanese goVernment wants to promulgate?

Another study that is just begging to be researched would be the ethics of using traditional instruments outside of their traditional contexts as well as those of consuming, spreading, and manipulating this media. Because of my hegemonic positionality as a white male American, I haVe tried to present the phenomenon without adding any ethical or Value judgements on these aspects. I haVe tried to present the information as factual and unemotional as possible. HoweVer, the questions should be addressed since globalization is only going to continue and these things will only occur more often.

An important starting point in research such as this would be to ask: whose ethics? What ethical template/standards should be used? Ethics are fluid and dynamic so while it is easy to ask questions, answering them presents another issue entirely. The answer to any one of these questions/issues can be different depending on what kind of music we are dealing with, where it deriVes from, its cultural/historical/social context, and so many other factors. Also, ethics is subjectiVe. What I may View to be ethical another indiVidual may find to be absolutely abhorrent. This is particularly true again considering the author’s point of priVilege and largely hegemonic status as a white American male.

One ethical issue is that of globalization: is it ethical for one person to decide to spread a certain musical instrument or genre or an instrument worldwide? This issue is largely tied to ownership, so before we can begin to examine the ethics of it, we must ask: who owns the music/instrument? Is the music or instrument owned by a specific person? A family? A town, Village, region, or nation? What about a nation-state or ethnic group? Once we know the answer to this—which is often difficult, if not impossible to answer—we can begin to ask other

questions such as who then has the right to decide the ethics for dissemination? Can one person decide the ethics of this for an entire nation consisting of millions of people? Or whether or not a music/instrument gets to be shared with the world? Does it haVe to be a community consensus (if such a thing is eVen possible)?

A similar point is to ask whether or not it is ethical to dissociate an instrument or music from its original/traditional context to begin with. If a music/instrument does somehow find its way far from “home,” does this make it ethical to then consume it? If one assumes that simple consumption is okay, is there an ethical line in the sand that we draw regarding who can consume it? For example, is it restricted by gender? Age? Religion? Should it only be listened to at night? Can it only be consumed during a specific actiVity (e.g., when putting a child to sleep)? We can ask this in the case of Naruto as well. It was originally intended for the animation, so is it only ethical to listen to the music within the context of the teleVision show? Does the fact that it has been released on a separate album change things? EVen though it is relatiVely accessible to obtain on the global online marketplace, what about the fact that the album was only released for Japanese audiences? Is it ethical to obtain and consume the sounds on the album outside of the anime in a nation other than Japan?

In my examples of Naruto and items that are largely under copyright protection throughout this thesis, an important item to note is that what is written in legal code and therefore what is legal/illegal does not always line up with what is or is not ethical. This becomes particularly clear when Western ideas of intellectual property rights encroach on cultures that haVe either no conception of or a different conception of intellectual property rights.

With an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, issues of rights both legal and cultural are more problematic than eVer before. The music inVolVed with anime fandoms is

legally protected under copyright laws in countries around the world, but sometimes fans still consume and replicate it in ways that are illegal since they are not asking for permission or paying royalties to the owners. As preViously discussed, fan actiVities haVe a broad range from just uploading the exact recording to a completely new and almost unrecognizable Version.

Should each of these be examined separately and approached differently? Are copyright laws too restrictiVe?

Copyright laws are often in place to protect the owners financially. HoweVer, the fans are often not making any money from their creations and the uploading of them. They often do it out of a loVe for the franchise and do not get any compensation. As a matter of fact, many of these creations support the originals, helping them make more money. An indiVidual coming across a hip-hop remix of an anime soundtrack may seek out and purchase the original. HoweVer, does this make it right or ethical? A complication is when the fans do receiVe money from uploading these copyright-infringing materials. Streaming platforms like YouTube often proVide income through ad-reVenue. Though these amounts may often be small, how much is too much? Is the fact that eVen a small amount of money is being made too much of a problem? Academics haVe discussed (and corporations haVe also debated these facts) that fan-made music supports the fan community and without the fans, franchises would haVe a hard time continuing to thriVe. Fans often continue to feed money into a franchise decades after the end of a series. But the question is, where does it become unethical (if at all)? Is it the mere use of and/or manipulation of the sounds? Or when the fan begins to make money or a certain monetary threshold?

As briefly discussed, in the case of Japanese anime, there are often added rights issues outside of international copyright. In addition, the use of the shakuhachi in Naruto alone adds questions of cultural ethics. While the issue is highly multifaceted, some would argue that the

tradition should stay in Japan, is only authentic when played by Japanese people in a certain way and should only be taught through traditional transmission processes. Others may argue differently like Izumi Takeo who thinks the use of it outside of is a good thing considering in Japan “the number of people performing shakuhachi is decreasing, and the future of the instrument and its music are dim.”154

Despite a decrease in interest in their homeland, through popular culture like Naruto many fans haVe had their interest in Japanese traditional instruments either sparked or facilitated. Most of these fans aren’t Japanese and don’t haVe the opportunity to learn in the traditional way. EVen if they don’t play these instruments, they interact with them in some way and utilize their sounds in ways that would be unthinkable to many—like putting the shakuhachi in a hip-hop context. Is any of this ethical? Do we haVe an ethical imperatiVe to “saVe” the shakuhachi from its decline eVen if we are stepping on the toes of those that “own” it?

This matter is further complicated by the fact that the Japanese goVernment actiVely commercializes and commodifies both its traditional culture and promotes its popular culture through programs like “Cool Japan.” Sandler mentions that it is important that the cultural group be able to “determine how their cultural heritage will be used.”155 But in this case, the fans are in essence doing what is encouraged by the cultural group—or at least the goVernment of the cultural group. Can a fan of Naruto be blamed for doing something that was actiVely encouraged? Something that they haVe heard from a Very young age?

Pop culture franchises are a global phenomenon and they reach across borders. Each place Naruto reaches may haVe a different concept of ownership and ethics. Many watching

154 Takeo, Paintings of Bamboo Flutes: A History and Genealogy of Shakuhachi Performance, 1.

155 Felicia Sandler, “In Search of a Cross-Cultural Legal Framework: Indigenous Musics as a Worldwide Commodity,” in Music and Cultural Rights, ed. Andrew N Weintraub (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2009), 251.

Naruto and listening to the soundtrack may not be as inculcated in the legal framework of copyright as we are in the West. This is especially pertinent when we are dealing with franchises that are popular with young audiences. Can a ten-year-old child be expected to fully understand the extent of copyright laws and the intricacies of musical and cultural ethics? HoweVer, many ten-year-olds can now drag and drop a few elements in computer software like GarageBand to make a new track and then upload that to YouTube. Many participants in these actiVities haVe no idea what they are doing is wrong.

Another aspect of this discussion is the ethical aspect to the piece/pieces. What is the ethical way to perform the piece? Is it like classical music in that when performed, the ethical imperatiVe is to perform it as close to what is written by the composer? If not, are you no longer respecting the wishes/intentions of the composer? Many of the aboVe-mentioned issues it bring up a fact that many scholars haVe discussed in-depth: with rapidly changing technology and increasing globalization, we need to change not only our outdated laws, but also the ways in which we View this music. In line with this, we should also shift our ethical Views. Abigail De Kosnik states that

the proliferation of actual archiVes of archontic production supports and strengthens a moVement that legal scholar Lawrence Lessig calls free culture… [which] shunts aside print-era conceptions of copyright, authorship, textuality, and collectiVe memory, and seeks to replace them with copyleft, a cultural commons that giVes onto collaboratiVe creatiVity, a widespread acknowledgement and acceptance of Versioning… and rogue archiVes.156

Other scholars agree with much of De Kosnik’s sentiment including Henry Jenkins who has written extensiVely on the topic of new media and fan culture. All of this is to say that

156 Abigail De Kosnik, Rogue Archives: Digital Cultural Memory and Media Fandom (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2016), 276.

our media has changed, shouldn’t we also take a look at reVising our ethics? Are these arguments just Western academics speaking from a point of priVilege?

With all of this said, there are a lot of ways in which to study this topic and closely related ones. The primary reason for this is because the fans are so actiVe and so creatiVe. For as long as there are fans, there will be material for academics to study because fans will continue to innoVate. Fans will not stop creating. OVer time, this culture and its musical products will become larger, more Visible, powerful, and influential. The fans will not wait for us to catch up. So what are we waiting for?

APPENDIX A

TABLE OF MUSIC IN THE FIRST FIVE EPISODES OF NARUTO

Episode 1—Enter: Naruto Uzumaki!

Time 00:00-00:50 00:51-2:14 2:14-2:32 2:32-3:20 3:30-4:21 4:21-4:35 4:35-6:16 6:16-6:36 6:36-7:14

7:14-7:45 7:45-8:28 8:28-8:40 8:40-8:51 8:51-9:08 9:08-9:36 9:36-10:24 10:24-11:16 11:16-13:10 13:10-14:03

14:03-15:04 15:04-15:23 15:23-15:49 15:49-16:36 16:37-17:40 17:40-17:53 17:53-19:54 19:54-20:53 20:53-21:36 21:36-23:07 23:07-23:36

Episode 2—My Name is Konohamaru!

Time 0:00-1:41 1:41-2:15 2:15-2:30 2:30-3:15 3:15-3:54 3:54-4:01 4:01-4:39 4:39-6:14 6:14-6:56

6:56-8:01 8:01-8:55 8:55-10:10 10:10-10:23 10:23-10:36 10:36-11:35 11:35-12:03 12:03-12:38 12:38-13:41 13:41-14:05

Episode 3—Sasuke and Sakura: Friends or Foes?

Time 0:00-1:41 1:41-2:55 2:55-3:46 3:46-4:09 4:09-4:23 4:23-4:34 4:34-5:09 5:09-6:20 6:20-7:21

7:21-8:28 8:28-8:56 8:56-11:36 11:36-13:02 13:02-13:25 13:25-14:27 14:27-14:43 14:43-14:57 14:57-15:09 15:09-16:04

16:04-16:26 16:26-16:44 16:44-17:35 17:35-18:12 18:12-18:50 18:50-19:20 19:20-19:34 19:34-19:38 19:38-19:53 19:53-19:58

19:58-20:27 20:27-20:47 20:47-21:24 21:24-21:37 21:37-23:08 23:08-23:40

Episode 4—Pass or Fail: Survival Test

Time 0:00-1:41 1:41-2:42 2:42-2:49 2:49-3:04 3:04-3:19 3:19-3:26 3:26-5:14 5:14-5:34 5:34-5:47

5:47-6:23 6:23-7:19 7:19-7:43 7:43-8:12 8:12-8:45 8:45-8:56 8:56-9:51 9:51-10:18 12:07-12:31

12:31-12:40 12:40-14:19 14:19-14:24 14:24-14:35 14:35-15:10 15:10-15:33 15:33-16:18 16:18-17:37 17:37-17:54 17:54-18:41

18:41-18:52 18:52-19:18 19:18-19:31 19:31-19:58 19:58-21:06 21:06-21:33 21:34-23:05 23:05-23:37

Episode 5—You Failed! Kakashi’s Final Decision

Time 0:00-1:41 1:41-2:33 2:33-2:39 2:39-3:06 3:06-3:19 3:19-3:41 3:41-5:07 5:07-5:31 5:31-6:59

6:59-7:23 7:23-9:50 9:50-10:58 10:58-11:56 11:56-12:45 12:45-14:56 14:56-16:38 16:14-16:38 16:38-18:14 18:14-19:08

19:08-19:14 19:14-20:07 20:07-20:20 20:20-21:34 21:34-23:04 23:04-23:36

Guide to Chart

Notes:

• Even though the sections where there is music proper do not mention it, they are often also overlayed with sound effects.

• Synth is used as a catch-all for any electronic “synthesized” sound

• Percussion is used for auxiliary percussion and sometimes examples are given, but due to limited space all instruments used cannot be listed

  APPENDIX B SURVEY RESULTS

  
  

  
  

  What are your thoughts on the musical soundtrack of Naruto?

  52 responses

• I like the fight music in the soundtracks and in particular the use of traditional Japanese instruments and electric guitar just work perfect together.

• Nice

• It is hype

• Loved the soundtrack, both calming and exilerating!

• LIT

• Sooooooooooooooooo nostalgic. Takes me back to my childhood.

• It's pretty good as far as soundtracks go.

• its my life

• I enjoyed the opening themes better than the closing themes with the exception of Wind by Akeboshi. As far as the instrumental tracks, I enjoyed the way the music set the tone for each scene, especially if the scene was sad or serious.

• Fantastic

• it is AMAZING!

• At times exciting or beautiful

• Make you hype

• They really give a big boost to the ongoing sequence while watching. When I hear them again, I distinctly remember the scenes where the background music is played.

• It is cool. I can feel the vibe and can sing along (sometimes) when I hear soundtacks of Naruto.

• awesome and emotional

• I love the naruto soundtrack. Its good

• Great opening & ending themes, background music is very on-point as well

• Its cool

• Impressive

• Very Catchy to the audience

• Love it! I really enjoy the sound and use of traditional instruments.

• They’re captivating! Their unique soundtrack really capture my emotions every time I watch the anime.

• I liked the music from the first season the best.

• It's very catchy and melodious, even evokes emotions such as sentimentality.

• Can be pretty bumping at times

• Kana boon's silhouette is my favorite among my top 3 naruto ost. And it's still a music to my ears even these days.

• pretty neat

• Epic and repetitive

• I think it’s well suited to the series

• Amazing

• Its unique.

• Varied, exciting and moving

• It’s beautiful and brings out a lot of emotion.

• Its all about power and family

• I think it’s a great soundtrack that I really enjoyed, I’ve only recently seen the anime so I don’t feel like it really impacted me as much as it would have say if I had been kid watching it for the first time and growing with the series.

• its good

• Thought it was like meh until it became nice to hear and gives you goosebumps

• none

• Enjoyable

• I honestly think it is one of the best anime soundtracks out there. If not one of the best in all of TV.

• I'm watching it for the first time now and so far it's pretty good.

• Toshio Masuda did a great job with it.

• Energetic with nice beats

• I love the music! It draws the emotions within every scene from the viewer

• Its the greatest soundtrack ever!

• It’s well made

• Straight Fire *fire emoji*

• Well composed pieces

• Motivational

  
  

  Is there anything that you find unique or interesting about the soundtrack of Naruto?

  51 responses

• Yes

• As mentioned in the previous response I enjoyed the nice amalgamation of various instruments, both authentic Japanese and modern electric instruments. The flute is the most memorable of all the instruments.

• It makes my heart excited

• sticks to its root Japanese heritage, chanting, and soothing whistles in it music.

• its great, but nothing that is too different from other anime music

• It has unique instruments.

• No.

• not in particular

• I enjoyed the serious or villain tracks. Lots of wind or string instruments from what I recall.

• The music perfectly captures the mood of the particular scene. Perhaps even sets the mood.

• it is so repetitive, so its easy to get attavhed to

• During the scenes it always makes them memorable

• The rhythm of it

• They seem to resemble heavy Japanese influence. They are also very relaxing that I listen to some of them while studying.

• Yes! Every time I hear the soundtrack of Naruto, I remember my two friends in Junior High School who watched Naruto with me in my friend's house. It feels so nostalgic.

• the way it repeats and helps you remember older parts

• None

• I actually did a study in Jr High or HS to see if people who don’t speak Japanese could guess the emotion in someone’s voice. I used clips from Naruto, and a lot of people said the music gave it away even if they couldn’t guess from the voice! So that tells me they did a good job choosing music that shows or encourages the emotion of a scene.

• Just nostalgic

• No

• the tune

• Yessssssss

• The soundtrack fit really well with the fight and emotional scenes. I think it's because of Naruto that I found the Yoshida Brothers on YouTube. They're shamisen playing brothers.

• Naruto’s soundtrack is simply amazing! It easily makes me feel sad, hopeful, scared, anxious, or elated. It provides its audience with cues about how one should supposed to feel during an anime scene.

• Battle music

• I liked the play of instrumentals

• To me, it felt like the scores weren't afraid of having more of a traditional approach to music than other series

• Yes, it has upbeat vibe and nostalgic.

• fits the show lie a suit and tie

• When listening back to it I can always remember what song goes to which fight or comedic moment.

• The recurring tracks, like Sadness and Sorrow, tied things together well. I don’t usually notice score songs, but they repeated them enough to be memorable but not enough to be annoying.

• the use of japanese flute, shamisen, and koto

• Fast paced battle music and emotional opening songs

• not that I can pinpoint

• The use of eastern and western instruments.

• Not necessarily

• just nosttalgia

• no

• I think it's unique how often things are repeated.

• It's pretty simple and repetitive.

• The use of traditional Japanese instruments.

• Traditional flute and shamisen??

• The use of Japanese instruments

• Only everything.

• I remember hearing it from a different room of my house from Toonami and knowing it was time to go watch Naruto

• It hypes me up even though I don't understand it.

• It brings back memories

• we are fighting dreamers

  
  

  What is/are your favorite track(s)? Note: If you cannot remember the name, one of the scenes it's found in, the general feeling of it (e.g. it's fast and cheerful) will do. 48 responses

• I liked the Raising Fighting Spirit track.

• Sillhouette

• calming, relaxing.

• The ones in the fight scenes make me so hype.

• I can't really remember any but the theme song.

• Slow and sad

• all of it

• Probably my favorite track is sadness and sorrow. It was so often used that someone might think it overuse but it was so good. Any of the flashbacks usually had it. I most remember it from the Haku arc. I think Orochimaru scenes also had a specific track, one that I don't recall the name of, but I remember liking it as well.

• Sadness and sorrow. Blood circulator, sign,

• so hard to pick!

• Blue bird

• Felt excitement

• The Raising Fighting Spirit, Strong and Strike, Naruto's Daily Life, Bad Situation, I said I'm Naruto,

• I really can't remember all the names of the soundtrack that I listened to. But there was this soundtrack that I remember when Naruto fights an enemy...it's like fighting spirit soundtrack. Another soundtrack that I like is the Akatsuki soundtrack. Everytime time you see the presence of the Akatsuki there's this melancholic-like soundtrack that gives you chill. Here are the soundtracks that I ca also remember: Bue Bird, Kanashimi wo Yasashisa ni, and Go!!!

• anything during a fight scene

• The Raising Fightimg Spirit

• The study I did used clips from the beginning of the show, where Haku and. Forget his name. Zero? Zeru? Were the main plot, and the whole story was really tragic. The sad music from some of those scenes was really intense and beautiful. I also love Re:write by Asian Kung-Fu Generation which I think is an op or ending theme?

• I think the 3rd one

• shippuden the original

• Black Bird

• Anything with drums or the flute/shakuhachi. The slow and sad parts were really good. Could really feel the emotions at play between the characters. I feel like the fight scenes used/replayed the same tracks, but the sad scenes were good at standing out.

• Naruto’s Theme. It’s a pretty fitting setup for the entire series with its tribal drum backings overlaid with electric guitar and other musical instruments. It perfectly represents the tone that Naruto exhibits all throughout.

• Rising Fighting Spirit

• Wind

• Sadness and Sorrow was one of my favorite tracks, but for openings I like the one by Sambomaster

• Kana Boon - Silhouette

• I just remember it's in all the sad scenes

• There's one fight song with a shamisem or something in the background. I also like one one with the flute

• Sadness and Sorrow, as mentioned above.

• Sadness and Sorrow

• Go - an opening song

• Ugh can't remember the scene, but it was almost like strings only.. super sad and grabbed your attention in a melancholy way

• Sadness and Sorroe

• Habata Itara

• I did some research to find the name but I believe it’s called Memories ( it’s basically a slowed down version of TenTen’s theme). It plays during several characters early childhood memories.

• FLOW - GO!!, Haruka Kanata

• I don't remember any

• Fast paced pieces

• GO!!, Rising Fighting Spirit, Sadness and Sorrow

• I just got past a scene where Naruto talks about how lonely he feels. The song from that scene I've heard a few times and it's probably one of my favorites fo far.

• You are my friend; Go (fighting dreamers

• Blue bird

• Sadness and Sorrow, Naruto's Theme

• GO!!, Far Away

• The slow closing credits.

• Hype and exhilarating

• when naruto and kurama fist bomb

  
  

  If yes to the previous question, please describe what you did/made and why you chose to use the music of Naruto and the specific portion you used.

  11 responses

• No

• in my podcast

• I mainly played the music on my violin and recorded myself but never uploaded.

• I played along to the 9 tailed beasts song adding my on movements

• All you have above is “option 1”. Woops! No, I didn’t use the music for any of my own creative projects.

• None

• I was making my motivational activity for my lesson when I used a clip from the series with the music as background.

• I use it sometimes for my YouTube channel

• N/A

• I wanted to make an animatic to upbeat music

• flow go

  
  

  How, when, and where did you learn about the shakuhachi?

  25 responses

• Um... I'm not sure if I know what it is but I feel like I've heard of it.

• not sure

• Maybe from a different anime and then looking it up online

• Can't remember

• I cant remember

• It sounds familiar. It must be a traditional Japanese instrument. I can’t really remember the soundtrack of Naruto, but I remember there’s a lot of traditional flute in the Inuyasha anime, which made a huge impression on me as a kid. Traditional Japanese instruments are so unique sounding and beautiful.

• anime show

• Movie itself

• Internet

• From my friend, although I listened to a Koto player in San Diego and she had someone accompany here on the shakuhachi. I can't remember if I knew the name back then.

• When I was working as an Online English Tutor to Japanese students, a few of them shared about this Japanese bamboo flute instrument.

• I'm high school

• My current place of work has shakuhachi classes (pre-covid). I first learned about it about 7 years ago before I worked for my workplace

• It's when I first heard the said musical instrument on naruto battle scenes, and then I searched it up on the internet.

• I think that might be the flute I was talking about

• The name sounds familiar, but I don’t recall. Likely in school.

• Anime

• I dont know

• I heard it in Naruto, knew it probably wasn't a flute, and googled it.

• InuYasha

• Just now

• From Soko ga shiritai many years ago

• Naruto

• A Japanese festival

• from background music meditation

  
  

  
  

  
  

  If yes to the previous question, in what other contexts have you heard the instrument? If no, what did you think it was at the time?

  18 responses

• some type of flute

• The flute

• Opening soundtrack of Naruto

• -

• Fight scenes

• I think in parts where the characters are being sneaky, sly, or stealthy is when it appears. It has a low, hollow sound?

• I believe flutes like the shakuhachi are used as tools for meditation.

• On TV

• I thought it was a traditional western flute (at the time, I didn't know what a shakuhachi was)

• Raising fighting spirit was played with shakuhachi

• I think I might have heard it in other anime or that one E3 where a guy played the flute on the Sony stage

• the flutee

• I wasn't sure what it was. I just knew it wasn't a regular flute.

• I knew it was a traditional flute. Not specifically the shakuhachi

• When I have seen it on soko ha shiritai

• I just thought it was a flute, but after some digging, I found a whole new world!

• I heard it on Naruto and didn’t know exactly what kinda flute it was. Then I went to a Japanese festival when I was still in school and there was a booth of different instruments and demonstrations for kotos, Shamisens, shakuhachi, and a few others

• Meditation

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Why do you think the shakuhachi was used and not a Western flute?

  25 responses

• I guess it has a different and unique sound?

• probably sounded better

• Probably to fit into the setting that the Naruto universe has some technological advances but is mixed with older traditions

• Unique syle

• I’m starting to glean that the flute I heard in Inuyasha might be the shakuhachi you’re talking about! Awesome. It’s an instrument used in Japan - it’s just one of the options on the table when you’re choosing an instrument to set a mood. It must have been appropriate for the emotional mood, but also it’s an anime that has some traditional / historical concepts going on, so using a more traditional / historical instrument makes sense for that reason too.

• I don't know but maybe because it easier to use and was made of like stick like bamboo.

• Maybe because of the content of the story

• For contextualization purposes

• I think the sound fits the show better given they're not in modern times and it fits the aesthetics of the "Japanese ninja." It gives that earthy/nature feeling since Naruto is from the Village of the Leaves. This instrument might have more range than a Western flute?

• Obviously, since Naruto is Japanese anime, I believe it’s just fitting to integrate the use of Japanese instruments or culture in general in the production of the series.

• It sounds less windy.

• I feel like it provides more of an asian feel to the music that a western flute can't quite provide

• It's distinctive on japanese cultural music but I don't really know the reason behind it.

• Because Naruto is about ninjas and that the vibe they were going for

• It has a more distinctive sound. Additionally, it has a sound more reminiscent of East Asia (Japan, China)

• To pay homage to the Japanese culture

• I dont know

• ?

• The sound is quite different.

• To make it more unique.

• It has a deeper sound.

• Possibly because it’s an “eastern” instrument. As well as possibly not a main stream instrument and hasn’t been promoted more mainstream.

• Because it's so much cooler. I mean a bamboo flute?

• It has a more natural tone and sounds almost ghostly which lent itself well to the music

• culture maybe

  
  

  
  

  
  

  When you hear the shakuhachi in Naruto, what images/thoughts come to mind?

  25 responses Naruto

• Team 7

• Haku, Naruto swinging in the swing outside the Academy, Naruto remembering Sasuke

• Thoughts of courage

• Ninjaa

• wind and being peaceful

• Anime movie

• Fight scenes LOL

• Forest, something is about to happening, something happening currently is important to the story,

• A wide bamboo field

• The wind, nature, the forest

• Just Naruto, mostly. Or something set in an asian inspired world

• Japanese country side

• I think of scenes where Naruto is sad. His childhood, as Sasuke leaves, etc.

• Melancholy for slow pieces, epic fights for the fast pieces

• Power

• flute?

• After my research, I can't get the image of monks out of my head.

• Sometimes InuYasha because that's where I first heard it.

• Old period Japan with ninjas and samurais

• The hokage mountain in the Hidden Leaf village

• Either sadness or excitement, like a fight it going on.

• Naruto by himself on the infamous swing

• keep on fighting

APPENDIX C

KYUUBIKAZE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION

T: Alright, so I just wanted to introduce myself a little. Hi, I’m Travis and a little… no I'll save the background for the project later, so I’m an ethnomusicology major so one of the things that we’ll look at today, I’ll ask you about today is the music. So tell me, when did you first become interested in Naruto? How old were you?

K: 7-ish? Yeah, around the age of 7?

T: 7 years old? Okay, and what would you say it was that drew you to like Naruto so much?

K: I’m not sure exactly like when I was a kid I would just watch anything and everything and so Naruto was just cool to me because it was all about ninjas and you know, something different. It was my gateway into anime when I was that age.

T: So when you first watched it did you know that it was Japanese? When you first watched it. Like obviously now you know it’s Japanese.

K: When I first watched it? Yeah. I didn’t, I didn’t. Obviously as a kid I don't think I could have differentiated I just thought whatever it was a cartoon or animation, you know it was a cartoon and they were just swapped easily so I couldn't tell the difference between American made and Asian made works.

T: Gotcha, so you say you didn't really know it was Japanese at the time? K: Not at the time, yeah.

T: Yeah, that’s kind of a theme that I’m looking at because I remember growing up, before I started working on this project I'd never seen Naruto before but I mean growing up I had had similar experiences with Pokémon and stuff.

K: Yeah, of course.

T: So you said it was your gateway into anime. So when was it that you started really getting into other anime?

K: Into other anime… it would probably be not up until my sophomore year of high school. It’s a really big gap because a lot of life events happened so between around the time that I got an interest for Naruto and all these Toonami shows like Dragon Ball or Bleach at the time was really popular. I moved a lot because of family issues and so when moving I really had time for TV and stuff especially anime because it would just be like a certain block of time like Cartoon Network and if I missed it it was like, ok. So I didn’t touch back into anime up until maybe when I was around 14, so about 7 years later.

T: And what would you say that kind of brought you back? Was it another anime that you saw?

K: It was just a friend, so the group of friends I started hanging out with, they were just really into anime. And so one of them suggested I start watching Attack On Titan. I was like “ok, cool like I’ve dabbled in anime before like just a little bit, bits and pieces. So starting from my software year on is when I fell down the rabbit hole of all these little nooks and crannies of anime and anime culture.

T: Okay, and you don't have to answer this, but you are a Filipino-American, correct? K: I am Filipino-American.

T: So is their kind of like a… what's the word I'm looking for? Like an affinity for anime because I guess you have like a connection with the Asian, like it's a part of Asian culture in general?

K: That’s a good question. For me I think it's just because I grew up living in O‘ahu in Honolulu, like one of the most racially mixed area of the island probably, culturally and stuff. So I grew up with Japanese culture and all these other Asian cultures. So I wouldn’t correlate it directly to my own like “oh I'm Filipino, therefore I like anime.” It was more of just what I grow up with here and just seeing these random things of “oh, there’s Naruto, there’s Dragon Ball” over at my friend's house and what not.

T: Gotcha. And so now I’m getting more into Naruto specifically how many times would you say… so my project is about Naruto specifically and not Shippūden or Boruto. So the 220 episodes of Naruto. Would you say that… I mean I’m assuming that you’ve seen every episode, correct.

K: Even the fillers, yes. [Laughter]

T: How many times would you say that you've watched the series, the original Naruto? Or I don’t know maybe the second time through maybe you skip the fillers, but like from first story arc to last story arc, how many times would you say?

K: Aww, dude that’s a lot. Oh well, not a lot a lot, but completely maybe 3-4 times.

T: Okay and then what are your just right now before, like I said I kind of wanted to wait to tell the background behind my project because I want to get your reactions without any preconceptions. So what are your general thoughts on the musical soundtrack of Naruto, and again just…

K: The original, right?

T: Yeah, because I know it changes in Shippūden and Boruto, so the original Naruto what are your thoughts?

K: So original soundtrack as in the openings and closing songs as well?

T: No.

K: Or just the piece. T: Background.

K: Okay, got it. In a word I think just epic. Yeah, just epic.

T: So is there anything that you, so why is it epic? Is there anything that you find interesting or unique?

K: Aw, man. Yeah, well the buildup in The Rising Fighting Spirit, I don't think there's any… it's really hard to think of another anime song like out of all anime. Ah, even just thinking about it just gives me goosebumps and excited because whenever that, when watching the original series, you’re associating that one song with every epic moment when you think Naruto’s going to get his ass whooped and all of a sudden [mimics the music] and then it just… ahhh. I got… speechless, yeah. I don’t know if that answers the question, I hope it does.

T: That does, that does! So I guess you kind of touched on it on that answer but other than The Rising Fighting Spirit do you have any other favorite tracks that you can name off the top of your head?

K: From the original… my mind is filled with all Shippuden songs…

T: If you can't remember the name or something like that just maybe a scene that it's in or the generic feeling…

K: Yeah… not Bluebird Bluebird, that’s Shippūden… it’s the song that happens when sad scenes go on, usually when Naruto is having flashbacks of him on the swing all alone. It’s very sad, it’s very iconic.

T: Yes, Sadness and Sorrow is what I think…

K: Sadness and Sorrow, yes!!! Sadness and Sorrow, that’s the one.

T: Okay, so… sorry, before this I did a survey with similar questions. We're going to go more in-depth and stuff but I'm kind of smiling because your answers are very reminiscent of the answers that I’ve gotten so far.

K: I take pride in being that. [laughter]

T: I’m assuming that you listen to the soundtrack outside of the anime. Would is I be correct in that assumption? Like you go on YouTube sometimes and you might play a song or two?

K: Yeah, a few times. A few times when I’m cleaning, just cleaning the house and I want a random “oh, I’m going to listen to the Naruto soundtrack” all of a sudden. And then there is,

when I’m hosting events, obviously I’m playing the soundtrack in the background… stuff like that.

T: I actually wanted to talk about that! But we'll get into that later. K: Sounds good! Yeah!

T: Can you name any specific instruments that are used in the soundtrack off of the top of your head?

K: The… I forgot the Japanese name… the flute… I’m trying to get the Japanese name off the top of my head… the flute is a really good one, there’s the taiko drum, electric guitar definitely in Rising Fighting Spirit, piano… that’s all I can think of right now. Yeah.

T: Great, I'm sorry I feel like this first part is almost like a quiz. It's like “how much can you remember?” You know? But it’s not. I promise you it’s not.

K: [Laughter] No worries.

T: So as a YouTuber you have created video content and so I first saw you at the Kawaii Kon I don't know, was it a year ago? A couple years ago? The last one that we had you know before the coronavirus and you did a panel… I think it was the last one… anyway so you did a panel, it was a Naruto panel and I heard you playing the music to Naruto in the background and you kind of just mentioned it earlier. So it's not the only event that you've done it for you do it at most of the events that you go to that's like Naruto related?

K: Naruto related or whenever I can get away with playing crowd favorites. Crowd favorite anime songs and that's usually those few.

T: Is it… so why you say that you play the music for those fans? Is it because, to please the crowd because you said it’s a fan favorite?

K: Yeah, just because it’s a crowd favorite because people… Naruto is so popular especially like here in Hawai‘i, that once you play that, any anime fan and would say… hmmmm 99/100 people would definitely know that song.

T: So would you say it gets them kind of like in the mood to talk about Naruto? K: Yeah, yeah that’s true. Gets them hyped, yeah.

T: So yeah, I watched you in that and I kind of became interested and I looked you up on YouTube and one of the videos that I saw you in, I watched it and I was like “okay I knew I wanted to interview this guy.”

K: [Laughter]

T: It was… you're going to laugh because you're like “oh gosh this guy's creeping on me or something” but I think it was like three years, two or three years ago, you did this tutting video.

K: Oh, the Musically tutting challenge? T: Yeah, yeah.

K: Oh yeah, so I feel like I know why you’re going to bring that up because it was a Naruto

remix by PUNYASOU.

T: Yeah, yeah you know who it’s by and everything. So see I wanted to talk a little bit about that because you know this is primarily about music and you utilized the music in that video. So you borrowed this music from PUNYASOU, did you collaborate with him and say like “hey man, can I use your music?” or did you just kind of take it and then credit him?

K: I think what I did was I found it on a, like oh a cool anime remix channel on YouTube and then I just, on the bottom it just says if you just credit the person so that's what I did I believe.

T: Yeah, you did credit. Don’t worry, I’m not like an undercover cop.

K: Okay, good. [Laughter] I’m like “oop, here it comes, the copyright strike.” Oh shoot. [Laughter]

T: No, nothing like that, I promise. So anyway, so you, what kind of brought… so how did you find that track on YouTube?

K: I think I simply just typed in probably dubstep remix of Naruto songs.

T: So have you… is that something that you had done before then that you'd looked up Naruto remixes before? Or was that like the first time? You were making this video and you looked it up at that point or you had like listened to them before?

K: I feel like, so around the time of that video, my channel was going through a transition to where I didn't want to be this beginning YouTuber anymore, so I wanted to look up for more Epic/Remix Style songs because that was the trend back the day. And so I think it just fit perfectly like me searching that track, that clip popped up in that time frame.

T: So how many times do you think that you listened to that track from the moment that you started, because I know that you did, or I’m assuming that you choreographed that dance that you did, by yourself?

K: Uh huh. Yeah.

T: So you would have to listen to it to kind of choreograph it and then listen to it and then practice it, and then while you were editing the video you had to hear it… so on estimate how many times do you think you listened to it in the process of making that video?

K: In the process of making that video alone from the Inception of the idea up until I posted it and maybe viewed it a few times… I want to say it's in the 20s of times at least. Maybe 25 or so.

T: And have you listened to it since then? Like have you ever gone back to it?

K: Every now and then, usually while I'm trying to make a montage or if I just find it in my music folder like “hey, that's a cool… I remember this, let me just listen to it real quick.” Yeah, good memories is what that brings.

T: [Laughter] And so reception that you got for that video it was it was pretty positive. It was pretty positive, right?

K: It was pretty positive, yeah. That was when Musically was in its prime before it became TikTok. The tutting challenge was trending.

T: So what do you think you get out of making the videos? Are you kind of in it for the fame or are you…

K: I think ever since I was a kid I was inspired by Nigahiga, or Ryan Higa, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard…

T: No.

K: He’s a local guy from the big island he became one of the, probably he was one of the first few like YouTube creators to reach number one back in the day like 10 years ago. And so when I was a kid me and my best friend were like “oh, let’s be YouTubers together. It was more about reaching for the dream and not really for the fame. But of course over the years I've realize how to you know intentionally grow a following and monetize whatever I needed to. So grateful for that, yeah. But it’s all about reaching that dream for that ten-year-old with his best friend who’s like “oh, yeah, let’s be YouTubers.”

T: So how many, or how much time is the… so first on that video that we were talking about, how much time do you think that you spent making it overall? And then on average how much time do you think that you spend a day a week on making videos?

K: For that one video… because I made the choreography with it within an hour because it was really a freestyle tutting challenge I think is what it was. So about an hour to film it, get the sun right and then going home and editing. Back in the day editing took me, for that video definitely less than 10 hours I think. It was nothing too special about it except maybe the intro which I think you know what? Maybe it was about 10 hours, yeah. I’ll just say about 10 hours because I had to film various angles for the intro and just put it together. That was when I first started again transitioning into how can I up my editing so I spent a lot of time on learning editing techniques.

T: And then now on average how long.

K: Oh yeah, on average a video generally takes days just because I blocked out solid days like okay so if I'm, I try to post videos every week on Saturday. For me to do that I spend… I start thinking about the idea around Tuesday, Wednesday I start brainstorming ideas. Around Thursday I’d have a script ready/filming. And then Friday and Saturday just editing all the way through. So that whole process can take, what? Hours, in the tens of hours I think nowadays so, yeah.

T: So do you know what the shakuhachi is? K: No, I don’t know what that is, no.

T: Okay, so earlier when you were talking about the flute-like instrument, that’s, so you were talking about a Japanese bamboo flute, so that's the primary kind of focus of my research project is like embodied sounds. It’s talking about the traditional within the popular and I'm talking about the use of this traditional instrument, the shakuhachi in a popular medium. And then how fans such as yourself and content creators use that traditional sound to create these other things. So for you, somebody who kind of created this this song and then you kind of heard that you liked it, you took it. So it's the spreading worldwide so the song that starts in Japan kind of makes this very circuitous route to become a dubstep piece which you’re dancing to. Which is really amazing you know what I mean?

K: It is!

T: To think of the routes that these things take. But anyway, so when it comes to the shakuhachi it is focused, or it's the melody instrument in a lot of pieces so we were discussing the two songs that we were discussing before, the Sadness and Sorrow and Rising Fighting Spirit, it's the actual main melody instrument in those pieces so why do you think that the shakuhachi in particular was used? So trying to get into the composers head, why do you think that the shakuhachi was used instead of just a regular flute?

K: I feel like it just goes back to the roots of the time that they're trying to capture. So traditional Japan. Maybe it was an instrument around the time that ninjas and such were you know, more popular like real life and such. That’s my hypothesis.

T: Do you think that Naruto is set in a specific time? Because one of the things that I think is interesting about it is it’s traditional in some respects…

K: [Laughter] Yeah, yeah. T: But they’re watching TV?

K: Oh yeah, like instant ramen… T: Yeah, yeah.

K: Yeah, I watched a whole long video that… that’s another interesting fact about Naruto. I think he meant, Masashi Kishimoto, I think he meant for it to be a bridge between you know the old and new.

T: Yeah.

K: That's what I think.

T: So you said you don't really know what the shakuhachi is but can you recognize it by sound like do you think that you've ever heard it in any other anime or any other recording or anything like that?

K: I feel like I probably did. Definitely.

T: Have you ever had a time when you’re not watching Naruto and you hear something and you say… and it makes you think of Naruto?

K: Off the top of my head I can't say so specifically. Yeah but I think the chances of that, of me making that connection when I was watching whatever work or pretty good. But I can't really pinpoint a specific time or a specific anime that has it.

T: Do you have any questions for me so far?

K: So this is for a… the… I don't really remember the title… thesis? T: Yeah, thesis.

K: Thesis, yeah okay cool.

T: Yeah, so I’m doing my masters in ethnomusicology, so ethnomusicology is like the study of culture and music. And so like I said I'm really interested in the blend of the traditional and the modern. And especially like modern community-building you know? Because you see with anime there’s this big fan community and it's really a community, do you know what I mean? Because when you think communities know you think of how I don't know Hawaii, Japan and you know these geographical communities but I think it's very interesting that anime really, or fandoms in general really cross these borders. So it's not like a nationalistic thing or it's not an ethnic thing. Not that kind of identity building, but anyway I'm going on a rant. So that's another question like have you, through this YouTube channel, have you gotten closer to the fan community and really kind of built those relationships?

K: Oh yeah. Not just the anime community, but like when you were talking just now I was thinking about like the fur community or the furry community as well. That's because I've been cosplaying as Naruto’s nine tail fox for like 6 or so years now. And so in my travels to Las Vegas… yeah, so whether it’s going to Las Vegas or a regular Comic-Con or going to the Philippines for a dedicated furry con, like I felt the same energy and the same welcoming and it was really cool.

T: When you say you went to Vegas and to the Philippines for these conferences, were you going as a participant or were you going to do something similar to what you were doing at Kawaii Kon?

K: Las Vegas, well definitely that was as a participant because I don't think I was as established as I am now. I wasn’t as dedicated, I didn’t really have any experience too I just got into fur free suiting and anime and YouTube and all the stuff. For the Philippines though it was about two years ago when I got a little bit more experience and advanced. So I reached out to the Director of that fur conference because I was just going to be there for about two weeks in the Philippines for family matters and I was just very curious wondering if there were any random conventions happening. I just happen to be there was a fur convention like 4 hours away from where I was staying. So before I left, I contacted the director to see, because they had this like program for international guests and such. So I just asked him about that and so through that I got like free admission and tour guide and stuff. So it was really cool.

T: That’s awesome. Was it in Manila? K: Yeah, it was in Manila, yeah.

K: How was that experience?

K: It was fun! At that one convention, there were 5-10 countries represented. We had a suitor from Japan, we had a few from Europe. It was really cool. It was really international. It was the most international fur convention I've been to. We do not have that big of a fur community here as much as I love it but it's not as big to like hold its own conference.

T: Gotcha. And then I remember, I can’t remember how I heard it whether it was like said at Kawaii Kon or if I read it somewhere online at one point but you were Hawai‘i's number one anime YouTuber at one point? Am I saying that correctly?

K: Hawai‘i’s best anime YouTuber, yeah. T: How did that come about?

K: That is awesome question and a lot of awesome memories. A shortened version would just be as I was trying to get be more established and prove to the community and prove to myself that I was like really serious about making YouTube a full time thing I started networking with more people and so I got in contact with some marketers and directors like a lot of different people and somehow I just wound up joining this marketing team in a way. Marketing/directing team who got tasked with bringing back this event called anime ohana which at the time I really didn’t have… its reputation was kind of fading out for a few things at the time I can't really remember the specifics. And so our team was tasked with that like how do I raise it up like a phoenix? And so in an interview I literally said because one of the interviewers was like “so why are you guys making like this new event call AO,” we called it AO Fest, so he was like “oh I think the main question people want to know is why are you making this thing” and I just looked him in the eye

and said “we're going to we're going to bring this old event and we’re going to make it rise like a phoenix. Like it's going to be fantastic.” So then a few months later next year happens and so I wound up being the host of AO Fest as well as a nominee for Hawai‘i‘s best anime YouTuber at the first-ever Hawai‘i anime awards which is like the sister of AO Fest. And it all happened on my 18th birthday. 18th or 19th. Something like that. It was really cool.

T: Congratulations! So you were talking about wanting to make your YouTube full time. Would you say you're in a position now where it could be a full-time thing or… I'm not too familiar with YouTube, so at what point can you make enough money from it to be a full-time gig?

K: So there are so many outlets that you can make money from YouTube or any social media platform. And for me I chose, I’ve tested various routes some of them are obviously merchandise. A really popping one would be to put ads on your content but because YouTube switched to or updated the policy last year so I'm not eligible for the ad program at the moment because of watch time, so that's a whole different conversation. And then there's other ways such as getting sponsorships for brand deals, making your own products and stuff. For my status at the moment there was a point where I was full-time for like a month or two. I survived on just these various outlets and stuff. But then because of 2020, it kind of dipped a little bit dramatically and so I just started working then. But yeah, I think I think if I were to just triple down on it I feel like it would be a full-time thing in less than a year guaranteed.

T: So would you say that during COVID-19 you've kind of dug deeper into your fandom. K: Like watching way more an such?

T: Yeah, and interacting with the online community and things like that.

K: So… what have I done because of COVID? So because of COVID, a lot of people a lot of my friends and some of my followers had way more down time and such and so they wanted to know how… So my major is Japanese and so they wanted to learn Japanese and they’d ask me random questions like “oh, how do I say this in Japanese?” or “what’s an easy way to learn Japanese” and such. And so because of COVID-19 and I had a lot of different reasons, so I made my own digital product and digital online course which is a very popular way among video creators to create a monetized channel if they can't make ads or such. As long as they’re bringing value to their audience and stuff. And so my digital product was pretty much how to learn Japanese by being a weeb or an anime fan. So that was pretty cool. So because of COVID, I had to double down on that a lot because of financial troubles and stuff like that.

T: So I guess just one more thing since this is about music. Yeah, I just wanted to play something for you and what are your thoughts, like what does it make you think about? You can close your eyes if you want.

K: Okay, I'll close my eyes just let me know when you're playing because I don't know if it's playing.

T: [Plays a honkyoku recording]

K: I think that can give you shivers real quick. I was like… whoah. I liked it, yeah.

T: All right, and then what about, let’s see… [finds and plays a brighter, more upbeat jazzy shakuhachi piece]. So what about that one?

K: I’m on the verge of tears. That was really nice.

T: So what does it make you think of? Does that make you think of anything?

K: Visually, makes me feel like I'm on a pond in Japan, yeah. With, in feudal Japan era. Wooden boat, wooden boats made out of hay and such.

T: Do you know what instrument that is?

K: Was that the flute that we were talking about that I forgot the name of?

T: Yeah, the shakuhachi, okay. So when you were listening to it, the image of Naruto didn't pop in your head at all?

K: I don't think, yeah I didn't want especially since we were talking about it earlier I didn't want me to be influenced like “oh, this is an interview about how Naruto and these instruments are related and stuff” so yeah. I went more towards like the real life I guess.

T: I just want you to I want you to be honest.

K: Yeah, that’s what it was. The first one made it seem like it was really dark and all of a sudden like it creeps up on you. And then the second one is more, a bit more relaxed and peaceful like you're at you know, like a lake and such.

T: So do you think that's maybe why, because we were talking earlier about why do you think that they used the shakuhachi. Do you think maybe that's one of the reasons why the composer chose the shakuhachi? Because it can bring about those really deep and contrasting emotions?

K: Yeah and it's really easy to visualize if you don't have an anime clip playing. You can kind of get a feel for what they're going for with the shakuhachi just by listening to it so that was pretty cool in my opinion.

T: Alright, I mean that’s all that I have. The second half is kind of like random I just had some curiosities.

K: Yeah, of course, of course.

T: Yeah, the stuff on the creation especially it's really helpful really. I mean it's all helpful and all useful, but I don't know anything about YouTube and the creation process and how much of one's life that it takes up and stuff.

K: A lot. [Laughter] A lot. I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for it.

T: So a lot do you have any more questions for me? I mean they can be about school or they can be about you know just anything.

K: So I think my two questions would be like when would this in a whole thesis / project of yours be finished. And then second as to who exactly it's for like is it just for like another… I haven't done a thesis obviously, so I'm assuming it’s just for those people who check peoples theses?

T: So that's a good question. As far as like a timeline this is the last thing that I need to put in it and then it's done. However, I do need to defend and so I will probably defend the thesis next semester. So until it's officially defended it's basically just between me and professors that are in my committee. But then once it's approved which I'm hoping around March. Sorry it's probably slower than a YouTube video. So probably around March it’ll be approved and then it will be in the University archives. So the title of the thesis is Taking the Tradition Out of Traditional: The Shakuhachi in Naruto. So if anybody ever like looks it up at on the, you know UH onesearch on the UH library website or… you, go to UH, right? Yeah, okay. So the onesearch, if anybody searches or looks up Naruto or shakuhachi, or…

K: It’ll be there. Wow.

T: Yeah, it’ll be there. And I don’t know, it might pop up in some other University libraries I don't know.

K: Well, when it is…

T: In 10 years, you could be quoted!

K: When it’s successfully defended and available to the public and stuff, like throughout this interview man, I had some ideas of videos I’d make about music or specific soundtracks for various animes. So around the time that it does get released, let’s definitely talk again about that because. I was just thinking about top five most iconic anime songs I feel like would be a good one.

T: Definitely. The thing that I found with music throughout the project is that people have such a close connection to the music, you know what I mean? So as soon as they hear it it takes them to a memory. To when they were young or something that happened to them around the time that they were watching the show or whatever it might be or it brings in emotions or very specific images and it's just the amazing power of music. A one of the things that got me into this project was, so I'm not from Hawaii and so I'd never really listened to Hawaiian music. And I come to UH after doing the JET Program in Japan and never really heard Hawaiian music before, wasn't really interested in in it either. And so I went to this Hawaiian music concert to learn a little bit more about it and as soon as I heard the steel guitar play I could not remove the image of SpongeBob SquarePants from my brain. I had never really heard the steel guitar in anything

other than SpongeBob and that's what I grew up with, you know what I mean? And I found myself, and I felt bad because it can kind of be offensive to Hawaiians and Hawaiian culture and stuff like that but on some level like I was kind of laughing. Every time the steel guitar would play I just I thought of SpongeBob. But I'm at this concert so it was just kind of a weird juxtaposition of sounds. So I was like does Naruto kind of have similar similar things. Anyway, so the videos on music I think would be very popular because it's just… music!

K: I'm excited to see the finished work when it is published, Travis.

T: Let's hope that they approve it. How long ago did you make your suit, the Kyuubi suit? K: The orange or the yellow one?

T: You have two of them?

K: So the orange one I got it from a friend her name is Jada. She has like a good following nowadays she goes by Sky Fangs, she’s a local cosplayer. She made that suit around 2013-2014 and at the time she needed money for another project so she's sold it to me for like a hundred bucks because I just happened to have a hundred bucks at the time, I don't know how. So she’s like “Tyler, do you want to buy this for $100” and I’m like “sure, why not?” Once I put it on, I was like “this is me!” I got that orange 2014 and so in 2017, a few years had passed since I got the orange suit and I was like “as much as I love you know Jada or this creator, this cosplayer who made this suit, I want to have something I can call my own.” Like when people ask me “oh, did you make that?” I can say yes. So I made the yellow one and that one took me 40-50 hours because of the purple foam armor that I had to put on it. So since 2017 yeah, I made that one.

T: Wow, you spent probably a long time making that I'm assuming.

K: Oh yeah, a solid week of just me making it and then vacuuming because there would be fur, yellow fur everywhere for the whole week… It was an awesome interview. Thank you so much for asking me to be a part of it.

T: Not a big deal, just a couple questions from a grad student. Alright, thank you so much have a wonderful night and I hope to see some more of your videos soon.

K: Much love. Thank you, we will talk later. Have a good one, bye.

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