America's Ambassador to Japanese Songs Talks about the Musical Genre "Doyo."
Greg Irwin, an American Singer/entertainer living in Tokyo, Japan, is known there for translating and writing English lyrics for a genre of Japanese traditional songs called “Doyo.”
As an American, I had never heard of Doyo, but I was moved by the beautiful melodies and heartwarming lyrics that I discovered in these Japanese classics. The songs seemed to capture the Japanese spirit or soul that is often hard to explain to Westerners. After translating ten of the songs I was asked to translate ten more. The producer of the recordings we originally made of the English versions told me, “You have found your life work. This is the reason you came to Japan.” Before a year had passed I was singing the songs at Lincoln Center in New York. Before long, I too like many Japanese that I knew, had fallen in love with Doyo.
After Japan was opened to the West in 1867, music teachers were invited from abroad, and some of them adapted Japanese words to simple foreign songs. In time, Japanese composers began writing children’s songs called Shoka, in this new Western style. These songs were mainly sung in compulsory music classes in primary schools around the country. In 1918, a new movement began in which Japan’s top songwriters assembled to consciously create higher quality children’s songs. It was called “The Red Bird Movement”, referring to a progressive magazine that published the songs. The songs were called “Doyo”, and they were later introduced in textbooks throughout Japan, becoming an essential part of the nation’s musical education. All Japanese are familiar with the songs today, and most people have a great affection for them. Despite their somewhat recent origin, they are considered to be an important element of Japanese culture.
The themes of the songs are very closely tied to nature. They reflect a more simple and gentle era. I was moved often when translating the songs at how much we are all connected by our similar human feelings and experiences. There are hundreds of these beautiful songs in Japan and they are almost completely unknown in the West. Hopefully the English translations will help to bridge some of the gaps between Japan and the rest of the world as well as give outsiders a glimpse into the heart and soul of Japan.
