Attempts have been made to reproduce ancient sonorities by reconstructing instruments that are no longer used in the gagaku ensemble. The collection of Nara’s Shōsō-in, which dates from the 8th century, includes many ancient instruments, and playable replicas of several of them have been made.

Reconstructing ancient instruments

Several of the instruments in the Shōsō-in collection have been carefully reconstructed and performed in concerts, after painstaking studies and experiments on their materials, methods of construction, and performance techniques.

Just as important as the revival of ancient music is the reconstruction of the instruments on which it was played. These reconstructed instruments have been based on various models: specimens of ancient instruments surviving in the collections of Japan’s temples and shrines, such as the Nara temple Hōryū-ji; ethnic instruments still used in regions in Asia whose musics contributed to the formation of gagaku; and instruments excavated from archaeological sites.

The most valuable resource is undoubtedly the globally unrivalled collection of Nara’s Shōsō-in, which includes more than 100 instruments of 23 types dating from the 8th century. While it seems doubtful that all of these instruments were originally for performance, there are many types that are not used in the current gagaku ensemble, so it is easy to imagine that ensemble performance of the time had a greater variety of sonorities.

Reconstruction of instruments of the Shōsō-in

Instruments reconstructed to date include: the 5-stringed lute gogen biwa, which has a peg-box that continues straight on from the neck of the instrument, unlike the 4-stringed lute presently used in gagaku, which has a peg-box bent back at close to a 90-degree angle; the multiple-stringed angular harp kugo; the set of 16 iron chimes hōkyō; and the bamboo panpipes haishō.

These instruments have gained new life in the performance of music revived from ancient notations, as well as in new pieces composed expressly for them.