One of the reasons that fewer and fewer people study Japanese
traditional arts is the rigid and expensive iemoto system. The iemoto is the
hierarchical head, whose skill is passed down at a high price. Students pay not only for
lessons but are expected to hand out "gift money" generously, pay for all stage
performances (ranging from JY30,000 to over a JY1 million) and "buy" stage names
- the iemoto' family name under which the students will perform. Only a blood relation
can succeed an iemoto.
Under this system, loyalty and financial gifts, as opposed to skill, are the basis for
inclusion in the group. In the late 1950s, a shamisen player named Kikuoka Hiroaki
challenged this system by developing a more democratic alternative in the field of nagauta
music (traditionally the music of kabuki theater and dance).
Kikuoka Hiroaki was born in Yokosuka in 1928. His father was a shamisen player who
belonged to the Kineya iemoto family. Aged six, Hiroaki started shamisen lessons with his
father. Although Hiroaki never belonged to an iemoto family, he was expected to learn in
old Edo style - that is memorizing a large repertoire rather than refining skill. In 1946
Hiroaki entered Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku (Tokyo University of Fine Arts, known as Geidai) to
study shamisen. It was here that he began to formulate ideas about alternatives to the
iemoto system. His ideas were fired by two teachers who made a deep impression on him.
Yamada Shotaro and Kineya Jokan were both teaching shamisen at Geidai when young Hiroaki
entered. They had the idea to steer nagauta away from its role as an accompaniment towards
a more "pure" style of music that could be played and enjoyed in its own right.
Unlike iemoto followers, they were devoted to skill and individual accomplishment.
After Kikuoka's graduation from Geidai in 1949, Yamada, who had become increasingly aware
of his student's talent, asked the lad - a mere 20 years old - to begin teaching shamisen
at Geidai. Kikuoka eagerly accepted. At that time, as now, most earning opportunities for
musicians were as an accompaniment for theater and dance. However, Kineya, Yamada and
Kikuoka now found that teaching and performing at Geidai allowed them the financial
freedom to explore their ideas for making nagauta into an independent art form and to get
out from under the stifling control of the iemoto system.
Students at Geidai who did not belong to an iemoto had little hope of playing music, much
less performing, after graduation. There was literally nowhere for them to go. Kikuoka
decided to start a nagauta group that would be based on skill and ability rather than
blood ties and nepotism. All players would be equal and they would democratically elect a
President. In 1957, with due respect for his teacher Yamada (whom he made the founding
member), Kikuoka created Toonkai. Entrance into the group required only that students
graduate from Geidai and complete a one-year course in Toonkai's own musical institute.
The group performed its own style of nagauta concert music. Their consummate skill and
technique dramatically raised the standards for nagauta music, which was now being taken
more seriously than ever.
The group survives today, although not unchanged. Despite boasting some of the most
talented nagauta musicians alive, financial woes have led to a more conservative,
iemoto-like organization. Coupled with the untimely death of Kikuoka in January of this
year, the future of Toonkai is uncertain. Kikuoka's dream of a pure musical form,
recognized for its beautiful lyricism and masterful players, hangs in the balance. Or at
least until the next genius comes along.
One of the reasons that fewer and fewer people study Japanese
traditional arts is the rigid and expensive iemoto system. The iemoto is the
hierarchical head, whose skill is passed down at a high price. Students pay not only for
lessons but are expected to hand out "gift money" generously, pay for all stage
performances (ranging from JY30,000 to over a JY1 million) and "buy" stage names
- the iemoto' family name under which the students will perform. Only a blood relation
can succeed an iemoto. 
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