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The shamisen was strongly associated with the so-called "floating world" of [[Edo period]] urban popular culture, and with the popular aesthetic known as [[iki|''iki'' or ''sui'']]. However, while it may have been a key element of the aesthetic of "cool" or "chic" in the Edo period, some scholars argue that it was because of this very same strong association with low-class, popular culture (and not elite culture) that shamisen music was during the [[Meiji period]] not raised up as a celebrated example of traditional Japanese music, and that Japan instead turned away from these traditions and embraced Western classical music as strongly as it did.<ref name=tokita236/>
The shamisen was strongly associated with the so-called "floating world" of [[Edo period]] urban popular culture, and with the popular aesthetic known as [[iki|''iki'' or ''sui'']]. However, while it may have been a key element of the aesthetic of "cool" or "chic" in the Edo period, some scholars argue that it was because of this very same strong association with low-class, popular culture (and not elite culture) that shamisen music was during the [[Meiji period]] not raised up as a celebrated example of traditional Japanese music, and that Japan instead turned away from these traditions and embraced Western classical music as strongly as it did.<ref name=tokita236/>
===Musical Genres===
The shamisen is used in a wide variety of styles and genres of music, including popular and folk styles, as well as in the kabuki and puppet theatres, geisha traditions (and, formerly, in the red light districts), and traditional (''[[hogaku|hôgaku]]'') and neo-traditional (''[[shin-hogaku|shin-hôgaku]]'') concert traditions.
Styles or genres employed in the kabuki theatre, and in traditional dance derived from kabuki (''[[Nihon buyo|Nihon buyô]]'') include ''nagauta'', ''tokiwazu'', ''kiyomoto'', and ''gidayû-bushi''; the latter is the chief style employed in the ''ningyô jôruri'' (''bunraku'') puppet theater.
Styles of short lyric songs accompanied on shamisen which were popular in the licensed quarters of the Edo period included ''kouta'', ''[[hauta]]'', ''[[utazawa]]'', ''[[dodoitsu]]'', and ''zokkyoku'', among others. ''Kouta'', which formed the basis of kabuki music before the advent of ''nagauta'', along with ''hauta'', were later incorporated into ''nagauta'', ''jôruri'', folk, and popular music. ''Kouta'' remains a prominent element of the geisha musical repertoire today, and while a number of styles classified as ''[[kokyoku]]'' ("old songs") are no longer performed in the theater, they continue to be performed in concerts and recitals.
When performed in concert, ''nagauta'' is often accompanied by ''[[hayashi]]'' (an ensemble of drums, flutes, and sometimes other instruments, derived from kabuki); unlike many other theatrical musical styles, ''nagauta'' has grown into a musical style in its own right, with many schools and individual performers eschewing connections to theater and dance, viewing musical accompaniment as a lesser activity than performing concerts where the music is the primary focus.<ref>Tokita. p258.</ref> Though the ''tokiwazu'' and ''kiyomoto'' styles often serve as accompaniment for theater and dance, when these styles are performed in a concert context, they are much less likely than ''nagauta'' to incorporate ''hayashi'' or dance, focusing instead solely on the vocal singing and shamisen playing.
==References==
==References==
