Gagaku

is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794–1185) around the 10th century. Today, it is performed by the Board of Ceremonies in the Tokyo Imperial Palace. is performed using wind, percussion, and string instruments. Each piece is based on a main melody which each instrument embellishes.

The is a double reed Japanese used as one of two main melodic instruments in music. It is one of the "sacred" instruments and is often heard at Shinto weddings in Japan. Its sound is often described as haunting.

Japanese free reed musical instrument

thumb|330x330px|19th century (Edo period) yamato-goto (shown here without bridges); collection of the [[Tokyo National Museum]]

thumb|A Japanese ryūteki player in Kamakura, Kanagawa 48px|thumb|right|A traditional ryūteki Fue (flute)|fue

Komagaku (高麗楽) is a style of gagaku, the traditional court music of Japan. It developed primarily during the Heian period and is based largely on musical traditions transmitted from Koguryeo and other regions of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, collectively known as sankangaku. Komagaku is frequently performed as accompaniment for court dances.

thumb|A komabue Fue (flute)|fue The ("Koma flute") is a transverse bamboo flute, a fue that is used in traditional Japanese court music.

'''' () is a genre of accompanied vocal Japanese court music that existed during the Heian period in the Nara and Kyoto regions. It draws from traditional folk music () of the Nara period and is accompanied by togaku'' instruments, with the exception of the , which are replaced by , wooden sticks used for keeping rhythm.

is the Japanese pronunciation of an early style of music and dance from the Tang dynasty in China. was introduced into Japanese culture from China no earlier than the 8th century, and is still performed as one style of the imperial court music called . During the Nara period (710–794), music and dances continued to flow into the capital from many parts of Asia. Many styles were eventually organized under two basic categories of . The first, , consisted of pieces of Chinese and Indian origin, while included Manchurian, Korean, and many of the Japanese pieces. These two styles can be distinguish