Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle)
Morin Khuur
Morin Khuur means "horse instrument" and is a bowed string instrument created by nomadic horse-riding people. Horses are the most revered animals among the Mongolian people, and there may be no other instrument in the world that uses horse tail hair for both the strings and bow of the Morin Khuur.
It is said that the sound of the hair that is born from the cells of animals living on this earth reaches deep into people's hearts.
In Japan, the story of Morin Khuur, "Su-ho's White Horse," is famous, and in Mongolia, the folk tale "Khukhnamjir" is famous. There must be people who have wanted to hear the sound of this instrument, which has been featured in elementary school Japanese textbooks for over half a century.
In order to convey this message, we who work in Japan felt that we needed to join forces and deliver this music.
In 2003, the Morin Khuur was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as "an instrument which the Mongolian people have contributed to the cultural heritage of humanity and which develops traditional art in classical ways."
The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Mongolia. Understanding and respecting each other's cultures may be of great significance for the future of both countries.
In May 2008, Ayosi Bat-Erdene, a morin khuur player living in Japan, founded the World Morin Khuur Association and became its director. With the support of many people, including the Mongolian National Morin Khuur Symphony Orchestra and famous composers, the association has held many events that have had a major impact on the advancement and spread of morin khuur, such as the International Morin Khuur Competition and symposiums.
The Japan Morin Khuur Association was established in cooperation with the World Morin Khuur Association in Ulaanbaatar in order to deepen the bonds between Japan and Mongolia through the arts and culture of the two countries, and to explore the potential of the Morin Khuur instrument.
Khöömii (throat singing )
Khoomei (vocal technique)
Born from the customs, lifestyle and culture of Mongolian nomads, khoomei is one of the most difficult and fascinating forms of singing art, closest to nature and as if humans had become musical instruments.
Khoomei has a completely different and unique characteristic among musical arts produced by the human vocal organs, and is a truly amazing feat in that it allows one person to produce two sounds simultaneously as a beautiful melody.
Regarding the story of Khoomei, "Ho" is said to be derived from the sounds "hi" and "ki" in Altaic, meaning "person," and "Mee" is said to be from the root meaning the mooing of sheep, goats, or cows.
There are many theories about the origin of khoomei, but we will introduce one of them here.
Once upon a time, there was a man who robbed the rich from their houses and gave their money to the poor. He fled from his pursuers and traveled from place to place, hiding. One day, while taking a rest by a river, he made a low sound from his mouth, trying to imitate the roaring sound of the river.
From there the sound of khoomey was born and khoomey was born.