Horagai

Japanese horagai. A conch shell used for religious purposes or as a signal for samurai

Horagai (法螺貝) (or jinkai (陣貝) ) are large conch shells that have been used as trumpets in Japan for many centuries. The instrument, which has served a number of purposes throughout Japanese history, has been given a number of Japanese names depending on its function. Special schools still teach students to play the traditional music associated with the conch.

Instrument

Unlike most shell trumpets from other parts of the world which produce only one pitch, the Japanese hora or horagai can produce three or five different notes. The different pitches are achieved using a bronze or wooden mouthpiece attached to the apex of the shell's spire. At freezing temperatures (often encountered in the mountainous regions of Japan) the lips may freeze to the metal surface, so wooden or bamboo mouthpieces are used.

Historical usage

Religion

The conch is used by Buddhist monks for religious purposes. Its use goes back at least 1,000 years, and it is still used today for some rituals, such as the omizutori (water drawing) portion of the Shuni-e rites at the Tōdai-ji in Nara. Each Shugendo school has his own conch shell melodies.

The hora is especially associated with the Yamabushi, ascetic warrior monks of the Shugendo sect. The yamabushi used the trumpet to signal their presence (or movements) to one another across mountains and to accompany the chanting of sutras.

Military

In war, the shell, called jinkai, or "war shell", was one of several signal devices used by Japanese feudal warriors known as samurai.^[1] A large conch would be used and fitted with a bronze (or wooden) mouthpiece. It would be held in an openwork basket and blown with a different combination of "notes" to signal troops to attack, withdraw, or change strategies, in the same way a bugle or flugelhorn was used in the west. The trumpeter was called a kai yaku (貝役).

The jinkai served a similar function to drums and bells in signaling troop formations, setting a rhythm for marching, providing something of a heroic accompaniment to encourage the troops and confusing the enemy by inferring that the troop numbers were large enough to require such trumpeters. Many daimyo (feudal lords) enlisted yamabushi to serve as kai yaku, due to their experience with the instrument.

The sound of jinkai is often used in motion pictures and television dramas as a symbolic sound effect indicating an impending battle, e.g., The Last Samurai or the 2007 Taiga drama Fūrinkazan, but both of these screen renditions use deep, resonating monotones, not the melodic tones that yamabushi used for relaying messages.

References

↑ Warriors of Medieval Japan, Stephen Turnbull, Osprey Publishing, 2007 P.106

Clark, Mitchell (2005). Sounds of the Silk Road: Musical Instruments of Asia. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts Publications.
Turnbull, Stephen (2002). War in Japan: 1467-1615. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.

External links

Traditional Japanese musical instruments

String

Plucked	Biwa Ichigenkin Koto Kugo Sanshin Gottan Kankara Shamisen Yamatogoto Tonkori

Bowed	Kokyū

Wind

Flutes and
oboes

Gakubue Kagurabue Komabue Minteki Nōkan Ryūteki Shinobue Yokobue

Hichiriki Hotchiku Shakuhachi

Free-reed
pipes

Shō
Yu

Horns

Horagai

Percussion

Drums	Kakko Taiko Ōtsuzumi Shime-daiko Tsuzumi Tsuri-daiko Ikko San-no-tsuzumi Den-den daiko

Blocks	Hyōshigi Mokugyo Sasara Ita-sasara Binzasara Kokiriko Shakubyoshi Sanba

Gongs	Shōko Kagura suzu Kane

Others

Mukkuri

Japanese weapons, armour and equipment

Sword construction	Glossary of Japanese swords Horimono Japanese sword mountings Japanese sword polishing Japanese swordsmithing Tameshigiri

Swords	Chokutō Guntō Japanese sword Katana Kodachi Ninjatō Ōdachi Shikomizue Tachi Tsurugi Uchigatana Wakizashi

Knives and daggers	Kabutowari Kaiken Tantō Yoroidōshi

Polearms and spears	Bisento Hoko yari Kamayari Nagamaki Naginata Sasumata Sodegarami Torimono sandōgu Tsukubō Yari

Practice weapons	Bokken Iaitō Shinai Shinken Suburitō Tanren bō

Armour	Auxiliary armours Bōgu Dō Dō-maru Haramaki Japanese armour Kabuto Karuta Kikko Kusari Mempo Ō-yoroi Sangu Tatami

Armour types	Brigandine Lame Lamellar Laminar Mail Plate Plated mail Scale

Clothing	Fundoshi Hakama Kyahan Shitagi Tabi Uwa-obi Waraji

Samurai accoutrements	Abumi Daishō Horo Kaginawa Kate-bukuro Kubi bukuro Kura Uchi-bukuro Yebira

Chain and rope weapons	Chigiriki Kusarigama Kusari-fundo Kyoketsu-shoge Jōhyō

Clubs and truncheons	Hachiwara (club type) Jitte Kanabō Tekkan Tessen

Staff weapons	Bō Hanbō Jō Tambō/Tanbō Yubi-bo

Projectile and throwing weapons	Makibishi Oyumi Shuriken Ya Yumi

Firearms and guns	Bajōzutsu Bo-hiya Tanegashima

Other weapons	Kama Metsubushi Ono Ōtsuchi Shobo Suntetsu

Signal devices	Gunbai Hata-jirushi Horagai Kabura-ya Nobori Saihai Sashimono Uma-jirushi

Users	Ashigaru Edo period police Ninja Rōnin Samurai Sōhei Yamabushi

Japanese armour Japanese martial arts Japanese swords National Treasure swords Samurai weapons and equipment

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