Some of the performing arts of Japan are so spectacular that they grab your attention and immediately make you feel a part of the music. Taiko drumming is one; rhythm speaks directly to our bodies, and the beating of a stick on a drum has a physical appeal to all, regardless of language or culture.

Instrumental music is easily exportable. Song doesn't fare quite as well. To many non-Japanese, the vocal music of this country remains alien and unapproachable. Something about not being able to understand the meaning of the words causes otherwise sensitive Westerners, confronted with Japanese song, to shut their ears.

This is a pity -- especially considering that most of Japanese music is vocally oriented. The truth is, one doesn't have to understand the lyrics to appreciate the music. In many genres, not only are the words of the lyrics somewhat archaic, but also the vowel sounds are so elongated and sustained over a series of notes (a technique known as melisma) that even native speakers have trouble making out the meaning.

What this does is make the voice into an instrument, a flute with words, which turns and ornaments the melodies of the accompanying instrument into something quite approachable and entertaining. The rich vocal sonorities echo the instrumental timbres.

Shinnai-bushi is one such genre. Shinnai is a form of joruri, one of the narrative song styles which flourished in the Edo Period (1603-1868). Shinnai derived from the earlier Bungo-bushi, which was banned by Edo authorities in 1740 on the grounds that its sad songs were promoting a wave of double suicides. Tsuruga Wakasanojo, a student of a Bungo-bushi singer, composed new songs during the 1770s which won great popularity when performed by his talented student Tsuruga Shinnai, from whom the genre took its name.

Shinnai's fluid melodies and exciting lyrics, sensational stories of romantic and (usually) tragic love centering around the entertainment district of Yoshiwara, epitomized the "floating world" of popular culture. Shinnai lyrics also acted as a vehicle for topical commentary on society and politics, and for this reason were closely watched by the authorities.

Such popular genres are not easily outlawed however, and Shinnai retains a strong following today. Presently there are over 16 different schools of Shinnai.

As a student in the early 1980s, I would often go to the old Honmoku-tei theater in Ueno and listen to the legendary Bunya Okamoto (who passed away recently, over 100 years old) sing his style of Shinnai. In between songs he talked about old times in the Taisho Era (1912-1925), when he walked around the entertainment district in Ueno as a Shinnai-nagashi, carrying his shamisen and crooning to the customers in restaurants and drinking places. Even then, he said, the police watched him and other Shinnai singers very carefully.

The name Wakasanojo Tsuruga is still associated with the founder's lineage, and Wakasanojo the 11th will present recitals Oct. 24 to commemorate his recent acquisition of this prestigious name.

The recitals will feature two pieces: "Sato no Sora Yume no Yozakura" is a typical story of love between a geisha and her customer in Yoshiwara. The other piece, "Ichi no Tani Futaba Gunki," is an episode from the epic "Tale of Heike," a well-known incident from the battle of Ichi no Tani (1184). The seasoned Genji warrior Kumagai Naozane captures the young Heike samurai Atsumori, but when he sees the boy's youth and good looks Kumagai is filled with remorse. He wants to spare the boy's life, but other Genji warriors quickly approach from behind. Kumagai decapitates the boy, but later enters a monastery to atone for his acts.

Wakasanojo offers readers of The Japan Times 40 free tickets (20 for the afternoon performance and 20 for the evening performance) for anyone who wants to attend the recital. English programs will be available.

Tsuruga Wakasanojo Shinnai Recital, 4 and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at Kioi Small Hall, (03) 5276-4500 (near JR Yotsuya Station or Akasaka Mitsuke subway station). Admission 5,000 yen. For information on the complimentary tickets, please call Stephanie Tomi at (045) 846-1978 or e-mail her at [email protected]

Song and narration also take center stage in the biwa tradition. Originally part of gagaku imperial court music, biwa came into the possession of priests and troubadours of the Middle Ages and became an important vehicle for entertainment and the dissemination of information.

The old biwa tradition survived in Kyushu during the Edo Period, and returned to national popularity after the Meiji Restoration, which Kyushu activists took a major part in. The 20th century has seen a wide diversification of styles, and perhaps one of the most notable is that developed by the late Kinshi Tsuruta. Tsuruta is best known as the biwa player in Tohru Takemitsu's "November Steps," which premiered with the New York Philharmonic in 1967. As this fact suggests, she was very prominent in promoting the use of the biwa for new 20th-century music.

Kakujo Nakagawa, a student of Tsuruta's, will present her second recital Oct. 15, with two pieces, including an original, "Utou," for biwa and percussion. Taken from a well-known noh play of the same name, "Utou" weaves a legend about a hunter from Japan's northeast who must suffer in Hades for his merciless killing of animals during his lifetime.

The other piece on the program is Tsuruta's version of the classic "Nasu no Yoichi," another incident from "The Tale of the Heike" in which the young archer Yoichi wins fame with a difficult shot at extremely long range.

Kakujo Nakagawa Second Biwa Recital, 5 p.m. Oct. 15 at Theater V Akasaka, (03) 3583-6040, near Exit 5 of Akasaka subway station on the Chiyoda Line. Admission 3,000 yen in advance, 3,500 yen at the door. For more information or reservations call Piccolo, (03) 3402-7850 or e-mail: [email protected]

The Tsuruta biwa school was strongly influenced by another modern style, the Nishiki biwa of Kinjo Suito. The Nishiki style is carried on by Kinjo's son Goro Suito, who will join shakuhachi master Shinichiro Makihara to present a special show tonight, Oct. 7, at the hogaku live house Waon in Nippori, celebrating the great Zen master Ikkyu. Ikkyu (1394-1481) was one of the founders of the Zen shakuhachi tradition, and noted as a poet and painter as well. Using a combination of shakuhachi, biwa and narration, the performance will present an impressionistic account of events in Ikkyu's life.

"Ikkyu o Kataru," Shinichiro Makihara and Goro Suito, 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at Waon, Nippori Ekimae Bldg. 5F (opposite JR Nippori Station), (03) 5850-8033. Admission 3,000 yen includes one drink.

The Shinnai concert mentioned above is one of the offerings in the annual Art Festival sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. This takes place both in Tokyo and Osaka, and the quality of performances in this series is quite high.

Nagahiro Kozan is a younger-generation shakuhachi player who is rapidly making a name for himself. Schooled in the classics, he is also adept in 20th-century pieces. His Oct. 11 Arts Festival concert in Osaka will feature both. He will be accompanied by koto and shamisen players Hiroe Yonekawa and Chieko Fukuda.