Music by Kitaro

I confess a continued affection for Kitaro's music. There is 'spiritual' content in most new age music, and Kitaro's output is similarly oriented. The music in Kitaro's Sacred Journey of Kukai series celebrates the legacy of Kukai, a Japanese Buddhist philospher and teacher. The following is a review that contains my personal thoughts and opinions of one portion of this series of recordings. But, don't take my word for it, explore the music and experience it on a personal level. It's well worth it.

Kitaro's Sacred Journey of Kukai, Vol. 3

In Kitaro's own words, this project was conceived in the wake of 911, and the music is an appeal to seek peace -- both inner consolation and healing for the world. Several promotional videos available on YouTube show Kitaro visiting Buddhist pilgrim sites on the Japanese island of Shikoku, where he recorded temple bells (j. kane), and sought inspiration, absorbing the atmosphere of silent meditation and spiritual attainment. During the filming of the videos, the crew interviews Japanese pilgrims, people from all walks of life, who visit these places each year, and testify to the fact that the experience is spiritually transforming.

Having been a fan of Kitaro for many years, I was pleasantly surprised when I heard portions of his latest project. I would like to say that in general, it represents a significant evolution of Kitaro's style and compositional technique. The use of modern sound synthesis, combined with real instruments (shakuhachi, Native American flute, the sho, a Japanese instrument used in ancient Shinto rituals), and state-of-the-art studio engineering, create a futurist blend of ancient and modern.

For lovers of meditative and passionate rock guitar solos, the improvisations in "Sky and Ocean" are a must. Here and there, there are cliché "new-age" effects such as a glissando whistle, space-like sounds, electronic choir voices, etc. In some passages, these are a little over dramatized, and redolent of film music -- not a bad thing necessarily... but musically less interesting. Some of these overly-used effects occur in the tracks "Sky and Ocean", and in "After the Rain. My only other complaint musically are some of the melodic lines that begin, rise, and then seem to go nowhere - repetitive and less interesting. In other cases, the harmonies are somewhat predictable, and even disappointing at times. But, these surely are subjective opinions, and are outweighed by the sublimity of the music overall.

The final track of the album, entitled "Circle Dance", consists of nearly 11 minutes of some of Kitaro's richest material musically. The piece is minimalist in construction, with textures and rhythms reminiscent of music for Indonesian gamelan. The slow interlocking rhythmic patterns (kotekan in Indonesian music terms), combined with a brilliant sound-scape, create an almost trance-like mood that demands the listener's full attention.

Finally, Kitaro's main focus in this series is the sound of Buddhist temple bells, very solid instruments evocative of silence and reflection. Tones from a variety of these beautiful metallophones seasons most of the album's tracks. Some of the bells have been sampled and played in melodic ways too, somewhat like a carillon. In addition to the bells, there are ambient sounds of nature - crickets, surf, wind, etc. Kitaro's hope is that the sounds of bells, used by nearly all the world's religions to awaken the spirit of man to enlightenment, will act as a healing balm for today's angst-ridden world of violence, hatred and political rivalry. This I believe he has achieved musically. The rest is left to the discerning listener.

Kukai, also known as Kobo Daishi (774–835), founded the Shingon school of Buddhism in Japan, and authored some 50 works that expound its doctrine. Kukai wrote that "having greed destroys the self, passing on the lust for wealth destroys one's progeny; to err in government destroys the state, and to err in education destroys the world". One wonders if teachings such as these led Kitaro to find inspiration in a 'sacred' journey toward enlightenment and peace in the spirit of Kukai. Whatever his motivation, the music in this series springs from a rich creative well, and is crafted by a master poet and musician.