Journal of Film Music 3.

1 (2010) 51-64
doi:10.1558/jfm.v3i1.51

ISSN (print) 1087-7142

ISSN (online) 1758-860X

Gaze from the Heavens, Ghost from the Past:

Symbolic Meanings in Toru Takemitsus Music
for Akira Kurosawas Film, Ran (1985)
Tomoko Deguchi
129 Conservatory of Music, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC 29733
deguchit@winthrop.edu
Abstract:In this essay I discuss two types of music that Takemitsu composed for Kurosawas Ran (1985), for
which Shakespeares King Lear provides the narrative. The first type is the solo flute music that is written in the
style of traditional Japanese music, notably for the Noh theater. The second type of music is the Mahler-inspired
symphonic music. The two types of music, comprised of opposing musical attributes, signify the intricately related
meanings of text, jo-ha-ky form, dramatic characterization, and Buddhist philosophy as background of the film,
enhancing the films many symbolic meanings and connotations. More significantly, through the differences in
the compositional styles of the two types of music, Takemitsu brings into the light two seemingly veiled omnipresences of the film: the blind hermit Tsurumaru for whom the flute is virtually his identity, and the gaze of the
heavens as representing the vulnerable existence of humankind as a whole within history.
Keywords: Toru Takemitsu, Ran soundtrack, Noh flute, Akira Kurosawa, Tomoko Deguchi

Introduction

usic for film comprises a large portion of

Toru Takemitsus compositions; however,
his innovative use of music and sound
in film has yet to be explored in full. In this study,
I investigate one of Takemitsus most successful
film scores, the music for Akira Kurosawas film,
Ran (1985).1 I focus in this article on the two types
of music that Takemitsu composed for Ran, which
elicit and convey contrastive meanings in the film.
Comprised of opposing musical attributes, the two
types of music signify intricately related meanings of
text, form, dramatic characterization, and background
philosophy in the film, enhancing the films many
1 Takemitsus film score for Ran won the prestigious Japan Academy Award
and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award.

symbolic meanings and connotations. The first type

is the solo flute music that is written in the style of
traditional Japanese music, notably for the Japanese
Noh theater. The second type is the Mahler-inspired
symphonic music composed at Kurosawas request.
It is now well known that Shakespeares tragedy
King Lear provides the narrative of Kurosawas Ran;
however, Kurosawas allusion to King Lear is mostly
limited to its characters and its basic plot. This study
demonstrates that the settings and the background
aesthetics in Ran are entirely built on Japanese
elements. Staged in the Japanese medieval age,
the Japanese elements interspersed in Ran include
the philosophical influence of Buddhism, various
allusions to the Noh theater, and the perception
of time as cyclic. Also, the historical background
of the family depicted in the film and the family

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52 THE JOURNAL OF FILM MUSIC

members sense of loyalty are derived from a purely

Japanese environment. In this framework, Takemitsu
eloquently signifies and interprets these Japanese
aesthetics in Rans adaptation of King Lear through his
music. More significantly, it is through differences in
the compositional styles of the two types of music
the solo flute music and the symphonic musicthat
Takemitsu brings into the light two seemingly
veiled omnipresences in the film: the blind hermit
Tsurumaru and the gaze of the heavens.
The solo flute music is scored for three types of
flutes: two kinds of traditional Japanese flute called
the ryuteki
and the shinobue, and in one instance the
piccolo (doubled by oboe).2 The solo flute music
that is written in the style of Japanese traditional
music conveys multiple meanings throughout the
film, but first and foremost it individualizes one
of the main characters, Tsurumaru, for whom the
flute is virtually his identity. The wailing sound of
the flute can be heard intermittently throughout the
film as if to curse the warlord Hidetora, eventually
plummeting him into downfall. The flute music is
associated with Noh theater by the compositional
style of the music and also by its role as framing
of the jo-ha-kyu form of the film. Through the
connection to Noh theater, which developed in the
medieval ages with a strong Buddhist view of the
world, and also through the non-developmental
nature of the music, the flute music expresses the
notion of history as cyclic. The compositional style
used for the solo flute music contrasts significantly
with the symphonic music used in extensive battle
scenes. The combination of the dark, poignant,
and lush symphonic music that is decidedly more
universal in style, together with the muting of all
source sound3 in the battlefield, conveys a sense of
detachment and timelessness. In stark contrast to
the flute music that conveys human emotions, the
symphonic music represents the vulnerable existence
of humankind as a whole within history, as gazed
from above. In my discussion, I analyze the two
types of music in the context of the following issues:
Shakespeares King Lear as a narrative model for Ran,
Buddhist doctrine as an important framework for
the historical and philosophical context of the film,
and the dramatic significance of the allusions to Noh
theater.

2 I refer to Takemitsus score at the Documentation Center for Modern

Japanese Music, Tokyo, indicated as source number F28c.
3 With respect to terminology, source sound/music is equivalent to diegetic
sound/music.

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Shakespeares King Lear and

Kurosawas Ran
The films title Ran has been translated as chaos
or revolt, but the single Chinese character ran also
conveys connotations of upheaval, discord, turmoil,
and anarchy,4 which represents the turbulent time
of the medieval period in Japan. Kurosawa exploits
the similarities between the two plots of King
Lear and Ran in two significant ways: (1) through
parallel charactersKing Lears three daughters are
transformed into the warlord Hidetoras three sons,
Taro, Jiro, and Saburo, and the fool in King Lear parallels
Kyoami, the fool in Ran (see Figure 1); and (2) through
parallel plotsjust as in King Lear, Hidetoras two older
children betray their father and drive him into insanity.
At the end of the film, after reaching reconciliation, the
third son and his father both die.
In using King Lear as a source for Ran, Kurosawa
was puzzled that Shakespeare had not given his
characters any past. In an article in the New York Times,
Kurosawa states:
We are plunged directly into the agonies of their
present dilemmas without knowing how they came
to this point. How did Lear acquire the power that,
as an old man, he abuses with such disastrous
effects? Without knowing his past, I have never
really understood the ferocity of his daughters
response to Lears feeble attempts to shed his royal
power. 5

Inspiration for the story first came from the legend

of Motonari Moori (14971571), who was a warlord
in medieval Japan, to which Kurosawa incorporated
elements of King Lear. The story of the Moori legend
is that the warlord gives each of his three sons an
arrow and then orders each to break it. He then gives
each a bundle of three arrows and demonstrates that
it is more difficult to break the bundle than a single
arrow. The allegory is that although an individual is
weak, the combined power of three sons is stronger
and not easily destroyed. Moori is also remembered
for the political maxim that a leader should not trust
anyone, particularly family members.6 The legend of
Moori accommodates rather than duplicates the plot
of King Lear by adding the Japanese conception of
family and political loyalty to the historical context of
4 James Goodwin, Akira Kurosawa and Intertextual Cinema (Baltimore, MD:
The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994), 196.
5 Peter Grilli, Kurosawa directs a Cinematic Lear, New York Times,
December 15, 1985, sec. 2, 17; quoted in ibid., 197.
6 Goodwin, 196.

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53

Figure 1: Comparison of the main characters in Ran and King Lear

Ran

King Lear

Hidetorathe warlord

King Lear

1st son, Taro (married to Kade)

1st daughter, Goneril (married to Duke of Albany)

2nd son, Jiro (married to Su)

2nd daughter, Regan (married to Duke of Cornwall)

3rd son, Saburo

3rd daughter, Cordelia

Tangothe loyal servant

Earl of Kentthe loyal servant

Kyoamithe fool

Fool

Ran. However, this characterization leads to greater

emphasis on the generic notion of the behavior of
men and history, thus relating more to the cyclicality
of history and not to each individualized person. In
conjunction with Kurosawas abstraction of the three
sons names, the characters of each tend towards
generic representations. The names of the three sons
(Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo) literally translate in Japanese
as first son, second son, and third son, which
serves to emphasize the hierarchical position in the
family system. Also, each son is given a symbolic color
for his robes, banners, and pennants: yellow for Taro,
red for Jiro, and blue for Saburo. Moreover, the number
of horizontal lines on the pennants corresponds
to their names. In this way, Kurosawa reduces the
individuality of the sons to mere generic icons,
emphasizing the more universal notion of sons in a
family system, rather than on their personalities and
their inner emotions.
However, there is one important character in Ran
who does not have a corresponding character in King
Lear. Viewers of Ran likely will remember most vividly
the source music of the transverse flute played by the
blind hermit Tsurumaru in the scene when Hidetora
encounters Tsurumaru in the wilderness. While
there is no character corresponding to Tsurumaru in
King Lear, Edgar, who disguises himself as a madman
and whom the king encounters in the wilderness, is
perhaps the only equivalent character to Tsurumaru
in King Lear. However, there is one essential difference
between these two characters: Tsurumarus hatred
toward Hidetora comes from their past relationship,
while Edgar, the son of Gloucester in the sub-plot of
King Lear, subsequently takes revenge for his fathers
mistreatment. The reference to Tsurumarus blindness
might come as well from the fact that Gloucester is
blinded in the course of King Lear.7
7 Goodwin comments about the combined characterization of Gloucester
and Edgar in Tsurumaru as a blinded victim living as a hermit in exile (208).

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Tsurumaru plays a crucial role in this film as a victim

of Hidetoras past brutal conduct. When Hidetora
was expanding his property by demolishing his rivals,
massacring their men and other family members,
Tsurumaru as a youth was blinded in exchange for
his life. When Hidetora has lost his sanity and has
been wandering in the heath with his fool Kyoami
and his loyal retainer Tango, they find their way to
Tsurumarus dilapidated hut. Tsurumaru plays the
flute as the sole entertainment for the guests (Example
1).8 By confronting Tsurumaru, Hidetora temporarily
regains his sanity; but as a result of hearing the highpitched shrieking cry and the fluctuating tones of the
flute penetrating the hearts of the listener, Hidetora
realizes the agony and suffering he caused Tsurumaru.
Haunted by the sound of the flute, he wanders back
into the wilderness and into insanity.9 The music in
this scene is played by the Japanese instrument called
the shinobue, which is similar to the nohkan that is
used in the Japanese Noh theater.10 The flute is the
only wind instrument used in Noh theater besides the
three drums. In the film, subtle, but abundant use of
drums often accompanies the solo flute written in Noh
style and other music. The short segments of solo flute
music are interspersed at key moments, punctuating
the narrative and the form of the film. The instrument
He also compares the events that blind Gloucester and Tsurumaru, in which
Ran reverses the logic that underpins the tragic course of events in King
Lear (202). My claim that there is no corresponding character of Tsurumaru
in King Lear is that Tsurumaru is the symbolization of unuttered human
pathos that underlies Ran.
8 Source number F28b, Documentation Center for Modern Japanese Music,
Tokyo.
9 As Saviour Catania describes, Tsurumaru plays the music of tears we
never hear him shed. See Saviour Catania, Wailing Woodwind Wild: The
Noh Transcription of Shakespeares Silent Sounds in Kurosawas Ran,
Literature/Film Quarterly 34, no. 2 (2006), 85-91.
10 However, the exact type of the transverse flute that viewers see
and nohkan are related
Tsurumaru playing is unclear. Shinobue, ryuteki,

and have similar timbre and performance style but are used for different
performance media. I suspect that Takemitsu calls for shinobue and ryuteki

in the score for Ran instead of the nohkan, since each nohkan has a different
keynote frequency from instrument to instrument, thus making it difficult to
use with other instruments.

54 THE JOURNAL OF FILM MUSIC

Example 1: Source music for flute played by Tsurumaru

immediately suggests the films strong association to

the Noh theater, which in turn evokes a significant
aesthetic and philosophical context for the film. Here,
the sound of the flute acts as the signifier of this
association. In order to understand the meanings of
the solo flute music in Ran and its strong association
to the Noh theater, I first need to summarize what
features are essential to the aesthetics of Noh theater
and how they are related to Ran.

Aesthetics of Noh Theater

Noh is a classical stage art in Japan, which consists
of literature, music, and dance with mask, developed
from a variety of sacred rituals and festival
entertainments established during the medieval
period (circa AD 13001400).11 The highly stylized
11 The information here is derived from Kunio Komparu, The Noh Theater:
Principles and Perspectives (New York: Weatherhill/Tankosha, 1983) and
Masakazu Yamazaki, On the Art of the No Drama: The Major Treatises of Zeami,
trans. J. Thomas Rimer (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984)

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elements involved in the performance of a Noh play

are: (1) chant-like vocal music; (2) a musical ensemble
composed of a flute and three drums; (3) stylized
poses, actions, and dances accompanied by vocal music
and the ensemble; (4) costumes of robes and masks;
and (5) Noh stage.
Donald Richie argues that the influence of Noh
theater is even more visible in Ran than in Kurosawas
earlier films, such as The Throne of Blood or Kagemusha.12
In Ran, as in Noh theater, we see the massive bulk
of ostentatiously gorgeous costumes, with the arm
movement of long-sleeves, and the silk kimonos
sliding across the polished wooden floor. The actors
movements are Noh-like, which is stately, formal, and
hieratic.13 Hidetoras face becomes more like a mask as
he becomes progressively more insane. According to
James Goodwin, Kurosawa instructed that the makeup
on the actor of Hidetora should progress through three
phases, with each phase based on specific images in
12 Donald Richie, The Films of Akira Kurosawa (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1998), 217.
13 Ibid.

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the repertory of Noh masks.14 In the first phase, the

makeup is lightest and most natural, suggesting the
face of a vigorous, but aged, leader. Later, banishment,
anxiety, and exhaustion deeply change Hidetoras
facial expression. For the final stage of terror and
madness, Hidetoras face has turned completely into an
unnatural coloration of a mask. Goodwin also explains
that Hidetoras fool Kyoami recites lines from the Noh
play Funa Benkei at the exact point when Hidetora sees
apparitions of his past victim:
The wonder of it!
I see on this withered plain
All those I destroyed.
A phantom army,
One by one they come floating,
Rising before me.15

This is the same image that Hidetora saw in his dream

when he dozed off after the boar hunt at the beginning
of the film. It clearly foretells the fate of the warlord.
One of the most important aesthetic concepts in Noh
theater is the concept of jo-ha-kyu, a tripartite form
that underlies the pace of Ran. Jo means beginning or
preparation, ha means breaking, and kyu means rapid
or urgent.16 Jo-ha-kyu is derived from the preference for
odd numbers, a preference that is strongly cultivated
in Japanese aesthetics. A Noh play is normally made
up of five sections called dan. The first dan consists
of jo, the middle three of ha, and the final dan of kyu.
The structure is linked to tempo: the play begins
slowly, breaks into faster pace, and builds to a rapid
conclusion. The solo flute music in Ran signals the joha-kyu form of the film. The first instance of the solo
flute music is heard at the end of the opening credits,
and for the next forty-nine minutes there is seldom
other music that is significant except for another
instance of the distinct solo flute music. In the ha
section of Ran, which is signaled by another occurrence
of solo flute music, other types of music are heard
with more frequency. The kyu section, also signaled by
solo flute music, consists of the final five minutes of
the films duration of two hours and forty minutes, in
which the film comes to a rapid conclusion.
14 Goodwin, 206.
15 Ibid.
16 It should not be assumed, however, that jo-ha-kyu is a straightforward
simple three-part form. All three components should be perceived on
different hierarchical levels. Within the jo section of the higher level, there
is jo-ha-kyu of the lower level. Thus, the concept of jo-ha-kyu governs from
the smallest level of rhythmic units to the broadest level of ordering of all
the plays that make up a one-day program. Jo-ha-kyu also controls the spatial
design in which the plays take place. The principle of jo-ha-kyu applies
both to the way in which segments of music and dance are categorized and
combined to create a play and to the way the actor modulates the intensity,
style, and performance technique within the play.

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55

Moreover, the concept of cyclical time is cited

as a distinctive feature of Noh theater, which is
exemplified as the arrangement of a five-play cycle
of the program of Noh. The fifth Noh play does not
mark a final conclusion, but rather a temporary cut
off that can be viewed as the beginning of an endless
succession. There is a custom of singing attached
felicitations at the end of the program. As the main
character of the last Noh play exits, the chorus
chants an excerpt from the Noh play that belongs
to the first category. It offers felicitations, but at the
same time suggests a cycling on to the first Noh
play that will begin the program on another day. In
Ran, the percussive sound heard at the beginning
of the opening credits serves precisely this purpose
by bringing the closing credits to an end. In the
same way, the symphonic music that accompanies
the battle scene reappears in the closing credits,
suggesting the cyclical repetition of events. The
pattern of a cycle of Noh playsfrom the blessings
of a god to the salvation of a demon and then back
to the beginningis an overall configuration that
accords with the Buddhist theory of salvation. Noh
theater aims to achieve artistic realization by weaving
together human acts with the protective power of
the gods and the mercy of Buddha. Moreover, the
Noh theater reflects the concept of an endless cycle
of birth, death, and rebirth. We thus can understand
the Noh theater as the helix movement, as the linear
movement of jo-ha-kyu is combined with the circular
movement of the five plays. In Ran, its music signifies
the principle of jo-ha-kyu as a play and as a program.

Solo Flute Music in Ran

The short segments of music played by the solo flute
create an intense and dramatic impression in Ran.
Music in this film is relatively sparse in its duration
of two hours and forty minutes. We hear the
short segments of solo flute music, which we later
understand as the association with the blind hermit
Tsurumaru, sporadically throughout the film. Some
instances are longer than others, but the average
one lasts approximately twenty-four seconds. The
audience hears the solo flute music at critical
moments in the film, specifically at each point the
status of Hidetora declines. More importantly, it
signals the jo-ha-kyu of the film while signifying
the relationship between the philosophy that lies
behind the film and the Noh theater. (See the
summary of the appearances of the solo flute music
in Figure 2.)

56 THE JOURNAL OF FILM MUSIC

Figure 2: The solo flute music that signals the structure of Ran
The solo flute music

First occurrence of other music

Jo section:
(1) In the opening: Hidetora at the height of his
prosperity (ryteki) (0:2:19).
(2) Hidetora invites the first son Taros anger
(or rather his wife Kades anger) leading to his
separation with Taro and the First Castle (ryteki)
(0:29:47).

No other significant music

(3) Hidetora leaves the second sons Second Castle in

perturbation. He has been rejected by both of his two
older sons (ryteki) (0:49:17). Ha section begins.
(4) Hidetora walks out vacantly from the burning
Third Castle as attacked by his two sons. Failed to
commit suicide (piccolo, doubled by oboe) (1:13:30).
(5) Encounter with Tsurumaru (shinobue) (1:23:58).

Saburos leitmotif occurs the first time;

the tragic symphonic music for the battle scene;
emphasized sounds of birds, insects, and winds.

(6) Lady Su (second sons wife, Tsurumarus sister)

lying on the grass beheaded (shinobue) (2:33:47). Kyu
section begins.
(7) Tsurumaru is left alone in the ruins of his fathers
castle (shinobue) (2:37:47).

We hear the music played by the ryuteki

first in the
opening credits, when Hidetora is at the height of his
prosperity (Example 2).17 Following the percussive
sound of a Noh instrument, intermingled with the
source sound of the clopping of horses hooves, the
flute music then begins simultaneously with the start
of the scene in which men are engaged in wild-boar
hunting. We see Hidetora seriously involved in the
hunt with a confident look on his face. The high,
piercing sound of the flute occurs when the title of the
film (Ran) appears, as if to foretell the tragedy that
is to befall Hidetora.18 After Hidetora has transferred
his estate to his first son Taro, Hidetora sees his fool
Kyoami threatened and shoots one of Taros retainers
with an arrow. This act by Hidetora invites Taros
anger (or rather his wife Lady Kades), which leads to
Hidetoras separation with Taro and the First Castle.
At that moment, the second occurrence of the music
17 Score M2 (partial), source number F28f, Documentation Center for
Modern Japanese Music, Tokyo.
18 Saviour Catania relates the piercing sound of the flutes hishigi, or high
pitches, to the piercing of Hidetoras heart as Hidetora has galloped into
a nether realm whose unfathomable silence paradoxically deepens with its
plangent shrieking. In his article, he suggests that the hunter becomes the
hunted at the very moment he draws the bow, Hence the timely interruption
of the Nohkan hinting by its shriek that Hidetora, even before banishing
Saburo, is essentially a Shakespearean beast, must prey on itself, like
monsters of the deep. See Catania.

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played by the ryuteki

is heard. Tsurumarus flute is a
metaphor of an arrow, shooting down Hidetoras fate
as a fearless leader at the opening boar hunt (when his
arrow is never seen piercing the boar), and also at the
scene when Hidetora shoots one of Taros retainers,
prompting the beginning of his decline. In these acts
Tsurumarus spirit is present as his will/soul is carried
by his identityhis flute.
The third occurrence of the music played by the
ryuteki
is heard when Hidetora leaves the Second Castle
in perturbation. He has just given the Second Castle to
his second son Jiro. In this scene Hidetora realizes that
he has been rejected by both of his sons. He leaves the
Second Castle in shock and, for the first time, shows
agitation. The flute music in this scene signals the
beginning of the ha section of the film. Along with an
effectively still shot of the enormous gate and the small
figure of Hidetora standing in front, it informs the
audience that a new narrative phase has begun, one
that coincides with Hidetoras new state of mind.19 It
19 Takemitsu made use of sound effects that suggest the emotional and
mental action of Hidetora. In the scene when Hidetora and his retainers
leave the Second Castle, angry and disappointed, they take a rest in the
middle of the plain since they have nowhere to go. The sound effect is more
or less unnoticeable and sounds somewhat like the wind or shrill insects or
birdcalls. When the loyal Tango arrives in front of Hidetora and reveals Taro
and Jiros scheme to banish their father, this background sound increases

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57

Example 2: Music at the opening boar hunt

is important to understand that until this scene, when

Hidetora leaves the Second Castle, there has been
almost no background music in the film other than
the flute music that is heard when Hidetora shoots
Taros retainer. Up to this scene, Hidetoras mind is
still strong, and he remains determined to hold on to
his power. After the flute announces the beginning of
the ha sectionthe section of the breakdownmusic
is used far more frequently. In the films ha section,
the music heard includes: Hidetoras third son Saburos
leitmotif played by the timpani,20 the tragic symphonic
music for the battle scene (which I discuss in detail
below), a short appearance of flute music (this time
played by piccolo, doubled by oboe) when Hidetora
walks out vacantly from the burning Third Castle,
and the source flute music played by Tsurumaru
(shown in Example 1), revealing that it was he who
had never ceased playing the flute. Hereafter the flute
music is heard in the scenes that are associated with
Tsurumaru. In the ha section, the solo flute music
Tsurumarupushes Hidetora to the edge of madness
as he is attacked by the armies of his two sons and
fails in his attempt to commit suicide. Tsurumarus
in intensity and loudness. He is just at the onset of his insanity. The sound
that simulates the blowing of the wind is used again when Hidetora and his
fool Kyoami are staying in the ruin of Tsurumarus destroyed castle. They
see Tsurumaru and his sister Lady Su together standing above. Hidetora, in
his disturbed mind, thinks that he is in hell. The high-pitched eerie sonority
generates the feeling of anxiety.
20 The timpani motive is first used in the scene that shows the Third
Castle and Taros retainers marching in. This motive is called Saburo-daiko,
Saburos drum motive, and is associated with the third son, since the
Third Castle was originally intended to be inherited by Saburo. The second
appearance of the Saburo-daiko occurs near the end of the film, when Saburo
and his retainer cross the boundary river to save Hidetora. This motive
appears more often thereafter, since there are more scenes affiliated with
Saburo. Score M20, source number F28f at the Documentation Center for
Modern Japanese Music, Tokyo.

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performance of his flute, which is heard almost exactly

at the midpoint of the film, drives Hidetora completely
to the other rim of insanity.
The music played by the shinobue, which
accompanies the scene where Tsurumarus sister (and
also the second sons wife) Lady Su is shown lying
on the grass beheaded, signifies the transition to the
kyu section. Lady Su returns to Tsurumarus hut to
retrieve the flute he has forgotten, only to be killed
on the orders of the first sons wife, Lady Kade.
Thereafter, the film moves towards its conclusion with
a rapid succession of violent events: the beheading of
Lady Kade, the attack against the second son Jiros
army by Ayabes army (his heretofore enemy), the
anticipated fall of the Ichimonji clan, and the solemn
procession of warriors carrying the bodies of Hidetora
and Saburo.21 In the closing scene, as Tsurumaru is left
alone in the ruins of his fathers castle, he stumbles
at the edge of the top of the stone wall. At the same
moment, the music played by the shinobue starts for the
last time (Example 3).22 Tsurumaru then accidentally
drops the scroll of Buddha, causing the scroll to
open. The camera shows a close-up of the picture of
Buddha, and then shows Tsurumaru on the ruins wall,
gradually backing up, showing his silhouette against
the darkening sky. The film ends with the piercing
high note of the flute.
Throughout Ran it becomes obvious that the
solo flute is associated with Tsurumarus soul and
emotions. The androgynous figure of Tsurumaru
refers to the Noh theater as well, for it resembles the
21 This scene is accompanied by the Mahler-like music as well, which I will
address later.
22 Score M28, source number F28f at the Documentation Center for Modern
Japanese Music, Tokyo.

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Example 3: Music at the closing scene

ghost figure from the Noh play. It is interesting to

compare the two most powerful characters in Ran,
Tsurumaru and the first sons wife Lady Kade, for
music never accompanies Lady Kades presence.
Lady Kade is a vengeful woman, who talks, acts, and
manipulates whomever she wishes. Her intentions
and goals are self evident, and as a character she
defines herself only by words and actions. Thus she
has no need for music to speak for or about her. In
sharp contrast, Tsurumaru lives as a hermit, and
his only pleasure in life is to play the flute. On the
surface he is resigned to his tragic situation, although
he fully expresses his sorrow and his hatred toward
Hidetora through his flute playing.
Among the seven occurrences of the solo flute
Since
music, the first three are played by the ryuteki.

the ryuteki
is
generally
considered
to
have
deeper

sounds and a more solemn timbre than the shinobue, I

suspect that, in order to suggest that Hidetoras mind
is still robust, the sound of the ryuteki
is used in the
first three instances of the solo flute music. One of
the major differences between Western and Japanese
instruments is the preference for certain tone qualities.
As Western instruments were developed, a removal
in extraneous noise in the production of sound
was encouraged. In contrast, Japanese instruments
focused more strongly on the quality of individual
instrumental sounds, and noise in the production
of sound was preserved and enhanced as a means of
expression. The sounds produced are thus complex
and intricate. Takemitsu states that, The sounds of
Equinox Publishing Ltd 2010.

Japanese instruments are produced spontaneously in

performances. A single strum of the strings or even
one pluck is too complex, the sound is so strong that it
can stand alone.23 In the musical examples, asterisks
indicate particular pitched notes that are accompanied
by a noticeable breath-like sound. Also, there are many
pitches with microtonal bends immediately before or
after the pitch is produced, simulating a human cry
or wailing. The sound of Japanese instruments will
differ from performer to performer, and even from
performance to performance by the same player.
Perhaps this aspect is one reason why the sound of the
solo flute in Ran seems to be connected to a personal
level and conveys more private emotions to express the
true feelings of the performer.
The melodies of the solo flute music are never the
same, although some melodic fragments share notable
similarities. Some examples include the following:
distinctive rapid figures that ascend from a lower pitch
level, arriving at a note of longer duration (indicated
with brackets above the staff); reiterations of notes of
longer durations, at many times preceded by various
kinds of rapid figures (indicated with brackets below
the staff); and many leaps within the melodic line. Of
course, the unique timbre of the traditional flute and
the breath-like sound of exhaling when arriving at and
coming out of the tone add to the sense of similarity
between different melodies. Hidekazu Yoshida
23 Toru Takemitsu, trans. Yoshiko Kakudo and Glenn Glasow, Confronting
Silence: Selected Writings (Berkeley: Fallen Leaf Press, 1995), 9.

Deguchi

describes the following impression of the music of the

three-string Japanese instrument the shamisen:
The music seems to be made up of the repetition of
the same thing; however, it changes gradually, moving
forward accordingly. Then in the next moment,
suddenly it seems to return to an earlier moment. It
is hard to tell if it has shape or not. Rather, it is music
that from time to time expands or contracts and that
keeps our attention by gradually transforming its form
and color. The parts of music are interchangeable, and
it is possible to start anywhere and end anywhere. It is
essentially different from Western music, whose parts
or sections have their definite formal position.24

This principal is what Fumio Hayasaka calls an

eternal form,25 in which each part does not have a
clear boundary or frame but happens continuously,
and could be replaced in any order and could start
and end in any place.26 Japanese music lacks a longrange design, motivic and thematic development,
and melodic goals, which are all prominent in the
melodic lines in Western classical music. Japanese
music emphasizes focusing on one sound at a time,
which forces listeners to appreciate the music at that
moment. Finding gratification in moment to moment
is quintessential in Japanese traditional music. This
preference for moment in music is demonstrated by
the non-teleological nature in the solo flute writing,
and also is associated with the Japanese Buddhist
doctrine. In the next section, I discuss the strong
underlying implication of Buddhism in Ran and its
comparison to King Lear.

Buddhism as the Films Background

Philosophy and King Lear
As in the last scene with the open scroll of Buddha,
there is a strong suggestion of Buddhism displayed
many times during the course of the film. In contrast
to King Lear, the philosophical background of Ran
clearly derives primarily from a Buddhist perspective.
Most of all, the film strongly engages the Buddhist
view of the world as cyclical and transitory, and,
of course, the allusions to Noh theater strongly
reinforce that Buddhist perspective. What I sense
lying in the background of Ran is the mujo as nothing
is permanent, which differs remarkably from the
24 Shinji Saito and Maki Takemitsu, eds., Takemitsu Toru no Sekai (The world
of Toru Takemitsu) (Tokyo: Shueisha, 1997), 129. My translation.
25 Ibid., 84.
26 I write about the similar linear construction of music in one of
Takemitsus piano pieces, Piano Distance, in my unpublished article.

Equinox Publishing Ltd 2010.

59

generative concept of nothingness in King Lear. In

contrast, Rans impermanence is a cyclical element,
implying the reiteration of history always confined
by repetitions and recurring points of origin. At the
turning points in the Japanese Middle Ages, the
Buddhist masters emphasized the human passions of
greed and desire. According to Shinran, a renowned
medieval monk, sin is essential to man; it is deeply
rooted in human existence and we in fact cannot avoid
committing sins. The same grief is expressed by the
last remark of Tango, who states, when facing the
deaths of Saburo and Hidetora: Do not blaspheme! It
is the gods who weep. They see us killing each other
over and over since time began. They cant save us
from ourselves.27 At this moment the radiant sun, the
symbol of Hidetora, starts to set over the ruin of the
castle, which Hidetora had previously destroyed.
The deaths of all family members in Ran and the
implied narrative that one clan falls and a new clan
rises, suggesting the repetition of history, are, I think,
what overwhelms the audience. In the Buddhist
perspective, nothing in the world remains permanent,
and humankind is only one mere element in the
universe. If we feel a deep emotion toward the notion
of vicissitudes, it comes from the same aesthetic
partiality toward impermanence, a sense that anyone,
regardless of power or prosperity, will eventually perish
in the flow of time. Thus, the perspective of time in
Ran is cyclical, but does not repeat exactly, moving in a
spiral motion.
In marked contrast to Ran, Shakespeares King Lear
addresses the notion of nothingness in a distinctively
dissimilar sense. Shakespeares language possesses
abundant connotations, and the word nothing is
rich in subtle implications. Lear asks his daughters
to express the amount of love they feel toward him
in exchange for a part of his kingdom. Cordelia, for
whom love takes place only through lived action, could
only remain silent or answer nothing, signifying that
there is no answer to that question. However, for Lear,
this was the worst possible answer. He fails to see
the difference between silence and saying nothing,
and in an outburst of rage he states, Nothing will
come out of nothing, and subsequently banishes
Cordelia.28 At the outset of King Lear, by showing the
Kings violent explosion of rage, Shakespeare invokes
a furious, barbaric pagan god. However, as the play
draws to a conclusion, there are intimations of the
27 Goodwin, 215.
28 Brian Rotman, Signifying Nothing: The Semiotics of Zero (Stanford, CA:
Stanford University Press, 1993), 80-81. Also see David Willbern, Poetic Will:
Shakespeare and the Play of Language (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1997).

60 THE JOURNAL OF FILM MUSIC

Christian notion of God. John Holloway shows that

the movement of King Lear, especially from act 4 to
the end, parallels the movement of the Old Testament
book of Job, especially in regards to the notion of
repeated suffering.29 William Elton points out that
the most recent interpretations of King Lear have a
tendency to identify it as a Christian play.30 He
quotes from R. W. Chambers attempt to portray the
play as a poem on the victory of true love through
the redemption of Lear. Furthermore, many critics
envision Cordelia in the part of Christ and see Lear
as being improved or regenerated. John M. Lothian
argues that the spire of meaning in this play is the
spiritual history of the regeneration of King Lear. . .31
Resembling Mary and Jesus, Lear holding Cordelia
dead suggests a view of possible resurrection. By
implying hope, improvement, and cause and effect,
King Lear thus suggests or invokes the Western
perspective of linear time moving in one direction.
However, it does not mean that the Japanese have
no hope in their phenomenal world. While accepting
the cyclical transmigration between rokudo, six
basic modes of being, as human as one of them,
according to ones karma, in the medieval period
theories of salvation proliferated, contributing to the
possibility of optimism and hope.32 The Japanese
seem to have evaded the pessimistic notion implicit
in impermanence by pursuing the pleasure of now
in the ukiyo, a floating world.33 Japanese Buddhism
thus emphasized the prominence of the phenomenal
world, in contrast to the Indian Buddhists reaction to
the world of change, which is to reject it in favor of an
ultimate reality, a transcendent Absolute in which the
mind can find refuge. On the contrary, the Japanese
reaction is to accept, even to welcome, the fluidity
and impermanence of the phenomenal world as the
ultimate reality.34 The now becomes the absolute,
and every moment becomes self-contained. In every
moment only the present exists. It is in the same
sense that we appreciate the intricate and complex
sound of that particular moment of Japanese music.
29 John Holloway, The Story of the Night: Studies in Shakespeares Major Tragedies
(Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1961), 89; quoted in Jay L. Halio, The
Tragedy of King Lear (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 12, n. 7.
30 William R. Elton, King Lear and the Gods (San Marino, CA: The
Huntington Library, 1966), 3. Despite the popular approach to King Lear as an
optimistically Christian drama, he concludes in his book, Cordelia represents
a more virtuous pagan, whose virtues approach the Christian ideal but are
not identical with it.
31 John Maule Lothian, King Lear: A Tragic Reading of Life (Toronto: Folcroft
Library Editions, 1949), 27; quoted in Elton, 4, n. 5.
32 William R. LaFleur, The Karma of Words: Buddhism and the Literary Arts in
Medieval Japan (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), 49.
33 Ibid., 54.
34 Hajime Nakamura, A History of the Development of Japanese Thought: From
A.D. 592 to 1868 (Tokyo: Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai, 1969), 93.

Equinox Publishing Ltd 2010.

Takemitsu expresses this notion eloquently in Ran,

with the non-teleological nature of the flute music and
with the concentration of the single pitch, which is
reiterated differently each time they are produced, thus
demanding the listener to appreciate that particular
sound at that moment.

The Symphonic Adagio: Hells

Picture Scroll
In Kurosawas writings, he clearly indicates an
awareness of the vulnerable existence of humankind,
as viewed from above. Kurosawa explains that the
source sound of the battle scene at the Third Castle
was completely absent because, [i]n eliminating the
sounds from the scene of battle I wanted to indicate
that the perspective was that of the heavens.35
Kurosawa instead commissioned Takemitsu to
compose orchestral music to accompany this
magnificent scene of battlefield between Hidetoras
retainers and his two sons armies. Takemitsu and
other writers have commented on the background
story of Kurosawas fixation on Mahlers Symphony
no. 1 and The Song of the Earth at that time. After much
debate and argument between the composer and the
director, the result was a Mahler-inspired symphonic
adagio named Hells Picture Scroll.36 In this scene, the
source sounds, such as people screaming and running,
pounding horses hooves, and the shooting of arrows,
are completely erased when the music begins. It is
a long battle scene that continues until Hidetoras
forces are completely destroyed. The symphonic music,
almost seven minutes long, stops and the source sound
returns when the first son Taro is shot by the second
son Jiros retainer.
Although the symphonic adagio uses the
instrumentation of the typical Romantic-era orchestra,
it curiously conveys the sense of cyclicality and stasis.
This is mostly due to the short fragments of melodic
lines that do not have cadential goals and do not
develop motivically; however, the melodic writings
of the symphonic music are reminiscent of Mahler.
35 Goodwin, 211.
36 Score M13/M29, source number F28f at the Documentation Center for
Modern Japanese Music, Tokyo. Takemitsu commented during a conversation
with Masahiro Shinoda that I (Takemitsu) suggested that Kurosawa use
Mahlers No. 1 instead of requesting me to compose for the scene. His
(Kurosawas) response was that I write something better than Mahler.
See Takashi Funayama, Takemitsu Toru: Hibiki no umi e (Toru Takemitsu:
Towards the sea of sound) (Tokyo: Ongakunotomosha, 1998), 206. Also
see Hiroyuki Iwaki, Sakkyokuka Takemitsu Toru to ningen, Mayuzumi Toshiro
(A composer Toru Takemitsu and a person Toshiro Mayuzumi) (Tokyo:
Rengashoboushinsho, 1999), 34 and Kawade Michino Techo, Takemitsu Toru:
Botsugo 10nen, Narihibiku Ongaku (Toru Takemutsu: 10 years after his death,
resounding music) (Tokyo: Kawadeshoboshinsha, 2006), 86.

Deguchi

The opening melody, heard in the woodwinds of

the symphonic adagio, is an altered quotation of the
opening oboe melody from the sixth movement of the
Song of the Earth, Farewell. Takemitsu pays homage to
Mahler again at the scene of the funeral procession for
Hidetora and Saburo, by using similar melodic material
from the third movement of Mahlers Symphony no.
1. However, the harmonic language is more akin to
the two Western composers that most influenced
Takemitsu, Messiaen and Debussy. The sense of
stasis is particularly conveyed by the repeating twobar motive (Example 4) that alternates with sections
that feature thinner textures and solo melodies in the
woodwinds. The melodic line in this poignant motive
moves in parallel motion with two lower lines at the
intervals of a perfect twelfth and a minor sixth. The
sextuplet anacrusis that precedes the motive is made
of alternating minor and major triads (D major, G
minor, F major, G minor, F major, G minor). This
anacrusis consists of seven pitches from one of the
octatonic collections {0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11} (Messiaens
Mode II of his Modes of Limited Transpositions).37
The harmony that consists of the pitch-class set {2,
6, 9, 10, 11} (root position minor seventh chord with
added major seventh above the root) that accompanies
this motive is a subset of Messiaens Mode III {1, 2,
3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11}, again showing an influence from
Messiaens harmonic language. This chord descends by
a semitone in parallel motion at the beginning of the
following measure. With the persistent strict parallel
motion in this motive, unmistakably demonstrating
Takemitsus influence from Debussy, the musical
motion projects stasis, and the ending of the motive
clearly indicates inconclusiveness. This motive occurs
five times throughout the battle scene, all but one are
at the same pitch level. (It is transposed a semitone
higher in the second occurrence.) The cyclical
recurrence of this motive without resolution also
symbolizes the perspective of time in Ran as cyclical.
It alludes to the cyclical recurrences of the battle
between human beings. The length of this scene and
the muted sounds connote timelessness, suggesting
that the battle is being gazed upon from the heavens
on a cosmic level.
When all the source sounds disappear and only the
music remains, the sense of reality suddenly fades. The
scene loses the emotional connection to the audience,
placing distance between the audience and the onscreen action. The action of the warriors seems to
37 Takemitsu utilizes octatonic collections and Messiaens other Modes
of Limited Transposition as a source for pitch material in many of his
compositions.

Equinox Publishing Ltd 2010.

61

proceed in slow motion, and the whole image appears

to turn into a dream or an illusion. This technique
seems to be more universal, since it is used for similar
effects in other Western films such as in Apocalypse
Now (1979), Platoon (1986), and Kingdom of Heaven
(2005).38 In Apocalypse Now only the symphonic music
can be heard during the scene in which the local
Vietnamese tribe in the deep jungle is chanting and
dancing to the rhythm of the drums. Then the tribe
members start to kneel at the emergence of their new
demigod, Captain Willard, who has just assassinated
Colonel Kurtz. The source sound is totally mute in
this scene. In Platoon Barbers Adagio for Strings is
heard against the muted source sound in the famous
scene in which Elias is shot and falls with his arms
extended towards the sky. Also, toward the end of
the film, Chris Taylor looks down at the battlefield
in Vietnam as he is carried away in a helicopter to
be treated for his wounds. While Adagio for Strings
is again used for this scene, only the faint helicopter
sound remains. In Kingdom of Heaven a camera shot
looking directly down captures the final battle scene
as Saladins army breaches the walls of Jerusalem.
Shown in slow motion, the source sound is almost
completely silenced. The technique becomes a trope
that captures the painfulness of human actions that
cannot be controlled by individuals. In these scenes the
emotions or the intentions of the individuals are moot,
but instead the actions (or, in the case of Platoon, the
result of the actions) seem to be controlled and viewed
by a higher force. In these three films, the durations
of these scenes are relatively short (only a couple of
minutes before some of the source sounds start to
return in Apocalypse Now, and less than one minute in
Platoon and Kingdom of Heaven); however, Takemitsus
symphonic adagio continues for almost seven minutes.
The duration of the symphonic adagio with the muted
war sounds amplify the magnitude of the helplessness
of human nature. In Ran the symphonic adagio
suggests the endless repetition of history by portraying
the endless battles between clans and, more generally,
between human beings. When the sound of the first
son being shot from behind is heard and seen, the
viewers are finally taken back to reality.
The image of the gaze of the heavens is further
expressed in the scroll containing an icon of the
Buddha Amida, and the radiant sun is portrayed in
the background. Hidetoras royal emblem is a radiant
sun against a black background. The image of the sun
setting in the horizon is explicit in the meeting of
38 I am grateful to Robert Hatten and Scott Murphy for their suggestions
about these films.

62 THE JOURNAL OF FILM MUSIC

Example 4: Repeating two-bar motive in the symphonic Adagio (with anacrusis)

Equinox Publishing Ltd 2010.

Deguchi

Hidetora and Lady Su at the ramparts of the Second

Castle. To further suggest the declining status of
Hidetora, the image of the sun shading the cloud is
depicted in the battle scene, just when two of his older
sons betray their father.
The same symphonic adagio is used near the ending
of the film, when Ayabes army (another family clan
seeking an opportunity to expand its land and power)
attacks the First Castle. The return of the symphonic
adagio during the final credits once again suggests
the repetitive battles among human beings, as gazed
upon from above. Finally, the faint percussive sound of
the Noh instruments at the end of the credits brings
the viewers back to the beginning of the opening
credits, where the same percussive sounds were used.
The music comes to signify, then, the same cyclical
perspective of time that is portrayed in Noh theater.
The reappearing percussive sound is not identical to
the music from the jo section, or the felicitous kind of
music as in Noh theater; however, it implies the same
quality of endlessness and cyclical repetition.

Conclusion
At first glance, the solo flute music and the symphonic
music seem to represent entirely different ideas;
however, they are intricately related among the web
of other important factors of the film. The short
melodies of the solo flute music concentrate focus
on the sound of the immediate moment and signify
an individual. When the flute is heard played by
Tsurumaru at the midpoint of the film, the audience
retrospectively understands that the music expresses
Tsurumarus inner emotion. On the other hand, the
lengthy symphonic adagio that occurs with the battle
scene (and at the ending credits, implying the battle
scene) is at the opposite end of the spectrum. By
incorporating the more commonly used sonority of the
orchestra, the imagery of the gaze from above is more
universal, lamenting the demise of the individuals and
the ephemeral existence of humankind as a whole.
However, these distinctions are not mere typology
since both Takemitsus music for the solo flute and
the symphonic adagio are intricately correlated with
the Buddhist view of the world as cyclical. The nondevelopmental style of flute music alludes to Noh
theater, which provides the perspective of the Buddhist
doctrine of cyclicality. The quality of the harmonic
language and the recurrences of the short melodic
fragments in the symphonic adagio also imply cyclical
repetitions. In this way, the film score links all the
elements of this film: the flute music and Noh theater;
Equinox Publishing Ltd 2010.

63

the Noh theater developed under Buddhist doctrine;

and Buddhism, cyclical time, and impermanenceall
elements that strongly contrast with King Lear, from
which Kurosawa adopted the narrative of Ran.
However, the features of these two types of music
that lie at the opposite ends do suggest two hidden
central characters of the film. Via the solo flute music,
only Tsurumarus emotion is carried throughout the
film. The realization that the player of the solo flute
was Tsurumaru reveals that his feeling of resentment
towards Hidetora was present from the beginning of
the film and recontextualizes the meaning of the solo
flute music. For Tsurumaru the sole entertainment
is his disguised grudge, and for Hidetora it signifies
him as a ghost from the past. Hidetora is completely
overwhelmed by the emotions Tsurumaru asserts
through his flute playing. The listeners sympathize
with Tsurumaru, with all the others who fell because
of Hidetora and with all who cannot let go of a grudge.
And it is this sound that haunts Hidetora in the boar
hunt at the beginning of the film and that haunts the
worldly realm at the films conclusion. In addition, the
occurrences of the solo flute music frame the films
form of jo-ha-kyu, as Kurosawa chronicles the declining
status of Hidetora.
In stark contrast to the solo flute music signifying
individual emotions, the tragic symphonic adagio
signifies the existence of an omnipresence above and
its gaze, eloquently symbolizing the endless repetition
of the history of human struggles as individuals remain
oblivious. All individuals in the family die (even the
death of Tsurumaru is implied at the end, for he will
not survive alone at the ruins); however, this fact is
impartial to the eyes of the gods. Perhaps the listeners
agonize over this sense of separation from reality and
the impermanence of the present state. Even though
Ran is staged in the medieval period in Japan under the
influence of Japanese Buddhism, the detachment from
the violence on the battlefield as perceived as the gaze
from the heavens might perhaps be a valid implication
that the symphonic adagio depicts a folly of warfare
that still continues in modern days. The opposing
roles between the two types of music result from the
subjective and individualized conveyance of emotions
in the flute music as opposed to the collective
emotional reaction to the cyclical nature of human
strife represented by the symphonic music.

64 THE JOURNAL OF FILM MUSIC

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Equinox Publishing Ltd 2010.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.