In Search of the Historical Development of Double-Reed Pipe Melodies in Japanese Tōgaku: Early Hypotheses and New Perspectives

This paper represents the first attempt to trace the historical development of the double-reed pipe melodies in tōgaku, a musical repertory imported into Japan from China between the seventh and the ninth centuries and performed to this day. In this study, I analyze the double-reed pipe melody in each historical period, and by comparing it with the development of the transverse flute, which plays similar melodies to those of the double-reed pipe today, I shed light on the differences in melodic development between the double-reed pipe and transverse flute.