National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

BanshûGaku is one of the four main music pieces of togaku (one type of gagaku, court music). It became one of the four main music pieces when the original two (Odaihajinraku and Toraden) of the four discontinued. It is also one of rinyuhachigaku (eight pieces of dance music in gagaku). In August 736, an Indian priest, Baramon Sojo, and a Southern Vietnamese priest, Buttetsu, introduced this into Japan. While they readily taught seven music pieces of rinyuhachigaku to the musicians of Shitennoji Temple (Osaka) at Daianji Temple in Nara, they would not teach this "BanshûGaku" as it was a secret music piece. However, ten years after the seven pieces were taught, they finally taught this secret music to Japanese musicians and performed it for the first time in public at Kyosan-e (one of Buddhist services) in the Hall of the Great Image of Buddha at Todaiji Temple. There were different types of BanshûGaku, such as BanshûGaku with 25 melodies, 12 melodies, or 5 melodies. Music was indispensable culture for court nobles, and in particular, BanshûGaku was representative dance music. This document is a valuable material that discloses the secret and background to the succession of BanshûGaku. It was designated an important cultural property on February 2, 1962.