S-R-g-P-d-S

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The SRgPdS swara set – equivalent to ‘Shivranjani komal dha’ or ‘Bhupali Todi shuddha Re’ – exists in several distinct Hindustani guises. Patiala vocalists title it ‘Lilavati’, however this name is also applied to a separate ‘Kalavati komal ga’ raga by others. The same scale also appears under the intriguing title of ‘Japaneeya / Japaniya’: a recent import from Carnatic music with rumoured connections to filmi tunes of the 1980s (the Malayalam Music & Movie Encyclopedia lists four songs under the raga – although the only one of these I can find a recording for is 2000’s Thulasimaniyaniju). At first, I wondered if the title was a reference to Japan – after all, the same scale form is sometimes called the ‘Japanese Mode‘, used as a ubiquitous ‘Japanese motif’ in international media, played in various rotations to summon an instant essence of Japanese culture in TV, film, and beyond (see The Simpsons, South Park, and even the subway jingles of the Kyoto Metro). However, Ashish Dha confirmed with Abhirang – the first known Hindustani performer of the raga – that it the raga’s name in fact derives from ‘jap karnaa‘ (जपनीय): an ancient tradition of mantra repetition practiced by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and others. Abhirang’s intriguing recording gives centre-stage to a fleetingly brief (gRg)P ornament, providing relief amidst the scale’s highly irregular geometries – although for now, I can’t trace any others from the North (UPDATE: Ashish Dha recorded a concise Dagarvani-style alap in response to this page!). So, even if the raga has no direct links to Japan, I may as well take the chance to mention the equivalent tone-collection in Japanese classical music: known as ‘Miyakobushi’, with little inherent requirement for a fixed ‘root’ (making it more like an interlinked murchana-set than a single scale: although it often feels anchored in Gunkali’s SrmPdS sequence, Japaniya’s ma-murchana: compare to other modes including Kaushik Dhwani and Amritvarshini). For more Japan-raga connections, read in-depth essays by Aishik Bandyopadhyay and T.M. Hoffman, and listen to Ravi Shankar’s 1978 collaboration with koto master Hozan Yamamoto – and learn about cross-cultural explorers such as santooriya Mari Komuro, sarangiya Yuji Nakagawa, vocalist Tilak Bhattacharya, sitarists Amit Roy and Tadao Ishihama, and ‘sitarla’ pioneer Hideki Ishima.

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राग जपनीय

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: SRgPdS

Avroh: SdPgRS

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Pakad: variable, e.g. gRgP; PdSRgR; SgRSd

Chalan: (open-form)

—Abhirang (2022)—

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[bandish, e.g. 6:27] (S)R (gRg)P, g(Rg), SgR(S)d, S(d), (S)R, R (gRg)P, g(Rg), Sr(gRgRD) d, PS(d) (S)R (gRg)P, g(Rg); SR(gRgR) dS, (dS)R, SRgd(P), PdSRgR (SdS)d P(g) gR(SR)S, R (PgP) g(Rg), SgR(S)d…

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• Carnatic Origins •

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—Ragam Japaniya—

(Anant NSK)

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–All ragas of Carnatic origin–

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• Classifiers •

Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):

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Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+

Sapta: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Poorvang: SRGM | SRG | SRM | SGM

Uttarang: PDNS | PDS | PNS | DNS

Varjit: Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni

Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact

Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra

Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row

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Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2

Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night

Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball

Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern

Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang

Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.

• Prakriti: (some forms of Lilavati)

Also see other ragas matching the generic swaras ‘Sa-Re-Ga-Pa-Dha‘

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–g–P–d–S

• Reverse: SGmDnS

• Complement: SrGmMDnNS

• Imperfect: 2 (Re, ga)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Kaushik Dhwani set

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• Quirks: ‘jagged‘ (no ‘adjacent interval repetitions’)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: Japaniya

S-R₂-G₂-P-D₁-S

• Jazz: Aeolian (no 4th/6th)

1-2-b3-5-b6-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-3-7-8-0

(2–1–4–1–4)

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o • o o • • • o o • • • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+dha)

• Names: Japaniya, Japaneeya

• Transliterations: Hindi (जपनीय)

—Prasant Radhakrishnan (2024)—