Catalog of Shōdan: Entrance and Exit Music
Raijo
Raijo is solemn music played by the nohkan and three percussion instruments. It sometimes accompanies the exit of a deity at the end of the first act, as it is the case in Kokaji.
Raijo is composed of two sections: The first one, called nakairi-raijo, is slow and non-congruent, creating a stately mood for the exit of one or two characters. The beginning of each eight-beat unit is articulated with a taiko dainobachi stroke on the first beat, followed immediately with a ta stroke on the kotsuzumi.
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The tempo picks up at the beginning of the second section, which is congruent. This one, called kyōgen-raijo accompanies the entrance of the ai-kyōgen.
The kyōgen-raijo tempo is faster, and the kakegoe shorter. Its lighter tone differs from the nakairi-raijo’s solemn feel. The structure of its steady eight-beats rhythmic pattern is divided into two equal parts, its second half repeating the first except for the kotsuzumi’s chi stroke on the 6th beat.
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The non-congruent first part, which accompanies the exiting shite and waki, covers five honji. It is against the percussion’s static rhythm that the nohkan performs its eight-beat melodic pattterns, starting each one around the honji's second beat, playing mainly on even beats in contrast with the percussion strokes positioned largely on odd beats. The congruent second part, that support the ai-kyōgen’s entrance, is spread over four honji and a half.