Learning Gregorian Chant in Japan — When There Are Few Choices —

Where can one learn Gregorian chant?

When you become interested in Gregorian chant,
a simple question naturally comes to mind:

Where can I learn it?

In some countries, there are monasteries, churches, and workshops
where people can encounter this tradition more easily.

But what about Japan?

Not impossible, but not easy

It is not that there are no places to study Gregorian chant in Japan.

There are programmes offered by music universities,
institutes of sacred music,
and specialised courses.

However, in reality, these places can feel quite difficult to approach.

They often seem to assume that participants already have:

• formal musical training
• a certain level of knowledge and experience

And when you find yourself surrounded by unfamiliar terminology,
it is easy to wonder:

“Do I really belong here?”

My own path

As for me, I have not received formal musical training.

Most of what I have learned has come from:

• public lectures at a Catholic university
• books and written materials
• online resources and videos

little by little, over time.

Even obtaining chant books is not always simple in Japan.
I have often had to order them from abroad.

Books such as Graduale Triplex and Liber Usualis
are treated as specialised publications,
and are not something one can easily pick up in everyday settings.

Not a matter of choosing

When it comes to learning Gregorian chant in Japan,
the difficulty is not only access — it is also the lack of choice.

Rather than choosing a place that suits you,
it often feels like finding a way to fit yourself
into the limited options that exist.

Even if a place does not fully match what you are seeking,
you go there, simply because it is the only place available.

Few opportunities to sing

Opportunities to sing Gregorian chant are also quite limited.

In many churches in Japan,
it is rarely used during Mass,
and Latin itself is not commonly heard.

In my own parish,

I sometimes sing a Marian antiphon after the Saturday evening Mass.

It is a very small and quiet moment,
but for me, it is a meaningful one.

Why continue?

In such circumstances,
one might wonder why anyone would continue learning at all.

For me, the answer is simple.

I want to encounter Gregorian chant
as it truly is —
not only as music,
but as prayer within the liturgy.

A thought about other countries

I have often wondered whether it might be easier
to learn Gregorian chant outside Japan.

It seems that books, teachers, and opportunities
may be more accessible in other countries.

And yet, I do not imagine it is something
that can be found everywhere with ease.

Perhaps Gregorian chant,
wherever it exists,
still belongs to certain quiet places.

In small and quiet places

In Japan, those places may simply be fewer.

And yet, Gregorian chant has not disappeared.

Within limited opportunities,
within small communities,
it continues — quietly.