Tossup

A composer from this country combined a Western orchestra with its traditional instruments in his November Steps. Syllables such as “don” and “ka” are part of a “mouth-writing” system used to notate drum music from this (10[1])country. (10[1])A folk song from this country (-5[1])asks “Is it mist, or clouds?” while describing its title flowers, and is often given to beginner players of a 13-stringed zither (-5[1])from this country, the koto. Traditional instruments from this country such as the biwa and the shakuhachi (10[2])are frequently (10[1])played in its gagaku ensembles. (10[1])For 10 points, name this home country of Tōru Takemitsu and Koji (10[1])Kondo, the latter of whom writes video game music for Nintendo. ■END■

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