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 country. (10[1])A folk song from this country asks (-5[1])“Is it mist, or clouds?” while describing its title flowers, and is often given to beginner players of a 13-stringed zither from this country, the koto. Traditional instruments (10[1])from this country such as the biwa and the shakuhachi (10[2])are frequently played (10[1])in its gagaku ensembles. For 10 points, name this home country of Tōru Takemitsu (10[1])and Koji Kondo, (10[2])the latter of whom writes video game music for Nintendo. ■END■

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