The individual genres of the traditional Japanese performing arts rarely stood alone. Each instrument or genre had a role to play, either religious, theatrical or social, and Japanese instrumental music, with a few exceptions, existed to provide accompaniment to song, dance or theater.
Although concerts focusing on a single instrumental genre are common nowadays, historically this tends to be the exception rather than the rule.
Perhaps the most obvious example is the noh theater. The hayashi music which accompanies noh, comprising the flute, various drums (and the drummers' vocal calls) and the chorus of male voices, all find their meaning because of their relationship to the dramatic movement and poetry uttered by the actors. All the elements come together in a synthesis to create a theatrical experience which transcends the individual action. One cannot imagine the noh theater otherwise.