The Koto Music of Japan

various artists compilation - The Koto Music of Japan

From the liner notes:

This album presents six representative styles of the traditional koto music of Japan.

performers and musical style:

Echigojishi: Hatta - koto; folk song
Godan-kinuta: Hagiwara, Mineuchi - koto; music of weaving
Rokudan-no-shirabe: Hagiwara - koto; music of six steps
Haru-no-kyoku: Hagiwara, Mineuchi - koto, Kikusui - shakuhachi; music of spring
Shin-Takasago: Hagiwara - koto; music from noh play
Yugao: Yamaguchi - koto, Kitagawa - shamisen, Kikusui - shakuhashi; evening glory



ECHIGOJISHI (FOLK SONG)

Echigojishi is a folk song based on an ancient Lion Dance performed in the festivals of Echigo in the Eastern part of Japan. Echigojishi was written by Kinto Minezaki in the eighteenth century and has been passed on by generations of talented koto artists.

GODAN-KINUTA (MUSIC OF WEAVING)

The kinuta is primitive machinery for refining cloth materials. Though this machine no longer exists, the sound of the kinuta has often been described in poetry and music and suggests the sad monotones of the fall season. The rustling leaves and the voices of insects always accompanied the sound of the kinuta when autumn arrived. Godan-kinuta (kinuta in five steps) is regarded as the unequalled music of autumn. A number of works which simulate the kinuta have been composed, but none of these are comparable to this piece by Mitsuzaki Kengyo.

ROKUDAN-NO-SHIRABE (MUSIC OF SIX STEPS)

Music of Six Steps (Rokudan-no-shirabe) is a representative style of koto music composed by Yatsuhashi Kengyo (kengyo is an honorary title given to blind koto masters) who died in 1685. Yatsuhashi was an epic figure in the history of the koto, and his compositions have been widely handed down. Music of Six Steps is an "absolute" music consisting of six sections of 52 beats. Though this piece was originally composed for the koto, it later became fashionable to play it on the shamisen (three-stringed guitar-like instrument). The popularity of Rokudan was such that succeeding composers often adapted the melody.

HARU-NO-KYOKU (MUSIC OF SPRING)

Music of Spring (Haru-no-kyoku) composed by Yoshizawa Kengyo is one of the important works of the pseudo-classical movement which took place in the nineteenth century. This movement aimed to overcome the modern sentimentality and the concurrent subordination of koto music to shamisen music. The music of the four seasons, including Haru-no-kyoku, are the culmination of this movement.

SHIN-TAKASAGO

Shin-Takasago was composed by Utano Terashima in the nineteenth century and is based upon Takasago, a famous Noh drama. Takasago is a seaside town near Kobe which has been frequently cited in Japanese literature for its scenic beauty. Takasago in the Noh drama describes happiness and joy, emotions evoked by this lovely koto solo.

YUGAO (EVENING GLORY)

Evening Glory (Yugao) was originally written by Kengyo Kikuoka, but later Yaezaki Kengyo turned it into a masterpiece of koto music. It is based upon the Tale of Genji, a famous story of the eleventh century. The chapter of Yugao tells that when the Lord Genji visited his sick mother in the Gojo House in Kyoto, he found another small house covered with lovely blossoms in which there lived a pretty girl. Genji fell in love with her immediately and invited her to a detached hut. The girl, who was called Evening Glory (Yugao), dies of a curse cast by the spirit which haunted the hut. The lord grieves: "The bud of Evening Glory which opened in the transient dream faded like the cold autumn breeze." Yugao, a koto-shamisen-shakuhachi piece, is inspired by the tragedy of Yugao.

Tracklisting:

SIDE ONE

1. Master Hatta - Echigojishi {1:59}

2. Master Hagiwara and Master Mineuchi - Godan-kinuta {11:34}

3. Master Hagiwara - Rokudan-no-shirabe {5:55}

SIDE TWO

1. Master Hagiwara, Master Mineuchi and Master Kikusui - Haru-no-kyoku {8:47}

2. Master Hagiwara - Shin-Takasago {2:04}

3. Master Yamaguchi, Master Kitagawa and Master Kikusui - Yugao {12:35}

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