The Source of Sound involves the material, the movement and the vibration of which music arises.
Episode 114 The koto, the Japanese board zither
This Source of Sound is about the Koto, a long Japanese board zither, in all its shapes: the ichigenkin (a single-stringed zither), the tonkori from the Karafuto Ainu (a zither with 5 strings), the wagon (a zither with six strings, used in Shinto rituals) and the more common 13 and 17-stringed koto, which is also considered the Japanese national instrument.
Tonkori
We start with the tonkori and the composition titled: ‘Cranes have come again his spring’. This five-stringed Ainu zither originates from Sakhalin, once partly Japanese but now Russian territory. Most Ainu were driven to Japan and in 1961 the tonkori could only be found in museums – nowadays it has made quite a comeback as a symbol of Ainu identity. The instrument has a lot in common with the six-stringed wagon, which you’ll hear at the end of this episode.
The Classical Koto
First, we listen to a few classical koto works that are played on a 13-stringed koto. ‘Yu-Gao’ (the calabash) is a composition from Yaezake Kengyo, dating from the beginning of the 17th century. It tells the story of prince Genji and how his loved one dies from evil wind, caused by a former lover that died from a broken heart, when she was cast off by Genji. It is played and sung by Sinichi Yuize on an LP from 1955. Then, we hear another classical work about a Kentish Plover, composed by Yoshizawa Kengyo in the first halve of the 19th century. It conjures the image of the beach, the birds and the waves of the sea, and the associated thoughts of timelessness. It is sung and played on two kotos and a kokyu (a lute played with a bow).
A modern composition
Then a modern composition follows for three kotos with 13 and 17 strings, titled ‘Image pour instruments Japonais’ that plays with silence, softness, stereo effects and disharmonies. It is a composition from Toshiya Sukegawa, who also is known for his electronic and ambient music.
The four seasons
We continue with the ichigenkin, a one-stringed koto, played by Chiseko Yokota. The lyrics come from a koto composition ‘the four seasons’ from Yatsuhashi Kengyo, who was the most famous koto composer from the 17th century. The text that was used conjures images of the cold in winter. It is followed by ‘Yaegoromo’, a composition from Ishikawa for the shamisen (a 3-stringed type of lute) from the beginning of the 19th century. It was arranged for koto by Yaezaki Kengyo. It tells us about the four seasons, the corresponding clothes and feelings. The song is accompanied by a koto, a shakuhachi (a type of flute) and a shamisen.
Shinto
In the last bit of this episode, we play recordings of a shinto ritual in Tokyo in the Kunaisho temple in 1954. In this ritual there are ceremonial dances and a wagon is used. This six-stringed zither is considered the be the original Japanese zither, and the koto as imported from China or Korea in the 7th or 8th century AD. According to Japanese mythology, the wagon was made from six bows that created a sound, luring the Sun goddess from her cave. The instrument is only used in shinto rituals these days.
Playlist
01 To Kito Ranran 1’05
Cranes have come again his spring
Kanaya Eijiro – Tonkori
CD A Collection of Unique Musical Instruments
Music of Japanese People 10
Seven Seas KICH 2030, tr 15, 1991
02 Yu Gao 8’24
Gourd
Kengyo Yaezake – comp
Shinichi Yuize – Koto, voice
LP The Japanese Koto
Cook 1132, B2, 1955
03 Chidori No Kyoku 13’01
Yoshizawa Kengyo – comp (19th century)
Inogawa Koji – voice, koto
Mishina Masayasu – koto
Yokoi Mitsue – kokyu (bowed lute)
CD Music of the Koto
JVC World Sounds JVC VICG-5358, tr 3, 1994
Recorded Heizo Yoda, Fumio Hattori, Naruto Imaizumi at Victor Aoyama Studio, Tokyo
04 Image pour instruments Japonais 6’24
Toshiya Sukegawa – comp
Mikiko Haga – Koto
Tomiko Yoshikawa – Koto
Toshi Fujita – Koto
LP Japon éternel
Ensemble des Instruments Traditionnels du Japon
Arion ARN 33 234, B1, 1974
recorded by Claude Morel
05 Fuyu No Miyabi 6’12
Winter Grace
Yokota Chiseko – voice, ichigenkin (one string koto)
CD A Collection of Unique Musical Instruments
Music of Japanese People 10
Seven Seas KICH 2030, tr 9, 1991
06 Yaegoromo 19’16
Ishikawa – comp (for voice and shamisen 1804,
rearranged by Yaekazi also for koto)
Setsuko Kakui – Voice
Mitoko Kitahara – Koto
Sumiko Goto – shamisen (lute)
Kozan Kitahara – Shakuhachi (flute)
CD Japon Jiuta
Ensemble Yonin no Kaï (Tokyo)
Ocora C 580069, 1998, tr 1
Recorded by Michel Lepage, Claude Jubier, Paris 1979
07 Azuma Asobi 3’55
Religious Dance-songs
Musicians of Kunaisho, Tokyo Ise
The ensemble consists of one solo singer and player of the shakubyoshi (two pieces of hardwood struck against each other as percussion instrument), four chorus singers, one koma-bue player (transverse flute), one hichiriki (oboe) player and one wagon player and t\en dancers.
LP The Music of Japan Record V Shinto Music
Bärenreiter-Musicaphon BM 30 L 2016, A 1 (begin)
Published in 1966 as part of the Unesco Collection – A musical anthology of the Orient 16
recorded by Eta Harich-Schneider 30-5-1954
