Fascination of the Shakuhachi - 1

Yamamoto Hōzan
King Records - KICH 2061
2000

Track	Title	Kanji	Length	Artist
1	Miyama Jishi	御山獅子	19'40	Shakuhachi: Yamamoto Hōzan Koto: Kobayashi Tamae Shamisen: Inoue Michiko Voice: Inoue Michiko
	A te-goto piece (two-verse song with an interlude berween the verses) of Ji-uta singing composed by KIKUOKA kengyo of Kyoto with koto accompaniment by YAEZAKI kengyo. KIKUOKA kengyo was a great master of the shamisen who was active from the Bunka to Tenpou Eras, a rime close to the end of the Edo regime. The results of this co-operation with koto master KIKUOKA kengyo, both in composirion and the actual playing, have been highly appreciated. MIYAMA JISHI is one of many shishi-mai (dance of lion) pieces popular in sokyoku, and this piece is supposed to be based on one found in Ise-kagura-shishi-mai. This is a good example of the fact that various shishimai in the folk tradition, including "ECHIGO JISHI," influenced classical music in Japan.
2	Tsuru no Koe	鶴の声	04'29	Shakuhachi: Yamamoto Hōzan Shamisen: Inoue Michiko Voice: Inoue Michiko
	A ha-uta piece composed by TAMAOKA kengyo. The ha-uta (popular songs with shamisen accompaniment) genre is sometimes thought of as rather depressing, with songs like KUROKAMI and YUKI, but this piece is encouraging. The lyrics describe a couple; a wife forced to separate from her husband because of poverty rises to be a servant to a noble man and meets her husband again. The hard luck at the beginning is merely implied, lending rhe piece a certain profundity.
3	Aoyagi	青柳	21'18	Shakuhachi: Yamamoto Hōzan Koto: Kobayashi Tamae Shamisen: Inoue Michiko Voice: Inoue Michiko
	A te-goto piece composed by ISHIKAWA Koto of Kyoto. The koto accompaniment is said to have been given by YAEZAKI kengyo. ISHIKAWA Koto is also known as the composer of YAEGOROMO and this piece has a magnificent structure and a gorgeous atmosphere. The lyrics of AOYAGI are adapted from a part from YUGYO-YANAGI, a yo-kyoku composed by KANZE Kojitou-Nobumitsu, though they have been slighrly modified.