Home :: Japanese Traditional Music :: V.A. : Japanese Traditional Music - Noh・Biwa・Shakuhachi - Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai 1941

Product 11/14

V.A. : Japanese Traditional Music - Noh・Biwa・Shakuhachi - Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai 1941

larger image

Format: CD [2010]
Shipping Weight: 0.1lbs
Label: World Arbiter

1,950円

'Subtitled: Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai, 1941. This second volume of the 1941 Kokusai Bunka Shinko-kai (KBS) recordings features Noh theater masters, many of whom had been trained by artists active before the Meiji (1868) period. An essay and texts in both English and Japanese with translation are included in the CD. Noh, a masked play, was established by the actor Kan'ami Kiyotsugu (1333-1384) and his son Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443) in medieval times. Based on various earlier forms such as sangaku (acrobat and juggling), dengaku (dance and play derived from rice festivals), and kusemai (dance), the noh created a far more highly artistic form of theater than ever before. Japanese biwa music is characterized by a narrative with biwa accompaniment. The instrument, born in ancient Persia and introduced into Japan around the 8th century as a component of the royal court's gagaku ensemble, is a four stringed lute plucked with a large plectrum. In the late 12th century, blind Buddhist priests developed a unique narrative style, using this instrument as an accompaniment. The shakuhachi is a vertical bamboo flute sharply edged in its flue. Its standard length is about 54 cm., but there are shorter or longer types than this standard. Shakuhachi was traditionally played by komuso, Fuke-shu priests (a Zen Buddhist sect). The blowing of a shakuhachi (sui-Zen, literally "blowing Zen") was a komuso's religious act equivalent to chanting a sutra.'

Tracklist
- Music For The Noh Theater
1 Takasago (Su-utai) 3:32
Vocals [Utai] ? Kanze Tetsunojo VI
2 Yashima (Su-utai) 3:05
Vocals [Utai] ? Kongo Iwao I
3 Hagoromo (Ban-bayashi): Part I 3:20
4 Hagoromo (Ban-bayashi): Part II 3:24
5 Matsumushi (Su-utai) 2:54
Vocals [Utai] ? Kita Roppeita
6 Aoi-no-ue (Su-utai) 3:26
7 Hachinoki (Su-utai): Part I 3:29
8 Hachinoki (Su-utai): Part II 2:58
9 Youchi Soga (Iccho): Part I 2:33
10 Youchi Soga (Iccho): Part II 3:01
11 Teika Ichiji (Dokugin): Part I 3:15
12 Teika Ichiji (Dokugin): Part II 2:58
13 Sanekata (Su-utai): Part I 3:18
14 Sanekata (Su-utai): Part II 3:04
- Kyogen Kouta
15 Tsuchiguruma, "Nanatsu Ni Naru Ko" 3:24
16 "Uji No Sarashi", "Fuku No Kami" 2:54
- Biwa
17 Moso Biwa: Jishinkyo 3:32
Vocals, Biwa ? Kitada Meicho
18 Heikyoku: Nasu No Yoichi 3:09
Vocals, Biwa ? Sato Masakazu
19 Satsuma Biwa: Ko-Atsumori 3:24
Vocals, Biwa ? Yoshimura Gakujo
20 Chikuzen Biwa: Gishi No Honkai 3:33
Vocals, Biwa ? Tanaka Kyokurei
- Shakuhachi
21 Fuke Shakuhachi: Ajikan 2:50
Shakuhachi ? Miyagawa Nyozan
22 Kinko-ryu: Koku Reibo 2:49
Shakuhachi ? Aoki Reibo
23 Tozan-ryu: Iwashimizu 3:26
Shakuhachi [Shakuhachi Duo] ? Katayama Yuzan, Sekino Shozan
24 Miny'o-shakuhachi: Oiwake-bushi 3:24
Shakuhachi ? Wakui Kogetsu

Credits
Flute [Nokan] ? Isso Eiji (tracks: 4, 5)
Graphics ? John Wilton
Liner Notes, Photography By ? Terauchi Naoko*
Percussion [Ko-tsuzumi] ? Ko Goro (tracks: 4, 5), Okura Rokuzo (tracks: 9, 10)
Percussion [O-tsuzumi] ? Kawasaki Rikichi (tracks: 4, 5)
Performer [Waki] ? Hosho Arata (tracks: 7, 8)
Producer ? Allan Evans
Taiko ? Kakimoto Toyoji (tracks: 4, 5)
Vocals [Utai] ? Hosho Arata (tracks: 13, 14), Kondo Kenzo (tracks: 9, 10), Sakurama Kintaro (tracks: 4 to 8), Shigeyama Sengoro (tracks: 15, 16), Umewaka Manzaburo I (tracks: 11, 12)

Notes
Recorded circa 1941; KBS discs 13-24.
Restoration: Studio FS Roma.
Graphics: Raga Records, NY
(P) 2009, arbiter of cultural traditions inc.
Comes with a 12 page booklet of photos. Disk also includes extensive PDF liner notes in English and Japanese.