The International Shakuhachi Society

- Recording: Soul of the Koto, The -

Soul of the Koto, The

Soul of the Koto, The

Lyrichord - LLST 7218

Track	Title	Kanji	Length	Shakuhachi	Shamisen	Koto
1 (Listen)	Kudan	九段	07'52	None
	While Rokudan refers to the music of six steps, Kudan consists of 9 steps, composed sometime after Rokudan. Kudan, however, is regarded as one of the most important examples of the Ikuta School, and usually is played only by masters of that school.
2 (Listen)	Kumoi Rokudan	雲井六段	06'19	None
	Rokudan, as one may know, was composed by Kengyo Yatsuhashi (1614-1685). Kumoi Rokudan, one of the revisions of Rokudan was composed by Chiyoda Kengyo of the Yamada School of koto. Kumoi refers to high pitch. Therefore the music is played by two kotos, one in the kumoi (high pitch), the other hirajoshi (basic) tone.
3 (Listen)	Midare Rinzetsu	乱	05'11	None
	There may be no other classical Japanese koto pieces that can be played in such a variety of ways as Midare. Midare, itself, means rough disordered, and unorthodox, and it is noted for its rough touch. However, the original version of this (which we can no longer hear) was an improvisation by Rinsetsu, describing the snow in the forest blown by the wind. It was later completed by Kengyo Yatsuhashi, the composer of Rokudan.
4 (Listen)	Saga no Aki	嵯峨の秋	06'55	None
	The Autumn of Saga was originally composed for the koto by Kengyo Kikusue from Osaka. This music describes the scenes of autumn in Kyoto. The words for this music are taken from the Story of Heike.
5 (Listen)	Daigo no Hanami	醍醐の花見	10'02	None
	Daigo no Hanami means the Flower Viewing at Daigo, Kyoto. Every year, flower-viewing parties used to be sponsored by the lords of the provinces. This music describes the flower party at Daigo sponsored by the grand lord Hideyoshi, now noted for having built the Osaka Castle.
6 (Listen)	Shiki no Shirabe	四季の調	07'22	None
	Music for Four Seasons is a rather modern piece from the Yamada School of the koto. The technique of the Yamada is somewhat similar to that of Nagauta with its brilliant and strong touch on the koto strings. Daigo no Hanami which includes singing almost like that of the Nagauta and Shiki no shirabe are representative pieces of the Yamada School.