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Sawai Tadao

沢井 忠夫

Sawai Tadao
1937 - 4/1/1997

Composer & Koto

Tadao Sawai was born in Aichi Prefecture in 1937. His father was a shakuhachi performer and at around the age of 10 Sawai began to study the koto. In 1959 he was chosen by the Japanese national broadcasting company NHK as the best new performer, and from that time forward he began to be active as a performer and composer of contemporary music. In 1960 he graduated from the traditional music department of Tokyo National university of Fine Arts and Music. He has performed widely throughout Japan and the world and his compositions are among the most widely performed in the koto world.



Sawai's Genius Revitalized Modern Koto
(From the April 11, 1997 edition of The Japan Times, By Elizabeth Falconer)

Some people think of the Japanese koto as a relic of the past; koto music conjures up in their minds a bright, seemingly aimless plucking sound, where the pieces are indistinguishable from each other and seem to go on forever.These people have never heard the music of Sawai Tadao.

I first met Sawai in 1986 after a performance in Niigata, when I went to interview him for the Japan Times Weekly. His gentle, unassuming demeanor made it very easy for me to talk to him, and I soon after found myself, through fate of circumstance, continuing my koto studies as a member of the Sawai Koto School. I wrote then that Sawai's music "is dramatic and intense, yet with an element of lightness intertwined, leaving the listener spiritually refreshed." His works have as themes not only the traditional water and seasons often found in koto repertoire but reflect his own perspective of nature that include movement and flight, a feeling of weightlessness; "Tori no yo Ni" (Like a Bird) and "Habataki" (Take Flight) are examples of this. He was also quite moved by the quiet and sometimes brilliant beauty of flowers, and wrote pieces with names such as "Hana Ikada" (Flower Raft), "Manjushaka" (Amaryllis) and "Hyakkafu" (Multitude of Flowers) Pieces such as these have the left and rights hands working constantly, building shifting patterns and utilizing dual rhythms, intertwining textures by using a number of different plucking techniques, some of which he invented and developed. He was a genius when it came to combining soft harmonics and pizzicato with percussive hitting of the strings and tremolos that move across the strings. There is a strength around which the grace of his music is built, and it pulls the listener in.

Watching Sawai himself perform the koto was an unforgettable experience; here was all the beauty and control of an instrument brought alive by hands which seemed to pull the music out of the air. Sawai makes playing koto seem effortless. I remember once, when I was lucky enough to be a member of his koto ensemble for his solo concerto in Osaka, some Americans came up afterwards and asked me about the instrument. "How many strings does it have?" they asked. "Thirteen," I replied. "But..." they pointed to Sawai, "That man there, his koto has more strings, doesn't it?" they said. If you have heard Sawai play, you can easily understand their confusion. "No, it's the same instrument. It just sounds like it has more!"

Sawai has received numerous awards for his performances, recordings, and compositions, and has performed extensively in Japan and abroad, including North America, Germany, France, Yugoslavia, and the Netherlands. He has composed over 70 pieces for the koto, and while some combine koto with various instruments, from shakuhachi and shamisen to violin and soprano, for the most part he has focused on the koto and bass koto, looking at the instruments from many different angles, working with them as solo and small ensemble instruments of their own merit. For the koto world, struggling to find a meaningful niche in postwar Japan, this has been more than a blessing. It has helped to keep koto alive. Sawai writes for beginners as well as advanced performers: I remember learning Sawai pieces when I was a beginner studying in another koto school back in 1979, and how taken I was with the lively rhythmical elements of his music. It was one of the things that "hooked" me - and I am sure many other struggling beginners - on koto. All of his music is written with a simple goal in mind, which he expressed to me at our first interview, "I want to write music that will make people understand how wonderful koto is."

Perhaps his most dramatic work is "Homura" (Bursting into Flames), a bass koto concerto with five-part koto ensemble composed in 1979. The 16-minute work was written for a bass koto recital performed by wife, koto master Sawai Kazue. During the fast-moving piece, the koto ensemble variously bounces drumsticks off the top of the strings, inserts the sticks in between strings and hits them, letting them merrily reverberate, and rubs the top of the strings with drumsticks. The bass koto part finds Sawai Kazue pulling with all her might on the thick bass strings, hitting the strings with the palm of her hand, and rhythmically slapping the sides of the koto as she plays. The piece demonstrates not only Sawai's creative genius and compositional skills, it demonstrates his appreciation for writing music which fits the performer. When Sawai wrote for others, he wrote with their distinct personalities in mind: her performance of the piece brought her the 1979 Geijutsu-sai award. While his performance presence on stage strikes the listener as smooth as glass, his wife Kazue sweats over her instrument, approaching it more like a jazz musician than anything else. Their two approaches can be seen, perhaps, as fine porcelain compared to a piece of raku pottery; both equally artful but different, making the vivid point that the koto, like clay, is utterly malleable in the hands of the artist.

Soft-spoken and serene, Sawai held himself at all times with a quiet elegance, as if he were wearing a kimono. He was firm as a teacher, demanding an objective analysis in playing that sharpened one's ears to hear even the smallest unevenness, the most minute of dynamic differences. He had an easygoing nature and laughed easily and often, enjoying the everyday sort of jokes and comedies that arise, often from nervousness, around the head of a very active koto school. Underneath his smooth surface, he was strong as a rock, and weathered many a crisis with dignity and gentle sensitivity. He had a passion for karaoke, and, after a brilliant koto performance, many of his students shared with him this relaxed side of his personality, clapping and singing till the wee hours of the morning.

Sawai's most recent recordings include a CD of his works entitled "Sanka" (Song of Praise) on the Kyoto Records label (KYCH-2010) with English and Japanese liner notes and, just out this spring, "Koto Music: Tadao Sawai Plays Michio Miyagi," a Playasound production that includes liner notes in English, French and Japanese (PS 65180). These are both gems, contemporary classical koto music at its finest, and we are lucky to have them available.

Sawai Tadao, master of the Japanese koto, founder of the Sawai Koto School, prolific composer, teacher, and visionary leader in the world of Japanese music, died on April 1st at the age of 59.

Students

Albums

Best Take 2 - Tadao Sawai Best Take 2 - Tadao Sawai

Iris of Time Iris of Time

Koto Music - Tadao Sawai Plays Michio Miyagi Koto Music - Tadao Sawai Plays Michio Miyagi

Sawai plays Miyagi, the most famous of all composers for the koto.

Masterpieces of the Koto Masterpieces of the Koto

New Hogaku Koto New Hogaku Koto

Nihon no Shirabe Nihon no Shirabe

Sangen no Kiseki - 1 Sangen no Kiseki - 1

Sangen no Kiseki - 2 Sangen no Kiseki - 2

Sanka Sanka

Tracks Recorded

Pieces KanjiLengthAlbumInstrument
Akatonbo 赤とんぼ 02'43 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Aki no Kyoku 秋の曲 Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 2 Koto
Aurora 2 オ一ロラII 10'33 New Hogaku Koto Koto
Awate Tokoya あわて床屋 01'36 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Chidori no Kyoku 千鳥の曲 Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 2 Koto
Play Button Chidori no Kyoku 千鳥の曲 Masterpieces of the Koto Koto
Chugoku Chiho no Komoriuta 中国地方の子守唄 04'12 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Defune 出船 03'42 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Duo Santai デュオ三態 16'49 Sangen no Kiseki - 2 Koto
Etenraku Hensokyoku 越天楽変奏曲 Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 2 Koto
Play Button Etenraku Hensokyoku 越天楽変奏曲 Masterpieces of the Koto Koto
Play Button Fantasy 幻想曲 11'30 Iris of Time Koto
Fantasy 幻想曲 11'27 Teizo Matsumura - Selected Works Vol II Koto
Futatsu no Gensō 「二つの幻想」 07'56 Works of Hozan Yamamoto 5 Koto
Play Button Futatsu no Uta 二つの歌 15'32 Sangai Rinten - 2 Koto
Gekkō Rōteki 月光弄笛 03'38 Tsukikusa no Yume; Fukuda Rando Shakuhachi Meikyoku Shu Koto
Play Button Gosechi no Mai 五節の舞 13'26 Iris of Time Koto
Hachidan no Shirabe 八段の調 Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 2 Koto
Play Button Hachidan no Shirabe 八段の調 Masterpieces of the Koto Koto
Play Button Hagi no Tsuyu 萩の露 18'42 Fascination of the Shakuhachi - 2 Koto
Hagi no Tsuyu 萩の露 18'44 Sankyoku Koto
Hamabe no Uta 浜辺の歌 03'28 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Hana 02'32 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Play Button Haru no Kyoku 春の曲 Masterpieces of the Koto Koto
Haru no Umi 春の海 Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 1 Koto
Play Button Hoshun 萌春 09'53 Challenging Eternity Disk 18 Koto
Play Button Ichikotsu 1st Movement 壱越 - 第一楽章 11'21 Saichi Koto
Play Button Ichikotsu 1st Movement 壱越 - 第一楽章 10'17 Ten-I - 2 Works by Yamamoto Hozan Koto
Kamimu - One Movement for solo Koto 箏独奏のための一楽章 「上無」 09'13 Works of Hozan Yamamoto 3 Koto
Play Button Karandō 伽藍堂 09'09 Hozan Yamamoto vs Four Men Koto
Karandō 伽藍堂 09'05 New Hogagku Shakuhachi Koto
Play Button Kaze no Uta (Sawai) 風の歌 10'41 Duos for Shakuhachi and Koto Koto
Kaze no Uta (Sawai) 風の歌 Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 1 Koto
Kazoe Uta 数え唄 Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 2 Koto
Play Button Kazoe Uta Hensokyoku 数え唄変奏曲 Masterpieces of the Koto Koto
Play Button Keden (Sawai) 06'42 Keden Koto
Kimiga Yo Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 2 Koto
Play Button Kimigayo Hensokyoku 君が代変奏曲 Masterpieces of the Koto Koto
Kira 綺羅 07'33 Challenging Eternity Disk 17 Koto
Kōjō no Tsuki 荒城の月 04'21 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Play Button Koto Nijusô Sonata 筝二重奏ソナタ 07'18 Challenging Eternity Disk 06 Koto
Play Button Koto Nijusô Sonata 筝二重奏ソナタ 04'46 Challenging Eternity Disk 06 Koto
Koto to Shakuhachi Nijusokyoku Ichikotsu Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 1 Koto
Play Button Koto uta Basho's 5 Haiku 箏歌、芭蕉五句 03'49 Iris of Time Koto
Play Button Koto uta Basho's 5 Haiku 箏歌、芭蕉五句 03'14 Iris of Time Koto
Play Button Koto uta Basho's 5 Haiku 箏歌、芭蕉五句 02'52 Iris of Time Koto
Play Button Koto uta Basho's 5 Haiku 箏歌、芭蕉五句 03'14 Iris of Time Koto
Play Button Koto uta Basho's 5 Haiku 箏歌、芭蕉五句 03'03 Iris of Time Koto
Play Button Koto's Prolog 02'05 Keden Koto
Kumoi no Kyoku ni Yoru Shakuhachi to so no Tame no Nijusokyoku 雲井の曲による尺八と箏のための二重奏曲 Nakata Hiroyuki Sakuhin Shû Koto
Play Button Kyôsôteki Nijûsô 協奏的二重奏 08'06 Hibiki - Contemporary Music for Japanese Traditional Instruments - 2 Koto
Machibo-uta 待ちぼうた 02'00 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Masa Kage 雅影 20'43 New Hogaku Koto Koto
Midare Rinzetsu 乱輪舌 Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 1 Koto
Midare Rinzetsu 乱輪舌 08'30 Midare - Kazue Sawai Plays Koto Classics Koto
Midare Rinzetsu 乱輪舌 08'55 Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 10 (三曲合奏大全集10) Koto
Mizu no Hentai 水の変態 16'11 Koto Music - Tadao Sawai Plays Michio Miyagi Koto
Muika 茉梨花 14'42 Anthology of Modern Koto Music 3 Koto
Play Button Muika 茉梨花 14'37 Challenging Eternity Disk 19 Koto
Narayama 平城山 02'49 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Play Button Ningyo Fudoki (Complete) 人形風土記 24'49 Hibiki - Contemporary Music for Japanese Traditional Instruments - 4 Koto
Odyssey オデュッセイア 17'04 New Hogaku Koto Koto
Play Button Rakka 09'47 Keden Koto
Play Button Renri 06'40 Keden Koto
Play Button River of Times 時の河 10'06 Iris of Time Koto
Rokudan no Shirabe 六段の調 Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 1 Koto
Ryokai (Improvisation) 旅懐 (インプロヴィゼイション) 10'22 Best Take 1 - Yamamoto Hozan Koto
Play Button Sakura Hensōkyoku さくら変奏曲 Masterpieces of the Koto Koto
Sakura Sakura さくらさくら Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 2 Koto
Sakura Sakura さくらさくら 04'16 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Play Button Sekishun 惜春 09'07 Duos for Shakuhachi and Koto Koto
Seoto 瀬音 Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 1 Koto
Seoto 瀬音 05'56 Koto Music - Tadao Sawai Plays Michio Miyagi Koto
Shakuhachi Shijūsōkyoku 尺八四重奏曲 Kineya Seiho Sakuhin Shû Koto
Shakuhachi, Jūshichigen, Dagakki no tame no `Yamato' 尺八、十七絃、打楽器のための「倭」 15'20 Yamamoto Hozan no Sekai; Kankyu Koto
Play Button Shikyoku No 1 詩曲一番 13'39 Challenging Eternity Disk 19 Koto
Play Button Shikyoku No 1 詩曲一番 14'10 Duos for Shakuhachi and Koto Koto
Sō Shun Fū 早春風 02'41 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Play Button Stratums of Times 時の層 11'57 Iris of Time Koto
Tegoto (First Movement - Tegotofu) 手事 04'36 Koto Music - Tadao Sawai Plays Michio Miyagi Koto
Tegoto (Second Movement - Kumiuta) 組歌 03'46 Koto Music - Tadao Sawai Plays Michio Miyagi Koto
Tegoto (Third Movement - Rinzetsu) 三十絃による輪舌 04'42 Koto Music - Tadao Sawai Plays Michio Miyagi Koto
Trois Esquises 三つのエスキス 02'48 Challenging Eternity Disk 17 Koto
Trois Esquises 三つのエスキス 02'22 Challenging Eternity Disk 17 Koto
Trois Esquises 三つのエスキス 04'26 Challenging Eternity Disk 17 Koto
Play Button Trois Esquises 三つのエスキス 10'10 Hibiki - Contemporary Music for Japanese Traditional Instruments - 1 Koto
Tsubaki Saku Mura 椿咲く村 03'59 Tsukikusa no Yume; Fukuda Rando Shakuhachi Meikyoku Shu Koto
Tsukikusa no Yume 月草の夢 03'51 Tsukikusa no Yume; Fukuda Rando Shakuhachi Meikyoku Shu Koto
Uzuki no Midori 卯月の翠 10'10 New Hogaku Koto Koto
Play Button Wagakki no Tame no Shijusokyoku 和楽器のための四重奏曲 12'56 Hibiki - Contemporary Music for Japanese Traditional Instruments - 1 Koto
Wakana 若菜 20'32 Wakana collection - performance study Koto
Warabe-uta わらべ唄 06'12 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Wave - Koto Duet 箏二重奏曲 「波」 10'16 Challenging Eternity Disk 17 Koto
Play Button Wave II - Nehan 04'17 Keden Koto
Play Button Yamaji 山路 08'12 Duos for Shakuhachi and Koto Koto
Yashi no Mi 椰子の実 03'16 Nihon no Shirabe Koto
Yugure Gensokyoku 夕暮幻想曲 04'01 Tsukikusa no Yume; Fukuda Rando Shakuhachi Meikyoku Shu Koto
Duo Santai デュオ三態 16'49 Sangen no Kiseki - 2 Shamisen
Ginga 銀河 10'15 Sangen no Kiseki - 1 Shamisen
Play Button Haru Sandai 春三題 03'53 Works of Katsutoshi Nagasawa Volume 4 Shamisen
Play Button Haru Sandai 春三題 04'42 Works of Katsutoshi Nagasawa Volume 4 Shamisen
Play Button Haru Sandai 春三題 04'51 Works of Katsutoshi Nagasawa Volume 4 Shamisen
Kareno Kinuta 枯野砧 18'07 Sangen no Kiseki - 1 Shamisen
Mono wa Zukushi 物は尽くし 13'34 Sangen no Kiseki - 1 Shamisen
Onoe no Matsu 尾上の松 23'11 Koto Music - Tadao Sawai Plays Michio Miyagi Shamisen
San Shūsō 三糸遊奏 13'17 Sangen no Kiseki - 2 Shamisen
Taware 11'05 Sangen no Kiseki - 1 Shamisen
Tsurukame N/A 12'25 Sangen no Kiseki - 2 Shamisen
Zangetsu 残月 20'15 Midare - Kazue Sawai Plays Koto Classics Shamisen
Zangetsu 残月 24'30 Sangen no Kiseki - 2 Shamisen
Kareno Kinuta 枯野砧 18'07 Sangen no Kiseki - 1 Voice
Mono wa Zukushi 物は尽くし 13'34 Sangen no Kiseki - 1 Voice
Wakana 若菜 20'32 Wakana collection - performance study Voice
Zangetsu 残月 20'15 Midare - Kazue Sawai Plays Koto Classics Voice
Zangetsu 残月 24'30 Sangen no Kiseki - 2 Voice

Composed or Arranged

Shakuhachi Compositions
Title Kanji Year Alternate Title
Aki no Gensokyoku 秋の幻想曲


Hana (Sawai)


Rakka


Yuki Monogatari 雪ものがたり
1954

Hokkaido Min'yo Ni Yoru Gensokyoku 北海民謡による幻想曲
1957
Fantasy
Dôkeshi 道化師
1958

Koten Teki Kiyukyoku 古典的嬉遊曲
1968
Classical divertimento
Renzan 連山
1969

Kaze no Uta (Sawai) 風の歌
1970

Kimigayo Hensokyoku 君が代変奏曲
1970
Variations Kimigayo
Itotake いとたけ
1971

Mojie 文字絵
1971

Shakuhachi - Koto - Jushichigen no Tame no Essei
1971
Essay for shakuhachi - koto and jushichigen
Akebono no Uta 曙の歌
1972

Kotouta 箏うた
1972

Soga 装画
1977

Jogen no Kyoku 上弦の曲
1979

Haru no Gotoku 春の如く
1981

Aki wa Koto ni 秋はことに
1985

Shakuhachi - Koto - Jushichigen Ni Yoru Kyosoteki Ichigakusho
1990

Koto
Aki no Gensokyoku 秋の幻想曲


Awate Tokoya あわて床屋


Gosechi no Mai 五節の舞


Habataki はばたき

Take Flight
Hana (Sawai)


Hana Ikada 花筏

Flower Raft
Haru no Gotoku 春の如く


Homura

Bursting into Flames
Hyakkafu 百花譜

Multitude of Flowers
Jogen no Kyoku 上弦の曲


Karandō 伽藍堂


Kaze no Uta (Sawai) 風の歌


Keden (Sawai)


Koto's Prolog


Manjushaka

Amaryllis
Rakka


Sunae 砂絵

Sand Painting
Taka

Hawk
Tori no Yo Ni 鳥のように

Like a Bird
Tsuchi Ningyo っち人形


Uruma


Yomigaeru Itsutsu no Uta I 甦る五つの歌 I


Yomigaeru Itsutsu no Uta II 甦る五つの歌 II


Yomigaeru Itsutsu no Uta III 甦る五つの歌 III


Yomigaeru Itsutsu no Uta IV 甦る五つの歌 IV


Yomigaeru Itsutsu no Uta V 甦る五つの歌 V


Raden
1960
Mother-of-Pearl
Ginga 銀河
1984
Galaxy
Mono wa Zukushi 物は尽くし
1988

Duo Santai デュオ三態
1990
Duo in Three States
Tsurukame N/A
1992

Shamisen
Kareno Kinuta 枯野砧
1973

Ginga 銀河
1984
Galaxy
Taware
1984

Mono wa Zukushi 物は尽くし
1988

San Shūsō 三糸遊奏
1991

Tsurukame N/A
1992