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This is a Sokyoku piece in the Kumiuta style from the Ikuta Ryû school . Fuki is also known as: Etenraku. This piece was composed for koto by Yatsuhashi Kengyo .

History (from Tsuge Gen'ichi)
Fuki is the first (and best known) of the ‘Thirteen Yatsuhashi Song Cycles,’ some of which were derived from the earlier tsukushi-goto tradition. This song cycle in particular, however, demonstrates a rather direct relationship with gagaku, the ancient court music which is the root of the tsukushi-goto. A significant link between Fuki and Etenraku, a gagaku piece, has been pointed out in terms of their melodic structure.

This song cycle consists of several songs. There is a legend which tells of seven noblemen who used to gather at the residence of the Ouchi clan of Tsukushi in northern Kyushu around the mid-sixteenth century.

Together they composed a song cycle, based on the melody of Etenraku, each contributing one song. This is what we know today as Fuki. Later, however, one of the seven died. Nonetheless the rest continued to compose, and made several sets of songs. Therefore, Fuki consists of seven songs, but other song cycles which they composed consist of six.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)
Rhubarb is but the name (1)
Of a plant,
Ginger is also the name (2)
Of a plant.
May wealth be boundless
And virtuous
And providence
Be on everyone!

Koto music
For the flowering spring
‘Music of the Flowery Breeze,’ (3)
And ‘Garden of Willow Blossoms.’ (4)
In the willow garden
A bush warbler
Sings the same tune (5)
The court musicians play.

Strains of the koto
Before the moon at night
Announce the arrival
Of the chilly autumn wind.
Wild geese
In the distant sky-
Their song echoes
On my koto. (6)

Inside the Chinese Emperor’s
Long Life Palace
Spring and autumn
Stand still.
Before
The Never-Aging Gate
Even the moon
Slows down.

Who are they
Standing in the shadow
Of the gallery
At the Kokiden Pavilion?
Lady Oborozukiyo,
Head of the maids of honor,
And the Shining Genji,
Captain of the Palace Guards.

Who is knocking,
This late night
At my locked gate?
Knock you may,
But I’ll not open,
Since we made
No promises
In the evening.

Even a screen
Of seven feet- (7)
If you jump
How can you not surmount it?
Even a sleeve
Of fine silk-
If you tug
How can it not tear off?

(1) The Japanese word for rhubarb is fuki. Fuki is a kind of Japanese rhubarb but may be represented by the Chinese characters for ‘wealth’ and ‘honor.
(2) The Japanese word for ginger is myoga. Myoga is a plant belonging to the ginger family (zingiber mioga), but may be represented by auspicious Chinese characters meaning ‘divine protection.’
(3) Kafuraku
(4) Ryukaen. See ‘The Tale of Genji’ (‘The Festival of the Cherry Blossoms’ (Hana no en)).
(5) Refers to the dance piece Shunnoden (‘Spring Warbler’).
(6) The thirteen moveable bridges on the koto are said to resemble wild geese (karigane) in flight.
(7) This verse refers to an anecdote about the First Ch’in Emperor (r. 259-210 B.C.) who is said to have avoided Ching K’e, an assassin of Yen, by jumping over a high screen while the assassin was listening spellbound to Madame Hua Yang’s music. The text is based on Hua Yang’s song, in which she suggested to the emperor how to make his escape.

Fuki appears on the following albums:

Album	Shakuhachi	Koto	Shamisen
Abe Keiko Record Set - 01  (Listen)		Abe Keiko
Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 03  (Listen)		Abe Keiko