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This is a Shinkyoku piece in the Sokyoku style from the Miyagi school . This piece was composed for shakuhachi by Miyagi Michio . This piece was composed for koto by Miyagi Michio in 1926 .

History (from Bell, Clive)
This is the best loved piece composed by Miyagi in 1929 who was renowned as a koto player as well as a composer. This work is in ternary from (A-B-A): A (Andante) describes the seagulls playing on the waves; B (Allegro) a gay sea song and the joy of Spring.

Haru no Umi appears on the following albums:

Album	Shakuhachi	Koto	Shamisen
Art of the Koto - Volume II		Yoshimura Nanae
Endless Sea - Impressions of Japan  (Listen)	Singer, John
Grace	Lienhard, Marco	Ishigure Masayo
Haru no Umi - Koto no Meikyoku  (Listen)	Aoki Reibo II	Miyagi Kiyoko
Japanese Koto Music of Kimio Eto - Koto and Flute - Featuring the flute of Bud Shank, The  (Listen)		Eto Kimio
Japanese Koto Music with Shamisen and Shakuhachi  (Listen)
(Spring Sea) was Composed by Michio Miyagi (1894-1956), a blind genius of modern koto music. As Miyagi understood Western music as well as his own, his work blends Western and Eastern harmonies very skillfully. A piece so well known internationally that it has been adopted for many Western instruments, it is best appreciated in the koto and shakuhachi duet for which it was written, as presented here.
Koto Images  (Listen)		Muramoto, Shirley Kazuyo
Koto no Shirabe - In Memory of Miyagi Michio  (Listen)	Hirokado Reifu	Miyagi Michio
Kurokami  (Listen)	Bell, Clive
This is the best loved piece composed by Miyagi in 1929 who was renowned as a koto player as well as a composer. This work is in ternary form (A-B-A): A (Andante) describes the seagulls playing on the waves; B (Allegro) a gay sea song and the joy of Spring.
Miyagi Michio - Best One
Miyagi Michio Sakuhin Dai Zenshu - 08  (Listen)
Moon at Dawn  (Listen)	Koga Masayuki	Sunazaki Tomoko
Moonlit Castle  (Listen)	Singer, John
Picture Dreams  (Listen)	Lee, Dr Riley Kelly	Odamura Satsuki
Spring Sea - is one of the most frequently performeg pieces in the koto and shakuhachi repertoire. Miyagi was inspired to compose this piece by the beautiful Seto Inland Sea.
Shakuhachi - Classical Modern Best 30 - 05  (Listen)
Shakuhachi - Reibo Aoki (LP)  (Listen)
The title refers to the scenery of the seaside in spring. The sound of the swirling, rising and falling waves and the call of small birds is also described. However, this world renown piece, in a gradual expansion of meaning, has become known on its own merits as a clear expression of the music in a man's heart. What do people think after a glance at the broad expanse of the spring sea, which seems to have been calm for so long? I intend to contemplate the meaning of life as I play and listen to this piece. Music is not a reflection of something else. Every interpretation, every person - all are music.
Shakuhachi with Piano in Concert  (Listen)	Koga Masayuki
Sokyoku Miyagi Michio Sakuhin Hen I  (Listen)	Aoki Reibo II	Miyagi Kiyoko
Song of Daybreak  (Listen)	Huebner, Bruce
Michio Miyagi (1849-1956), one of the most prolific and original composes of koto music in the 20th century, compoased Haru no Umi "Spring Sea" in 1929 as an image of Japan's Inland Sea. "Spring Sea" was originally composed for shakuhachi and koto, but became a hit in 1932 after Miyagi recorded it with a French violinist. The opening phrases have become Japan's musical theme for the New Year's holiday. It is perhaps the finest example of the "New Japanese Music" movement of the 1920's, and is a rare and early success in the fusion of Western and Japanese musical elements.
Sui Zen - Blowing Meditation on the Shakuhachi - 05  (Listen)	Seldin, Ronnie Nyogetsu
This piece was written around 1920 by Michio Miyagi. The name means, "Sea in Spring," and is played on a 1.6 length instrument, as is much of the new music. This is a reduced version of the score, and only the shakuhachi part, but you can still tell that this is different from traditional Japanese music. The full piece shows a distinct influence by Western music; it is metric, melodic and pretty, with harmony and choral structure. Traditional gaikyoku, including jiuta and sokyoku, have parallel lines that sometimes interrelate, but no harmony as such. In traditional music, the different lines may each reach and release tension at their own time, in their own universe. This piece requires the use modem flute tonguing techniques, which do not exist in traditional shakuhachi music.
Tegoto		Sunazaki Tomoko