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This is a Sokyoku piece in the Uta mono style from the Yamada Ryű school . This piece was composed for koto by Yamada Kengyo .

History (from Tsuge Gen'ichi)
The hototogisu is one of several pieces of Japanese cuckoo. Since the song of the hototogisu traditionally signaled
the arrival of summer in Japan, it was eagerly awaited. The text of this piece likens the long-awaited first notes of the bird to the arrival of one's lover.

Yamada Kengyo's major compositions are mainly narrative in style and dramatic in character. However, he also wrote numerous light, lyrical pieces which touched the deepest sentiments of the people of his time. Hototogisu is the best
known of these.

The instrumental interlude (ainote), employs the first section (dan) of Rokudan no shirabe in the second koto part. This compositional device was later borrowed by several composers of the Yamada School.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)
A summer night
Ends quickly -
Barely time
To see the face
Of the moon.
I regret parting with it.
Unable to sleep
In his silent absence
I repress my longing
By whispering words of patience
To my pillow.
If this man
Continues to bring me suffering
I will one day confess my resentment
But for now I will wait.
He is far above the clouds
On Mount Matsuchi (1).
How impatient I am now,
Like a gusty wind blowing in Sekiya (1).

Even on boat trip
Down the Ayase River (1),
Through pitch-black night
I listen for his call
Under rain-laden skies
Of the Fifth Month.

You cannot know
The anxiety of waiting.
In emulation of
Those ancient men
Of refined taste,
I wait through the night
In the dewy grasses
Of Shirahige Forest (1)
Hoping, always hoping
For a single song from you,
Hototogisu!

(1) Mt. Matsuchi, Sekiya Village, Ayase River and Shirahige Forest are all located in the basin of Sumida River. Mt. Matsuchi, in particular, was famous for its abundance of hototogisu.

Hototogisu appears on the following albums:

Album	Shakuhachi	Koto	Shamisen
Kou	Aoki Reibo II
Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 49  (Listen)		Nakanoshima Kin'ichi