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This is a Min'yo piece from the Min'yo school .

History (from Takahashi Yujiro)
A song from the pleasure district of Kagoshima, southern Japan. Its lyrics largely speak for the geisha whose romantic travails are depicted therein. This song belongs to a large extended family which traveled on sailing ships all over Japan, with gradual changes in melody, mood, tempo and lyrics - leading also to the song in Tsugaru Aiya Bushi.

The ship that we saw off this morning to the sounds of "Han'ya" -
I wonder what harbor it's reached?
I spend half the year singing "Han'ya", and the other half sleeping.
(spoken:)That young man who's just come in, isn't he good-looking?
I try to talk to him, but he runs away.

Kagoshima Han'ya Bushi appears on the following albums:

Album	Shakuhachi	Koto	Shamisen
Min'yo - Folk Song from Japan - Takahashi Yujiro and friends  (Listen)
A song from the pleasure district of Kagoshima, southern Japan. Its lyrics largely speak for the geisha whose romantic travails are depicted therein. This song belongs to a large extended family which traveled on sailing ships all over Japan, with gradual changes in melody, mood, tempo and lyrics - leading also to the song in Tsugaru Aiya Bushi. The ship that we saw off this morning to the sounds of "Han'ya" - I wonder what harbor it's reached? I spend half the year singing "Han'ya", and the other half sleeping. (spoken:)That young man who's just come in, isn't he good-looking? I try to talk to him, but he runs away. Copyright 1999 - Dr David W. Hughes e-mail dh6@soas.ac.uk