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This is a Jiuta piece in the Nagauta style .

Renjishi appears on the following albums:

Album	Shakuhachi	Koto	Shamisen
Traditional Music of Japan, The - 02  (Listen)
This is one of the representative Nagauta pieces for the Kabuki dance-drama. The plot and text are adapted from the Noh piece named Shakkyo by Kineya Shojiro (1828? -1896). It had its premiere performance in 1861 on the Kabuki stage of Tokyo. The story is concerned with a lion living on a high, sacred mountain in China. As the king of animals, he trains his son by pushing him into a deep ravine. The music as well as the text is full of heroics and has a stirring atmosphere about it. The record begins with an instrumental introduction for the curtain together with the beautiful clapping sound of the Hyoshigi (wooden clappers). The introduction is performed by the ensemble of percussion instruments which are played in a chamber on the left corner of the stage. The "chamber" ensemble which consists of various kinds of percussion instruments (over 20), flutes and Shamisens as well as singing is termed Geza Hayashi and it serves as background music for Kabuki. This is true not only for the dancing but for each scene of the drama as well. It helps to create a truly astonishing mood and atmosphere. The style of performance varies in hundreds of ways. The first section in the specific singing style called Ozatsuma, is suitable for strong expression. It describes the high, sacred mountain and a stone bridge with lions and flowers. The mountain is said to be the place where a bodhisattva lived. The song is followed by the Hayashi of the same instrumentation as that of the Noh (flute, and three kinds of drums). The players of the Hayashi sit on the platform placed at the rear of the stage and to the side. The platform is covered with red carpet and the singers and Shamisen players are also seated behind the Hayashi. The ensemble piece called Gaku (music) is an adaptation from the Hayashi piece of Noh having the same name. It represents the heavenly atmosphere of the mountain. This interlude is followed by the main section of the plot portraying a dance between the two lions in which the father is training his son. This main section begins with strong singing by the chorus and is followed by a short, quiet and slower interlude of the Shamisen accompanied by a flute. A solo song follows in slow tempo. This is the musical highlight. Here, the text describes the young lion taking a rest from trying to climb a steep cliff. The main singing section is followed by another dance accompanied by the Shamisen and the Hayashi. The music of the Hayashi in this instance, is based on the lion dance of the Noh piece from which the Shamisen piece is adapted. The dance and music depict the brave figures of two lions racing around. The entire composition ends with the chorus accompanied by both Shamisen tutti and the Hayashi. An additional section with the Shamisen together with the Hayashi is performed to close the curtain. The Hayashi remains playing for a while after the curtain has been closed until the last stroke of the clapper informs the listener of the conclusion of the performance. The tuning of the Shamisen is in Honchoshi, except for the section omitted on this record which is tuned in Niagari.