The International Shakuhachi Society

Home

Schools

Discography

Lineage Charts

Pieces

People

Glossary

Other Sites

Teachers

Governors

For Sale

Member's Area

This is a Sokyoku piece in the Meiji Shinkyoku style from the Ikuta Ryű school . This piece was composed for koto by Kikusue Kengyo .

History (from Tsuge Gen'ichi)
This piece, Saga no aki ('Fall in Saga') is considered a masterpiece among the compositions for the koto written in the early Meiji Era. The substantial part of this piece is a brilliant koto duet, consisting of three sections (dan). Although it is composed in the tegoto-mono form, Saga no aki is quite different from the so-called jiuta-sokyoku, and it represents 'modern' koto music of the late nineteenth century Japan.

The text it based on a well-known story from 'The Tale of the Heike.' See Kogo no kyoku.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)
Fall on the plain
Of Saga -
Renowned for nothing
But the loneliness
Of all things.
The moon illumines
The brushwood gate.
The whisper
Of a hidden koto -
Wind from the summit?
Wind through the pines?
Is the woman I seek
Whiling away the time?

I quicken the horse, listen
The koto plucks
The 'Song of Longing'
I know so well,
The 'Song of Longing'
I know so well.

Saga no Aki appears on the following albums:

Album	Shakuhachi	Koto	Shamisen
Fascination of the Koto 3  (Listen)		Yonekawa Chikatoshi
Autumn in Saga. Composed by Kikusue kengyo (1852?-1892). A koto composition for two instruments cojmposed in the early Meizi era. Saga is a place in the suburb of Kyoto. This work deals with an anecdote written in the Take of the Heike (a mediaeval epic). Lady Kogo, the Emperor's lover, has concealed herself from the court and has been living in Saga. Minamoto no Nakakuni, a courtier, is ordered by the Emperor to go to Saga to find her. Guided by the sound of the koto played by Lady Kogo, he succeeded in finding her hiding place.
Kinko Ryu Shakuhachi Sankyoku Meikyoku Sen - Dai Ichi Shu - Vol 1  (Listen)	Yamaguchi Goro
Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 41  (Listen)		Yonekawa Fumiko
Soul of the Koto, The  (Listen)
The Autumn of Saga was originally composed for the koto by Kengyo Kikusue from Osaka. This music describes the scenes of autumn in Kyoto. The words for this music are taken from the Story of Heike.