The International Shakuhachi Society
- Shiki no Nagame -
四季の眺
This is a Jiuta piece in the Tegotomono style from the Ikuta Ryû school . This piece was composed for koto by Yaezaki Kengyo . This piece was composed for shamisen by Matsûra Kengyo .
History (from Tsuge Gen'ichi)
This piece Shiki no nagame ('View of the Four Seasons') was originally composed as a jiuta by the blind master of Kyoto, Matsuura, around the beginning of the nineteenth century. Later, Yaezaki Kengyo (1766?-1848) arranged it into an ensemble piece for the koto and shamisen. This is a typical tegoto-mono piece of the Kyoto style; having an extensive instrumental interlude or tegoto.
Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)
Amid the scent of plum
The willows flutter-
In the spring breeze
We wander about
Viewing the blossoms of March.
Hovering, hovering,
The mists of evening...
In the meadows of spring,
Parsley and sagebrush
We pluck
How delightful!
Sunflowers in the village,
Rice sprouts on the paddy bank,
Show off their colors.
As we seek out
The flourishing young leaves,
Already we hear
The first song
Of the mountain warbler.
Once heard, yet
We cannot forget
Our parting with the flowers.
Of such things I will tell
When I get home.
The leaves change color,
The wild chrysanthemum blooms.
As autumn deepens.
The morning wind across the fields
Pierces our bodies that are frail as dew.
Lightly, lightly
Fall the rains of late autumn.
Even if we get wet,
How much fun it is
To see the leaves
Begin to turn red!
On the paths through winter fields,
Passers-by are scarce
And the grasses are withered.
The leaves fall
In the tree-killing winter wind-
Even the charcoal kiln's
Smoke blows cold.
In the falling snow,
The meadow paths, the mountain trails
Are clad in white-
What a joy
To behold!
Shiki no Nagame appears on the following albums:
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