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This is a Jiuta piece in the Tegotomono style from the Ikuta Ryû school . This piece was composed for shamisen by Mitsuhashi Koto .

History (from Tsuge Gen'ichi)
This piece is one of the best-known jiuta compositions of the Osaka style. The song-text consists of three parts, featuring the plum tree (with the warbler), the pine tree (with the cranes), and the bamboo (with the moon) respectively. Hence the title Sho-chiku-bai, literally meaning 'Pine, Bamboo and Plum.' These three plants are traditionally considered as symbols of happiness and is often performed on congratulatory occasions.

At the end of the second song (featuring the pine tree), a long interlude (tegoto) consisting of three sections is inserted. Here a distinctive ostinato pattern on the koto which imitates the cries of cranes is heard.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)
Mist trailing
Across the sky
Is a sign of spring.
A peaceful light on
New Year's morning is
Brightly shining.
A warbler,
Flying through
The mountain paths
Has come to Mitsu (1)
And sings the First Song.
The plum tree begins to smile
From its southernmost branches.
Attracted by the fragrance,
The warbler sings gloriously,
The color and scent of
The flowers blown and scattered
By his feather-breeze
Are flourishing in this village-
Naniwa (2) renowned
For blossoming plums.

May your reign, my Lord,
Last forever serenely
Like the unmuddied streams
In the palace garden.
May your people, too,
Prosper all over
The Empire of the Four Seas.

A pine tree of
One thousand years,
Now decorated and
Celebrated by everyone,
Will live for endless generations,
With the sound of the wind.
On the venerable pine branches
Thriving, freshly green,
A pair of cranes
Nest and dance
In celebration
Of the everlasting reign.

And in autumn,
How delightful
Is the sight of the moon!
Passing through the treetops
The moonbeams
Filter into the bedchamber
In the early evening.
Outside the darkening night
Is filled with the voices of crickets.

How many autumns
Will they sing on?
With the distant sound
Gathered by the wind,
Bamboo clumps
Rustle at the window.

(1) Old Osaka
(2) Another name for Osaka

Shochikubai appears on the following albums:

Album	Shakuhachi	Koto	Shamisen
Ikuta Ryu Sokyoku Senshu Volume 03  (Listen)
Japanese Koto Orchestra  (Listen)
(Music of Pine, Bamboo and Plum Blossoms) is a trio for koto, shamisen and kokyu or shakuhachi. Today the kokyu is seldom heard because of its strange sound. The instrument looks like a shamisen with a violin bow, although the sound is quite different from that of any other string instrument. This piece is composed by Mitsuhashi Koto, representative of the classic form of composition. Sho, the pine tree, represents ever-lasting prosperity. Chiku, the bamboo,. symbolizes formality and honesty; bai, the plum blossom, represents elegance. This music is gay and happy, and yet also elegant. The Kokyu is played by Sadako Nishimura; the I7-string koto by Hiroko Mitsuike, and the shamisen by Shukin Noda. The koto ensemble is of the Ikuta School.
Japanese Treasures  (Listen)
Shochikubai (Pine, Bamboo and Plum Blossom) is a trio for koto, shamisen and kokyu (an ancient instrument somewhat like a violin, now frequently replaced by the shamisen). This piece is in the nature of a tone painting.
Koto and Shamisen Gendai Meikyoku Shu 04  (Listen)
Le Koto de Yusen Kuzuhara et le Shakuhachi de Teiji Itoh  (Listen)	Itoh Teiji	Kuzuhara Yusen
Sankyoku  (Listen)	Aoki Reibo II	Takemura Ayako	Sato Chikaki
Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 25  (Listen)		Yonekawa Fumiko	Tomizaki Shunshô
Togashi Noriko - 05  (Listen)	Aoki Reibo II		Togashi Noriko