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This is a Sokyoku piece in the Uta mono style from the Yamada Ryű school . This piece was composed for koto by Yamada Kengyo .

History (from Tsuge Gen'ichi)
Sumiyoshi is the name of a Shinto shrine in Settsu, a seaside resort in the southern part of the present Osaka. It attracted many pilgrims because of its beautiful beach and pine groves, and particularly for one of the venerable twin pines (called 'Ajoi no matsu'), which were regarded as the symbol of a long and happy married life. The god of Sumiyoshi was worshipped as the patron of art of poetry (waka).

This piece is one of Yamada's early works and is included in his 'Seven Popular Compositions,' which are classified in the naka (interior) category.

The composition is characterized by the inclusion of a kaeshi, a repetition of the melody with a slightly different verse (Wasuregai and Wasuregusa). Also in the last interlude (ainote), the first section of Rokudan no shirabe, a popular dan-mono piece, is skillfully incorporated. These are two of Yamada's original compositional devices.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)
Aged for thousands of years,
Deep is the hue of the evergreen
Against the fresh snow.
At last my fervent wish
Is fulfilled:
Today I have arrived from afar
At the Sumiyoshi Shrine.

The year is new
And all is peaceful.
Visible above the waves
Until yesterday,
Awaji Island
Is now veiled in spring mists.
The spacious shrine precincts
In their sacred purity
Remind me of the mythological
Aoki Plain (1).

Year after countless year
Frost has formed
On the crossbeams of the shrine gable,
And the unchanging pine trees
Stand for the unbroken vow.
Compared to their
Bounteous leaves of words
My poems are fruitless efforts.
So I come to pray
To the god of Sumiyoshi,
The patron of the art of poetry.
Even more than
The four seasons
Love is a difficult subject
For poetry.

A verse may seem acceptable,
But it is not,
And one is at his wit's end
To be grammatical.
So high and low,
The pilgrims come
In hopes of improving
Their poetry.
The women of Naniwa (2)
Are known for their singing.
Even when they don't try,
They sing with style.

'Forgetting shells' don't really
Help to forget.
Once together, half shells
Split apart.
Since then I count the days
To the time
When together we may
View spring flowers again.

'Forgetting grass' doesn't really
Help to forget.
It may grow thick and luxuriant
But then it withers.
The nights pass one after the next
As I wait for the time
When together we may
View the autumn moon again.

Is there no way to forget?
The shining Prince Genji
Once visited this shrine
With his followers
To offer up his thanks (3).
This custom is followed
Even today.
Against the deep green
Of the pine trees,
Their robes were gorgeous,
Like the blossoms of spring
And the foliage of fall
Combined.
The sight was magnificent
Beyond words.

As evening fell
The moon rose,
And wind began to blow
Through the pines
On the beach,

The wind began to blow
Through the beach pines.
Surrounding like the koto which
First brought the two together (4).
May the blessings
Of the seven great shrines
Be bountiful
And eternal
And may the way of song
Prosper forever,
May the way of song
Prosper forever.

(1) Aoki Plain (Aokigahara) is a place name in northern Kyushu where, according to the Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan, Izanagi no Mikoto is said to have performed a certain purification rite.
(2) Naniwa is the old name for Osaka and is located near Sumiyoshi.
(3) This passage refers to an incident from the 'Channel Buoys' (Miotsukushi) chapter of 'The Tale of Genji,' when Genji visits the Sumiyoshi Shrine to offer up his thanks for his marriage to the Lady from Akashi.
(4) The sound of Genji's koto played a critical role in his first meeting with Lady Akashi.

Sumiyoshi appears on the following albums:

Album	Shakuhachi	Koto	Shamisen
Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 49  (Listen)		Nakanoshima Kin'ichi
Yamada Kengyo o Utao Disk 3  (Listen)		Fujii Chiyoga II