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The International Shakuhachi Society

- Umibe no Aki -

海辺の秋

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This is a Modern piece . This piece was composed for koto by Censhu Jiro in 1988 .

Umibe no Aki appears on the following albums:

    AlbumShakuhachiKotoShamisen
    Hibiki - Tokyo Inter-arts In Berlin  (Listen)


      The text is taken from the "Suma" chapter of the epic story, Genji Monogatari (9th century AD). Prince Genji, exiled to Suma, far from the capital, passes a sleepless night. He feels the wind blowing from the direction of the capital, plucks his koto, and under the influence of the tones it produces, he sings of his longing for his distant loves: "The tones of love's sufferings mingle with the surf; from the direction of my longing blows the wind!"

      In this work, the traditional form of classical koto pieces, in the middle of which is found a koto solo, flows together with the European form of "recitative and aria". The singing is European in style (in contrast to Chidori); the koto style is, however, largely traditional. At the end of the koto solo, before the line "He plucks his koto", the koto is plucked on the section of the strings which is not normally sounded. The unusual tones thus produced bring to the fore the surprising and deep emotion which Prince Genji experiences through his own koto-playing.



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