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San'ya (Echigo)

三谷 (越後)

[Genre]Honkyoku
[School]Oshu Kei
Chikuho Ryû
[Also Known As]Echigo Myoanji San'ya

History (Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin):

This particular version of Sanya comes form Echigo, the old name for Nigata Prefecture, on the northern coast of Honshu.

San'ya (Echigo) appears on the following albums

Album Artist

Art of the Shakuhachi Vol II Shakuhachi : Mitsuhashi Kifu
Like "Echigo reibo" this is a piece from the Echigo Myoanji temple, transmitted by Saikawa Baio to Jin Nyodo. Again like "Echigo reibo" "Echigo san'ya" too has been outfitted with a program devised by Baio: The first sounds express the shape of Mt. Fuji; as the piece progresses, the mountain is gradually draped in clouds. The shakuhachi is also thought to express the spirit of "yin" and "yang," the sound of a hand-gong being struck, and the ideograph for "heart" or "spirit."

This composition is structured in five sections: 1. an opening prelude in which the instrument is tested (takeshirabe); 2. a "main section" (honte); 3. "high notes" (takane) 4. expressing gratitude for a donation (hachi-gaeshi); 5. coda. The melody is of the same lineage as "San'ya" variants transmitted to northeastern Japan, but "Echigo san'ya" is a more brilliant piece featuring virtuosic fingerwork and larger melodic inflections.

The flow of the melody and the beautiful high notes are particularly impressive. Unlike "Echigo reibo," the hachigaeshi section (4) is played in a high range.
Play ButtonHeart of Bamboo, The Shakuhachi : Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
Play ButtonJin Nyodo No Shakuhachi 02 Shakuhachi : Jin Nyodo
Echigo-Myoanji: SAN'YA

2-shaku 1-sun
10 min. 22 sec.

1. About the title:

Please consult the section on "Commonly Used Titles." This piece is called Echigo-San'ya because it was passed down through the Myoan Temple in Echigo (Present-day Niigata Prefecture).

Myoanji in Echigo was constructed in the Tokugawa Period by the lord of Echigo-Muramatsu in the castle town of that name. Later it was relocated to Shimoda, south of the city of Sanjo. This temple held to the principle of ichi-ji: ichi-ritsu (one temple: one melody = only one piece should be passed down as the legacy of each temple), so that this piece was the only one played; however, Reibo was also taught as a junkyoku ("associated piece").

Jin Nyodo inherited this piece from Saikawa Baio.

2. Structure of the piece

It is constructed in the manner of Tohoku-style honkyoku: [Takeshirabe - Honte - Takane - Hachigaeshi - Musubi]. It has a clearly defined jo-ha-kyu structure, and the whole piece has a flowing rhythmical sense.

Takeshirabe This is a fairly long introductory section in the RO-range first octave). The highly dynamic yuri-buki used in the opening melody increases the strong emotional and rhythmic impression of this piece. The entire takeshirabe is played with this meandering, winding yuri-buki. In particular there are nine spots where emphatic yuri-buki is utilized, and three places where strong nayashi is employed (nayashi = a technique where shaking the head accents certain tones). The melodic forms linked to these techniques add greatly to the emotional impression of this piece.

Honte: A high-pitched section in the KO-range (second octave). Two melodic patterns are played, each filled with the infinite sadness characteristic of this piece. Takane It begins with a takane melody typical of Tohoku--style honkyoku' (i.e. a melody centering on the KO-no-hi and ha tones), and continues the characteristic melodic pattern already mentioned in the honte, a pattern which conveys an acute sense of yearning. This melody is gradually modified and repeated three times.

Hachigaeshi At this point the mood shifts and from the summit of sorrow there begins a melody which includes a feeling of resignation. After the large "mountain" of the takane, this is a smaller rise in a lower register.

Musubi Again the piece returns to the lower range. However, the overall tone is a little higher than that of the takeshirabe, so that we feel a little "afterglow" from the mood of the takane and hachigaeshi. At the same time the characteristic technique of yuri-buki found in the takeshirabe reappears, so that as we feel a return toward the opening section, the piece ends in a mood of mysterious darkness.

3. Special features of the piece:

Among the numerous San'ya pieces, this one is quite prominent. Musically, its structure and development are remarkable, as is its smoothly flowing rhythmical progression in the midst of extreme emotionalism.

Phoenix Crying - Yearning for the Bell Volume 6 Shakuhachi : Riley Kōho Lee
As with so many other honkyoku, there are numerous versions of San'ya. There are variations in the titles of this piece as well, for example, "Mountain Valley" (also pronounced 'san'ya'). The 'Three Valleys' may allude to a semi-mythical abode of enlightened beings, or to the 'three jewels' of Buddhism, the Buddha, the Teachings, and the Community. This Chikuho lineage version of 'Three Valleys' was originally transmitted from the Echigo district of Japan, near present day Niigata.

Phoenix Crying - Yearning for the Bell Volume 6 Shakuhachi : Riley Kōho Lee
As with so many other honkyoku, there are numerous versions of San'ya. There are variations in the titles of this piece as well, for example, "Mountain Valley" (also pronounced 'san'ya'). The 'Three Valleys' may allude to a semi-mythical abode of enlightened beings, or to the 'three jewels' of Buddhism, the Buddha, the Teachings, and the Community. This Chikuho lineage version of 'Three Valleys' was originally transmitted from the Echigo district of Japan, near present day Niigata.

Phoenix Crying - Yearning for the Bell Volume 6 Shakuhachi : Riley Kōho Lee
As with so many other honkyoku, there are numerous versions of San'ya. There are variations in the titles of this piece as well, for example, "Mountain Valley" (also pronounced 'san'ya'). The 'Three Valleys' may allude to a semi-mythical abode of enlightened beings, or to the 'three jewels' of Buddhism, the Buddha, the Teachings, and the Community. This Chikuho lineage version of 'Three Valleys' was originally transmitted from the Echigo district of Japan, near present day Niigata.

Phoenix Crying - Yearning for the Bell Volume 6 Shakuhachi : Riley Kōho Lee
As with so many other honkyoku, there are numerous versions of San'ya. There are variations in the titles of this piece as well, for example, "Mountain Valley" (also pronounced 'san'ya'). The 'Three Valleys' may allude to a semi-mythical abode of enlightened beings, or to the 'three jewels' of Buddhism, the Buddha, the Teachings, and the Community. This Chikuho lineage version of 'Three Valleys' was originally transmitted from the Echigo district of Japan, near present day Niigata.
Play ButtonReibo - In memory of the bell Shakuhachi : Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
This particular version of Sanya comes form Echigo, the old name for Nigata Prefecture, on the northern coast of Honshu.
Play ButtonSui Zen - Blowing Meditation on the Shakuhachi - 01 Shakuhachi : Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
Sanya generally have certain characteristic patterns, as do Reibo, which will be the next format explored. Echigo Sanya is very famous, noted for both its smooth rhythms and extreme emotion. It has patterns similar to those seen in Jimbo Sanya and Futaiken Sanya. But here, the high part, the takane, has the "Ha-ah," two notes alternating, very high. And toward the end, there's a "Koro Koro" or "Hororo," a warbling trill technique played by alternately opening and closing the bottom two holes of the flute, while partially shading the top two holes.

Echigo Sanya is probably the longest honkyoku in the repertoire, being about 15 or 16 minutes in duration compared with eight or nine minutes for most honkyoku. It is from the Meian temple in Echigo, the present day Niigata Prefecture. The piece is also called Echigo Meiangi Sanya. The temple was constructed in the Tokugawa Period by the lord of Echigo-Muramatsu in the castle town of that name. Later, the temple was relocated to Shimoda, south of the city of Sanjo.

This is the primary piece, or seikyoku of the Echigo Meianji Temple, in keeping with the "Ichigi, Ichiritsu" or "One Temple, One Melody" tradition. Reibo was taught as an associated piece (junkyoku) in this temple. Similarly, temples that had their own primary piece could teach Echigo Sanya as an associated piece or junkyoku. Jin Nyodo, during his 10-year ethnomusicological pilgrimage throughout Japan, inherited this piece from Saikawa Baio, who indicated that the music depicts the shape of Mount Fuji, initially seen clearly, and then draped in clouds, and then darkness.

Echigo Sanya is not only an unusually long piece, it also is considered to be one of the most emotional or exciting ones in the Meian repertoire. Although it has a flowing, rhythmical sense, it also contains sudden breath explosions, muraiki, and some notes with a very high pitch. These are among the highest notes that this instrument, a very deep-toned 2.4, can produce.

Echigo Sanya has a fifth section in its Jo Ha Kyu arc structure. In addition to the take shirabe or clearing the bamboo, honte (true), takane (high), and musube (wrap-up) sections, there is a section called hachikaeshi or returning the bowl.

The hachikaeshi, the last section, has a special meaning, derived from komuso practice. As mendicant priests, komuso would beg for alms. When playing a piece, a komuso would pass around his rice bowl, and then get it back. It wasn't supposed to matter to the monk if the bowl was empty or full or how full. What is, is what is, and you keep on playing. Actually, an empty bowl could be quite full. That is because the komuso were actually asking for more than coins or rice when they passed the bowl; they were also asking that their listeners put their sorrows or sufferings in the bowl, so that the monk, as a bodhisattva, could take them upon himself.

Take o Fuku Shakuhachi : Sakai Shōdō

Wind Heart Shakuhachi : James Nyoraku 如楽 Schlefer
Echigo San'ya is a version of San'ya, a 400-year old honkyoku that tries to express a free-floating, boundary-less Zen state in which there is no up or down, left or right; a state in which one is capable of pure, unified action, action from the heart rather than from the head. This particular version of San 'ya comes from Echigo.