The International Shakuhachi Society

Sagari Ha no Kyoku

下り葉の曲

This is a piece of genre Koten from the Kinko Ryû - 琴古流 School.

In the 18th century, after having had the piece "Sagari Ha" transmitted to him by the priest Matsuyama from Myoan-Ji Temple in Kyoto, Kinko Kurosawa created this new version called "Sagari Ha No Kyoku".

The name "Sagari Ha", even though there are several ways of writing it, finds its origin in one type of "Hayashigoto", the instrumental background of Noh, Kyogen, and later, Satokagura and Kabuki. This "Hayashigoto" music was performed when the spirits of the deceased were thought to be rising into the air. There are also different "Sagari Ha" which can be found in festival music. That is, "Sagari Ha" originally came from high class public entertainment. The Shakuhachi "Sagari Ha" was also performed at the Kyoto Gion Festival. For Shakuhachi, the melody was refined into the Honkyoku (solo) style, but even so, when heard, the connection between the Shakuhachi "Sagari Ha" and the festival version becomes clear.

Sagari Ha no Kyoku appears on the following albums

	Album	Shakuhachi	Koto	Shamisen
	Complete Collection of Honkyoku from the Kinko School - Vol 1 - Disc 1	Aoki Reibo II
	Shakuhachi Meijin Sen	Yamaguchi Goro
	Shakuhachi Meijin Sen 39	Yamaguchi Goro
	Shakuhachi no Shinzui-Shakuhachi Honkyoku - 10	Yamaguchi Goro
	Song of Daybreak	Bruce Huebner
The kaede for Sagariha no Kyoku "Falling Leaves" was composed by the late Goro Yamaguchi (1933- 1999), the instructor of Kinko Shakuhachi at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music until his death.
	Yamaguchi Goro no Sekai	Yamaguchi Goro
	Zen Music - IV	Yamaguchi Goro
Often called simply 'Sagariha.' The meaning of the title is not clear. In the accompanying music the no drama and the kabuki drama played by a flute and percussions, there is a stereotyped pattern called by the same name, which might have had some connection with the present piece. The tradition says that this is a very old piece arranged more than 300 years ago by a samurai who learned its prototype from a komuso.
	Zen Music with Ancient Shakuhachi - Disc 1	John Singer
(Falling Leaves) Sometime during the 18th century Kurosawa Kinko revised the piece called “Sagari Ha No Kyoku” having had the original piece “Sagari Ha” transmitted to him by the priest Matsuyama from Myoan-ji Temple in Kyoto.

The International Shakuhachi Society - 2013