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Yachio Jishi

八千代獅子

[Genre]Jiuta
[Style]Tegotomono
[School]Ikuta Ryû - 生田
[Composed]Fujinaga Kengyō - Shamisen

History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):

It is said that this piece was originally written for Hitoyogiri (a short bamboo flute). Fujinaga Kengyo arranged the melody into the jiuta style, which represents the tegoto-mono form. This tegoto, consisting of three dan, depicts the lion (shishi) dancing in a wild delirium of joy. As is self-evident from the title Yachiyo ('Eight Thousands of Years'), the text is of a congratulatory character.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)

Forever
In this eternal reign,
Like two bamboo shoots
Grown straight and true,
This world shall last
Thousands of ages.

On the young needles of the pine,
Snow.
On the young needles of the pine,
Snow.
Itsumade mo
kawaranu miyo no
aitake no
yoyo wa
ikuchiyo
yachiyo furu

(tegoto)

Yuki zo kakareru
matsu no futaba ni
yuki zo kakareru
matsu no futabe ni

Yachio Jishi appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonArt of the Koto - The music of Japan Played by Kimio Eto Koto : Etō Kimio
Lion of Eight Thousand Generations from the 16th century

This is an example of the Lion Piece, a large category in traditional Japanese music. A lion, usually one that is trying to sleep, is disturbed, becomes excited and performs a violent dance. Some of the most spectacular dance numbers of the traditional theatre belong to this category. In this piece, it is the musical form with its quietly sung beginning, colorful instrumental mid-portion, and brief vocal ending in which we find the relationship to the lion dance. The lyrics are rather conventional, expressing wishes for the welfare of the Imperial House, and they are connected with the lion theme only by a rather tenuous play on words. The effect has been suggested here with the word "flourish," which should be read both in the meaning suggested by the context and as suggestive of the lion "flourishing" his mane in the dance. The lines after the instrumental passage return us to a quiet mood with the image of an old pine covered with snow, symbolic of a vigorous old age.

With this August Reign
Unchanging forever,
May these glorious reigns
Flourish through many thousands;
Through Eight Thousand Reigns.

Snow clings on paired needles of the pine,
Snow clings on paired needles of the pine.
Play ButtonClassic Ensemble Music Vol 2 Voice : Yazaki Akiko
Shamisen : Yazaki Akiko
Koto : Gotō Sumiko
Shakuhachi : Kitahara Kōzan II
Performance with voice, shamisen, koto and shakuhachi. This is a rather short but very popular piece, regarded as a felicitating music because of the meaning of the poem and the rather animated instrumental parts. It consists of three sections: fore-song, instrumental interlude and after-song. The original composition for voice and shamisen was done by Fujinaga Kengyo in the middle of the 18th century. It is thought that the music of the interlude came from an old shakuhachi music which itself had been derived from an accompaniment music to a kind of lion dance.
Play ButtonFascination of the Koto 2 Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko
Shamisen : Yonekawa Toshiko
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko II
Yachiyo jishi (longevity of eight thousand years)

It is thought that this piece was originally a shakuhachi piece depicting a joyful lion dance In the mid-17th century Masazima kengyo arranged it for the kokyu and it was again arranged by Huzinaga kengyo at the end of the 17 century as a shamisen piece. It is now performed in various instrumental settings. The tegoto (interlude), consisting of three sections, is full of joyful movements and for this reason is performed in kabuki as background music for fight scenes.
Play ButtonFujii Kunie Sokyoku Jiuta No Sekai 1

Ikuta Ryu Sokyoku Senshu Volume 01 (上) Koto : Miyagi Kiyoko
Voice : Miyagi Kazue
Shamisen : Miyagi Kazue

Japan - Courtly Songs Shakuhachi : Chida Etsuko
Play ButtonJapanese Koto Music of Kimio Eto - Koto and Flute - Featuring the flute of Bud Shank, The Koto : Etō Kimio

Kinko Shakuhachi Gaikyoku Anthology Volume 1 - First Level - tape 3 Shakuhachi : Kawase Junsuke III
Play ButtonKoto - Keiko Nosaka Koto : Nosaka Keiko

Koto no Miryoku - Disk 1 Koto : Yamauchi Kimiko

Miyagi Michio - Best One

Nakanoshima Kin'ichi no Koto - Yamada Ryū Sōkyoku Koto : Nakanoshima Kin'ichi
Shakuhachi : Nōtomi Haruhiko
Voice : Nakanoshima Keiko
Shamisen : Shinagawa Shōzō
Koto : Yoshida Junzō
Play ButtonRokudan no Shirabe - Koto Favorites Koto : Nakashima Yasuko
Shamisen : Yuize Shin'ichi
Voice : Yamagishi Masanobu

Sankyoku Ensembles For The Shakuhachi Of The Kinko-School Vol II Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō

Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 2 (三曲合奏大全集2) Koto : Saitō Fumika Yohi
Shakuhachi : Shimabara Hanzan
Koto : Saotome Fuminori
Voice : Yonekawa Fumiko II
Shamisen : Yonekawa Fumiko II

Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 2 (三曲合奏大全集2) Koto : Saitō Fumika Yohi
Koto : Saotome Fuminori
Shakuhachi : Yokoyama Katsuya
Voice : Yonekawa Fumiko II
Shamisen : Yonekawa Fumiko II

Sankyoku Home Practice - Shoden 2 Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II

Selections from Koto, Shamisen and Shakuhachi Shakuhachi : Isono Chazan
Koto : Chikushi Katsuko
Shamisen : Satō Chikaki
San-Kyoku means a performance presented by three kinds of instruments. Koto, Shamisen and Shakuhachi in concert. Yachiyo Jishi is the music of the lion Shishi in celebration of a felicitous event.

Sō no Shiori (Ikuta Ryū) vol 3 Voice : Kikuhara Hatsuko
Shamisen : Kikuhara Hatsuko
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Koto : Fujii Kunie

Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 22 Voice : Kikuhara Hatsuko
Shamisen : Kikuhara Hatsuko
Koto : Kikutsuki Akiko