The International Shakuhachi Society

Yugao

夕顔

This is a piece of genre Jiuta in the style of Tegotomono from the Ikuta Ryû - 生田 School. This piece was composed for Koto by the person Yaezaki Kengyo. This piece was composed for Shamisen by the person Kikuoka Kengyo.

History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):

This is a lovely jiuta piece of the Kyoto style composed in the early nineteenth century. The song text is based on the story of Yugao ('Evening Faces') from 'The Tale of Genji.'

Genji, a lad of seventeen, is on the way to visit his old foster mother. He stops to admire a fence clustered with evening glories. A young girl appears, and on behalf of her mistress (Yugao) presents some of the flowers to Genji on a perfumed fan. Entranced by the simple beauty of the girl, he resolves to see her again. He takes her with him one night to a secluded mansion, but after a brief interlude of love, Genji's previous lady, Rokujo, sends her jealous spirit to kill Yugao, and Yugao dies in his arms.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)

Who lives here?
He has a servant inquire
In the twilight,
Genji's cart comes to a halt.
Let's peek
Through a crevice
In the high hedge-fence
By this tasteful house
To which persons rarely come.

Holding a fan
Permeated with faint scent
Of fragrant incense,
The owner of the house
Offers Genji a blossom
Of the 'Evening Faces'
Glittering with pale dew.

In a brief dream, he is
Bound together with Yugao,
A flower ever more beautiful.
When he awakes,
He feels keenly
The chilly winds of midnight.

Sumaya tare
toiteya minto
tasogare ni
yosuru kuruma no
otozure mo
taete yukashiki
nakagaki no
sukima motomete
kaimami ya
(ai)
Kazusu oogi ni
takishimeshi
soradaki-mono no
honobobo to
nushi wa shiratsuyu
hikari wo soete

(tegoto)

Itodo hae aru
yuugao no
hana ni musubishi
karine no yume no
samete mi ni shimu
yowa no kaze

Yugao appears on the following albums

	Album	Shakuhachi	Koto	Shamisen
	Abe Keiko - 02	Ikeda Seizan	Fujii Kunie	Abe Keiko
	Abe Keiko Record Set - 06	Ikeda Seizan II	Fujii Kunie	Abe Keiko
	Challenging Eternity Disk 20
	Fascination of the Koto 2		Yonekawa Hiroe	Yonekawa Toshiko
Yugao (Lady Yugao) Composed by Kikuoka Kengyo (d.1847). A typical jiuta piece (i.e. consisting of the sangen part and vocal part) in the Kyoto style. Later Yaezaki kengyo (d. 1848) composed a part for the koto to be performed in the ensemble form. A small size piece, but concise and well-balanced between the singing and instrumental parts. The title derives from the lady Yugao in the Tale of Genji who was loved by Genji but killed by the evil spirit of his former lover.
	Fujii Kunie, The World of Shamisen and Jiuta Singing 5	None	Abe Keiko	Fujii Kunie
	Ikuta Ryu Sokyoku Senshu Volume 01
	Japan - Courtly Songs	Chida Etsuko
	Koto Music of Japan, The	Kikusui Kofu		Yes
Evening Glory (Yugao) was originally written by Kengyo Kikuoka, but later Yaezaki Kengyo turned it into a masterpiece of koto music. It is based upon the Tale of Genji, a famous story of the eleventh century. The chapter of Yugao tells that when the Lord Genji visited his sick mother in the Gojo House in Kyoto, he found another small house covered with lovely blossoms in which there lived a pretty girl. Genji fell in love with her immediately and invited her to a detached hut. The girl, who was called Evening Glory (Yugao), dies of a curse cast by the spirit which haunted the hut. The lord grieves: "The bud of Evening Glory which opened in the transient dream faded like the cold autumn breeze." Yugao, a koto-shamisen-shakuhachi piece, is inspired by the tragedy of Yugao.
	Kurokami	Clive Bell
This was made into a song about Yugao from the Tale of Genji. The story is about the daughter of the third lieutenant general (Sane-chujo) who was hiding in a villain's house to get away from the head lieutenant-general's wife's jealousy. Prince Genji was visiting this lady's house where a lot of moon-flowers were in bloom. However on the night of the 15th August, Genji went out with the lady to his country house. The next night she was cursed with an evil spirit and finally died. The first song is about the scene at the house of the lady, and the last song is expressing the tragedy after the lady's death. The middle part is a lonely scene of Autumn night and expressing serenity.
	Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 34		Yonekawa Fumiko	Yonekawa Fumiko II
	Togashi Noriko - 01	None		Togashi Noriko

The International Shakuhachi Society - 2013