Home People Pieces Recordings Bibliography Schools Glossary Sites & Events Teachers Join the ISS Log In

Cosmos Haptic No. 3 - Kokuh

内触覚的宇宙 第三番 虚空

[Genre]Modern
[Composed]Yuasa Joji - Koto

Cosmos Haptic No. 3 - Kokuh appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonNanae Shakuhachi : Mitsuhashi Kifu
Koto : Yoshimura Nanae
There is an inevitable problem for composers to confront in a composition for traditional Japanese instruments namely the relationship between creation and tradition. Creation originally means to produce something new, free from conventional confinement. However, it is almost impossible to utilize an instrument without engaging in the historical establishment of characteristic techniques specific to the instrument. Consequently, composers face the antimony of striving for original creation while holding traditional convention in high esteem.

This composition represents a meeting of two ideas: cosmos haptic, one of the sources of my musical imagination, and mumyo (obscure lightness) as exemplified in "Kokuh Reibo", a piece of authentic Shakuhachi music. It may be said that it is a musical commitment to the cosmic unconsciousness which Dr. Daisetsu Suzuki teaches.

I have known both Kifu Mitsuhashi and Nanae Yoshimura since the Pacific Music Festival held in New Zealand several years ago. Their enthusiasm for new music, their active communication in the international scene, and their refreshingly charming personalities led me to compose this piece for them.

I intended to express my aspiration to the infinite depth of kuh: empty space, the sky.