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Mama no Kawa

ままの川

[Genre]Jiuta
[Style]Tegotomono
[School]Ikuta Ryû - 生田
[Also Known As]The River of Let It Be
[Composed]Yaezaki Kengyō - Koto
Kikuoka Kengyō - Shamisen

History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):

Although the title literally means 'The River of Let It Be,' such a river does not exist. As do the other river is name in the song, it puns on the stage of a love affair. The text refers to the despair of a courtesan who, having given up her struggle with faithless love, views her life in the floating world with sad resignation. The song is composed in the typical tegoto-mono form.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)

Is a dream a floating world,
Or a floating world a dream?

Living in a quarter
Called 'Dream Village,'

Yet pining for a man from the
River of Memory.

Seduced by his honey-tongued
Sincerity one night,

I drifted with him
Along the River of Wedlock.

But his heart was
Cool as water,
And he visits me
With the fragrance
Of others
On his collar and sleeves.
Of all the nerve!
Awakened by the 'Kawai, kawai'
Of the morning crow,
Tears of vexation flow
Into the River of Let it Be.
(maebiki)

Yume ga ukiyo ka
ukiyo ga yume ka
(ai)
yume choo sato ni
sumi nagara
(ai)
hitome wo koi to
omoigawa
(ai)
uso mo nasake mo
tada kuchisaki de
(ai)
ichiya nagare no
imose no kawa wo
(ai)
sono mizu-kusaki
kokoro kara

(tegoto)

Yoso no kori wo
eri sodeguchi ni
tsukete kayowaba
nan no maa
kawai kawai no
karasu no koe ni
samete kuyashiki
mama no kawa

Mama no Kawa appears on the following albums

Album Artist

Abe Keiko Record Set - 06 Voice : Abe Keiko
Shamisen : Abe Keiko
Koto : Fujii Kunie
Play ButtonAraki Kodo III and Fukuda Eika - Collection of Famous Performances - 03 Voice : Fukuda Eika
Shamisen : Fukuda Eika
Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō III
Koto : Kawada Tō
Play ButtonFascination of the Koto 3 Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko
Voice : Yonekawa Chikatoshi II
Shamisen : Yonekawa Chikatoshi II
The river of 'let it be'

This is one example of the Kyoto style tegoto mono, a piece including a long instrumental interlude (tegoto). In the tegoto of the Kyoto style the syamisen and the koto were given equal inportance. The syamisen and voacl pars were composed by Kikuoka kengyo (1792-1847) and the koto part was composed by Matuno kengyo (1802-1871). The title means non-existant river named 'let it be'. The text refers to sad resignation of a courtsan.

Ikuta Ryu Sokyoku Senshu Volume 04 (上) Shamisen : Miyagi Kiyoko
Voice : Miyagi Kazue
Koto : Miyagi Kazue

Ikuta-Ryū Sōkyoku Senshū - volume 7 Voice : Matsuo Keiko
Shamisen : Matsuo Keiko
Koto : Mori Yūji

Night of the Garuda Shakuhachi : Christopher Yohmei Blasdel

Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 16 (三曲合奏大全集16) Koto : Ōta Hisako
Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
Voice : Yokota Nobuko
Shamisen : Yagi Keiji

Sankyoku Home Practice - Chuden 2 Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
Play ButtonSeiha Hogakkai Play Favorites 03 - Kikuoka Kengyo Koto : Nakashima Yasuko
Voice : Yamauchi Utae
Shamisen : Nakanishi Masayo

Sō no Shiori (Ikuta Ryū) vol 2 Koto : Nakashima Yasuko
Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan
Voice : Satō Chikaki
Shamisen : Satō Chikaki

Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 33 Voice : Fukuda Eika
Shamisen : Fukuda Eika
Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō III
Koto : Kawada Tō
Play ButtonTogashi Noriko - 01 Shamisen : Togashi Noriko

Yamaguchi Goro - Performance study 2 Shamisen : Yonekawa Toshiko II
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Koto : Tominaga Chikamiyoshi