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Saga no Aki

嵯峨の秋

[Genre]Sokyoku
[Style]Meiji Shinkyoku
[School]Ikuta Ryû - 生田
[Composed]Kikusue Kengyō - Koto
Kikusue Kōtō - Shamisen

History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):

This piece, Saga no aki ('Fall in Saga') is considered a masterpiece among the compositions for the koto written in the early Meiji Era. The substantial part of this piece is a brilliant koto duet, consisting of three sections (dan). Although it is composed in the tegoto-mono form, Saga no aki is quite different from the so-called jiuta-sokyoku, and it represents 'modern' koto music of the late nineteenth century Japan.

The text it based on a well-known story from 'The Tale of the Heike.' See Kogo no kyoku.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)

Fall on the plain
Of Saga -
Renowned for nothing
But the loneliness
Of all things.
The moon illumines
The brushwood gate.
The whisper
Of a hidden koto -
Wind from the summit?
Wind through the pines?
Is the woman I seek
Whiling away the time?

I quicken the horse, listen
The koto plucks
The 'Song of Longing'
I know so well,
The 'Song of Longing'
I know so well.
Sarade dani
mono no sabishiki
na ni tateru
saga no atari no
aki no koro
tsuki wa kumanaki
shiba no to ni
shinobite morasu
koto no ne wa
(ai)
mine no arashi ka
matsukaze ka
tazunuru hito no
susabi ka ya

(tegoto)

Koma wo hayamete
kiku toki wa
tsumaoto shiruki
soofuren
(ai)
tsumaoto shiruki
soofuren

Saga no Aki appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonFascination of the Koto 3 Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko
Voice : Yonekawa Chikatoshi II
Koto : Yonekawa Chikatoshi II
Autumn in Saga. Composed by Kikusue kengyo (1852?-1892). A koto composition for two instruments cojmposed in the early Meizi era. Saga is a place in the suburb of Kyoto. This work deals with an anecdote written in the Take of the Heike (a mediaeval epic). Lady Kogo, the Emperor's lover, has concealed herself from the court and has been living in Saga. Minamoto no Nakakuni, a courtier, is ordered by the Emperor to go to Saga to find her. Guided by the sound of the koto played by Lady Kogo, he succeeded in finding her hiding place.

Kinko Ryū Shakuhachi Sankyoku Meikyoku Sen - Dai Ichi Shū - Vol 1 Voice : Takahashi Eisei III
Koto : Takahashi Eisei III
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Voice : Torii Namino
Koto : Torii Namino

Sagano no Shirabe Koto : Gotō Sumiko
Koto : Takahata Mitoko

Sagano no Shirabe Koto : Takada Kazuko
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko II

Sagano no Shirabe Koto : Iguchi Kumiko
Koto : Yagi Keiji

Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 13 (三曲合奏大全集13) Koto : Sunazaki Tomoko
Koto : Ando Masateru
Shakuhachi : Yokoyama Katsuya
Voice : Ashigaki Miho

Sō no Shiori (Ikuta Ryū) vol 3 Koto : Nakashima Yasuko
Voice : Satō Chikaki
Koto : Satō Chikaki

Sōkyoku Jiuta Gassō-shū (disc 3) Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō V
Koto : Yamamoto Hiroko
Voice : Mochitsuki Masako
Koto : Mochitsuki Masako

Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 41 Voice : Yonekawa Fumiko I
Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko I
Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko II

Soul of the Koto, The
The Autumn of Saga was originally composed for the koto by Kengyo Kikusue from Osaka. This music describes the scenes of autumn in Kyoto. The words for this music are taken from the Story of Heike.

Yamaguchi Goro - Performance study 3 Voice : Nakanoshima Hiroko
Koto : Nakanoshima Hiroko
Voice : Ogata Sachino
Koto : Ogata Sachino
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Voice : Kawachi Yurinō
Koto : Kawachi Yurinō