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Kata Ashi Torii No Eizo

片足鳥居の映像

[Genre]Modern
[Also Known As]Image of a One-Legged Torii Gate
[Composed]Satō Toshinao - Shakuhachi - 1970 cir.

History (Sugawara Kuniyoshi):

If you climb up some stone steps in the Sakamotomachi (Nagasaki), you will find a torii gate (a two-legged arch at the entrance to Shinto shrines) with only one leg. I'm not certain what time it was exactly the first time I saw it, but I'll never forget how I stood rooted to the spot, staring in utter amazement as I considered what brought about that empty space and the mechanics of the balance of the structure. In 1970 when I was asked by the famous Kohachiro Miyata to write an unaccompanied shakuhachi solo for him, the image of that torii gate somehow attached itself to that request. Looking back, it seems to have been a mysterious connection. Without a doubt, this one-legged torii gate was created by the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki. The anger and tragedy of those victims of long ago are enveloped in this music. - Toshinao Sato

Kata Ashi Torii No Eizo appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonMasters of Zen - Ugetsufu Shakuhachi : Sugawara Kuniyoshi
If you climb up some stone steps in the Sakamotomachi (Nagasaki), you will find a torii gate (a two-legged arch at the entrance to Shinto shrines) with only one leg. I'm not certain what time it was exactly the first time I saw it, but I'll never forget how I stood rooted to the spot, staring in utter amazement as I considered what brought about that empty space and the mechanics of the balance of the structure. In 1970 when I was asked by the famous Kohachiro Miyata to write an unaccompanied shakuhachi solo for him, the image of that torii gate somehow attached itself to that request. Looking back, it seems to have been a mysterious connection. Without a doubt, this one-legged torii gate was created by the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki. The anger and tragedy of those victims of long ago are enveloped in this music. - Toshinao Sato
Play ButtonMasters of Zen - Ugetsufu Shakuhachi : Sugawara Kuniyoshi
Play ButtonMasters of Zen - Ugetsufu Shakuhachi : Sugawara Kuniyoshi
Play ButtonMasters of Zen - Ugetsufu Shakuhachi : Sugawara Kuniyoshi
Play ButtonUgetsufu Shakuhachi : Sugawara Kuniyoshi
(Images of a One-Legged Torii Gate)
"If you climb up some stone steps in the Sakamotomachi area of Nagasaki, you will find a torii gate (a two-legged arch at the entrance to Shinto shrines) with only one leg. I'm not certain what time it was exactly the first time I saw it, but I'll never forget how I stood rooted to the spot, staring in utter amazement as I considered what brought about that empty space and the mechanics of the balance of the structure. In 1970, when I was asked by the famous Kohachiro Miyata to write an unaccompanied shakuhachi solo for him, the image of that torii gate somehow attached itself to that request. Looking back, it seems to have been a mysterious connection. Without a doubt, this one-legged torii gate was created by the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki. The anger and tragedy of those victims of long ago are enveloped in this music." (Sato)

Toshinao Sato was born in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from Keio Universtiy. He has composed extensively for both Western and Japanese instruments. Currently he is serving as the chairman of the committee of the Contemporary Japanese Music Association.