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Yuya

熊野

[Genre]Sokyoku
[School]Yamada Ryū - 山田
[Composed]Yamada Kengyō - Koto

History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):

Together with Aoi no ue, Chokonka no kyoku and Koho no kyoku, Yuya forms the 'Four Greatest Works,' composed by Yamada Kengyo. The song text is taken from the latter half of the no play Yuya, which is attributed to Zeami (1363-1443). The story is based on an episode in Book Ten of 'The Tale of the Heike.' Yuya, the daughter of a tavern-owner at a way station, won the favor of Taira no Munemori (1147-85), the powerful keeper of the seals at court, and is summoned to Kyoto, the capital. Yuya's old mother, who was left in the distant eastern province, becomes seriously ill. Yuya asks Munemori for leave, but he will not grant it because of his selfish love.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)

The voice of the bell
At Kiyomizu Temple
Echoes the evanescence of all things,
The ephemerality of this world,
As the Gion Monastery bell
Might have sounded.
At the Jishu-Gongen Shrine,
The color of the cherry blossoms
Tells us the nature
Of the Twin Sal Trees.
These are several
Of many illustrations
Of the principle of morality,
Of the way of the world.

Buddha too, once
Renounced the world -
Leaving behind
The name of the Mount of Eagles,
The scene of his austerities
Half invisible above the clouds,
At Katsurabashi Temple
Which we see in the distance
Among the 'Laurel Bridges'
Of clouds on its summit,
Is that heavenly mist
Or new cherry-blossoms at
The nearby Gion Grove?
And these banks
Of the Shimogawara.
When we look
Far to the south,
The Ima-Gumano Shrine
In the spring haze -
Yuya-Gongen newly enshrined,
His grace and benevolence
Mighty as in Kumano
Of Kishu Province (1).

Autumn
On Mount Inari:
Lightly tinged maple leave
Which once were green,
And in flowery spring
At Kiyomizu Temple
Where sits Kanon
The Merciful Bodhisattva,
The blossoming of
Thousands of spring cherries!

Despite the mountain's names -
'Sounding Wings' and 'Storm'
A snow of flowers falls silently.
Who can know
The depth of my sorrow?

Yuya: May I have the honor
Of serving you some wine?
Munemori: Why not, Yuya.
Show us a dance,
Will you?
Y: Who knows
My deep sorrow?
Oh, look! All at once
A passing shower has come,
Scattering the blossoms -
How unexpected.
M: Indeed,
The blossoms
Are scattered
By this shower!
Y: Alas,
What a heartless shower!

'Spring rain
Falling - is it tears?
Falling - is it tears?
Is there anyone
Who would not regret
The fall of the cherry blossoms?'

M: Such a significant tone
To your words! What do you mean?
If I take it up and read it -

'What shall I do?
Though it seems a pity
To miss spring in the capital.
My old blossoms in the east
May have already fallen.'

M: Indeed, you are right!
I am sorry for you.
You may take your leave
At once.
Go to your home
In the east
Y: What!? Would you grant me
Permission to leave?
M: By all means.
You must be on your way
Immediately.
Y: Oh, how happy I am!
This is more than I deserve.
This is entirely due to
The divine favor of Kannon.
Everything is settled -
How glad I am!
Everything is settled -
How glad I am!
If I were there to accompany you
To the capital, Sir,
You might conceivably
Change your mind.
Allow me to say farewell here
As I am.
The evening birds
Are calling.
On the road east,
On the way home,
Yuya stops to rest
At the barrier of Mt.Osaka.
The barrier keeper also
Takes care of her,
And he lets her through -
She has left the mountains behind
The wild geese
Who forsake the blossoms of the capital

Fly to the north
I, too, am going home
Back to my home in the east -
Farewell...
Back to my home in the east -
Farewell.

(1) The god Kumano-Gongen of the Kishu Province (present Wakayama Prefecture) attracted many pilgrims, including the imperial family, because of his powerful divine grace. In 1160 for convenience of imperial pilgrimage, the object of worship was moved to the capital, enshrined in a new sanctuary to the south, and its new shrine was called Ima-Gumano ('New Kumano' or Kumano in Kyoto'). The Chinese character for Yuya are also pronounced as 'Kumano.' So the characters 'Kumano-Gongen' can also be pronounced 'Yuya-Gongen.
(maebiki)

Seisuiji no
kane no koe
gion-shooja wo
arawashi
shogyoo-mujoo no
koe yaran
jishu-gongen no
hana no iro
sarasooju no
kotowari nari
shooja-hitsumetsu no
yo no narai
geni tameshi aru
yosooi

Hotoke mo moto wa
suteshi yo no
nakaba wa kumo ni
ye mienu
washi-no-oyama no
na wo nokosu
tera wa katsura no
hashi-bashira
tachiidete
mine no kumo
hana ya aran
hatsu-zakura no
tion-bayashi
shimogawaraminami wo
haruka ni
nagamureba
daihi-oogo no
usumomiji no
aokarishi ha no
aki mata
hana no haru wa
kiyomizu no
tada tanome
tanomoshiki
haru mo chiji no
hanazakari

(ainote)

yama no na no
otowa-arashi no
hana no yuki
fukaki nasake wo
hito ya shiru

Warawa oshaku ni
mairi sooroobeshi
Ikani yuya
hitosashi
maisoorae
Fukaki nasake wo
hito ya shiru
noonoo niwaka ni
murasame no shite
hana wo chirashi
sooroo wa ikani
Geni tadaima no
murasame ni
hana no chiri
sooroo yo
Ara kokorona no
murasame yana
(ai)
Harusame no
furu wa namida ka
furu wa namida ka
sakurabana
chiru wo oshimanu
hito ya aru

Yoshi arigenaru
kotoba no tane
toriagemireba

Ikani sen
miyako no haru mo
oshikeredo
nareshi azuma no
hana ya chiruran

Geni doori nari
aware nari
haya haya itoma
torasuruzo
azuma ni kudari
soorae
Nami oitoma to
sooroo ya
Nakanaka no koto
tookutoku kudari
tamoobeshi
Ara ureshiya
tootoya no
kore kannon no
gorishoo nari
koremade nariya
ureshiya na
Kakute miyako ni
otomo seba
matamo ya gyoi no
kawaru beki
tada konomama ni
oitoma to
yuutsuke no
tori ga naku
azumaji sashite
yuku michi no
yagate yasuroo
oosaka
seki no tozashi mo
kokoro shite
akeyuku ato no
yama miete
hana wo misutsuru
karigane no

Sore wa koshiji
ware wa mata
azuma ni kaeru
nagori kana
azuma ni kaeru
nagori kana

Yuya appears on the following albums

Album Artist

Hirai Sumiko no Sekai Voice : Hirai Sumiko
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Shamisen : Yamase Shōin III
Koto : Yamase Shōin II
Koto : Yamasei Fusei

Hōgaku Taikei Vol. 3 - Sōkyoku - Shakuhachi 1 (LP 2) Shamisen : Tanaka Sakihide
Voice : Uehara Masaki II
Koto : Uehara Masaki II
Voice : Fujii Chiyoga II
Koto : Fujii Chiyoga II
Play ButtonMusical Anthology of the Orient, Unesco Collection Vol 1 Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko I
Yuya is one of the most representative compositions by the founder of the Yamada School, the artist Kengyo Yamada (1757-1817), in Edo, the present day Tokyo.

Kengyo Yamada used as the basis for his text an excerpt from the No play of the same name which is attributed to the great No master Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1444).

Contrary to the Ikuta School, which cultivated instrumental techniques, the Yamada School gave prominence to the performance and the shaping of songs and recitation. A listener without previous knowledge of the No play Yuya, could hardly understand the musical situation.

The story:

Yuya, a young peasant girl, is the mistress of the powerful keeper of the seal at the Emperor's court, Taira-no-Munemori (1147-1185), Yuya's mother, who lives in a distant eastern province, is very ill. Yuya has begged Munemori for leave, but he would not grant it because of his passionate and selfish love. Even when a message from the sick mother arrives, Munemori is unwilling to let Yuya go. Instead, he arranges an excursion to see the cherry blossoms.

(scene and song)

Following a description of the blossom-filled landscape on Mount Otowa, on which the temple of Seisuiji (Kiyomizudera) is situated, a banquet begins during which Yuya is supposed to dance. As she dances, a shower of rain falls and many of the cherry blossoms are dashed to the ground.
Yuya compares the falling blossoms to the fragile condition of her mother and composes a poem which fills Munemori with emotion.

He then grants Yuya her long desired leave.

The theme of the No play Yuya and its literary variants are adapted from the tenth chapter of the monumental epic Heike Monogatari (The Song of the Decline of the Taira Clan) which dates from the middle of the 13th century.

The work is clearly divided, according to mood, into three distinct parts.

The first part expresses the peaceful atmosphere in front of the Buddhist temple; the second part portrays the sadness of the heroine during the banquet and at the falling of the cherry blossoms; the third part reflects the joyful surprise felt by Yuya at the granted vacation.

The players, who also recite the text, are:
First Koto: Eisho Koshino
Second Koto: Hiroyuki Nakada
Shamisen: Shoko Murooka

The text:

The sound of the bell of the Kiyomizu Temple proclaims the transitoriness of all existence, just as that of the Gion Hermitage does. The splendour of the cherry blossoms at the Shinto Shrine Jishu-Gongen teaches us the transitoriness of all life, just as did the twin Sala trees that wilted at Buddha's death. No creature on this earth can escape transience. Even Buddha realised this, became an ascetic and preached his teachings on Mount Eagle. In memory of this event the Laurel Bridge Temple is called Temple of Mount Eagle. We are now in front of the Kiyomizu Temple and survey the surroundings. The cherry blossoms are so marvelous that one wonders whether they are clouds or real cherry blossoms. Nearby can be seen the Gion Grove - and the Yasaka Shrine, which reminds us of the Gion Fete and its music - in the neighborhood of Shimogawara. When we look to the south, we can discern in the spring haze the Imagumano Shrine where Yuya-Gongen is worshipped, who protects all mankind with his grace and benevolence. In the distance, the lightly coloured foliage of the maple-trees on Mount Inari is to be seen.

The spring landscape (near the Kwannon) at Kiyomizu Temple, often praised in poems, is now in full bloom. What a beautiful sight!

The cherry blossoms are wafted away as is hinted at in the names of both mountains, Mount Otowa and Mount Arashi (which means: in the sound of the wind or in the storms); and then fall like snow flakes, scattered here and there.

Yuya:
I am very sad, does no one pity me?
(controlling herself)
May I pour you some wine?
(she presents Munemori with a cup of sake)

Munemori:
Yuya, would you like to dance for us?

Yuya:
No one understands my sorrow.
(She begins to dance. It starts to rain.)
Suddenly a downpour comes and scatters the blossoms. How can that happen?

Munemori:
A downpour is really coming and scattering the blossoms!

Yuya:
Oh, this heartless rain! These spring rain-drops; are they not tears of pain over the falling cherry blossoms? This would make anyone sad. Even the heavens are crying! (Yuya composes a poem, writes it down on a tanzaku (tablet) and shows it to Munemori.)

Munemori:
You are presenting me with a poem? It will have a deep meaning. Let us see! "What should I do? The departure from the Emperor's City (and from you) in the middle of spring is too difficult for me."

Yuya:
"And I am anxious lest the blossoms dear to me (the sick mother) in the East may already have fallen!"

Munemori:
You are right. I understand you now. You may take your leave at once and return to your home!

Yuya:
What? You would kindly grant me leave?

Munemori:
As I said, be on your way!

Yuya:
Oh, how glad I am! All this comes from the infinite mercy of the Kwannon in the Kiyomizu Temple. Then I would now like to take leave. Oh, how happy I am! If I should accompany you on your return to the city, you could change your decision; therefore, I will already take leave here. Farewell then.

Chorus:
On the way to the East, she pauses for a while on Mount Osaka. The frontier guard, moved by the faithful Yuya's account of her sick mother, opens the frontier gate immediately. Yuya's farewell from the Emperor's City is sad. "Indifferent to the beauty of the cherry blossoms, the wild geese leave the Emperor's City and fly towards the North. . . I turn to the East and even as they do leave the Emperor's City." How sad this is!

Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 21 (三曲合奏大全集21) Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Voice : Yamase Shōin III
Shamisen : Yamase Shōin III
Voice : Yamase Shōin II
Koto : Yamase Shōin II
Voice : Yamasei Shunsei
Koto : Yamasei Shunsei

Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 46 Voice : Uehara Masaki II
Koto : Uehara Masaki II
Voice : Fujii Chiyoga II
Koto : Fujii Chiyoga II

Yamada Kengyo o Utao Disk 2 Koto : Fujii Chiyoga II