Nanakomachi
七小町
| [Genre] | Jiuta |
| [Style] | Tegotomono |
| [School] | Ikuta Ryû - 生田 |
| [Composed] | Yaezaki Kengyō - Koto |
| Mitsuzaki Kengyō - Shamisen |
History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):
| Nanakomachi ('Seven Tales about Komachi') was composed at the beginning of the nineteenth century by Mitsuzaki Kengyo as a jiuta, and arranged into an ensemble piece for the koto and shamisen by Yaezaki Kengyo (1766?-1848), Mitsuzaki's teacher. The text is based on seven legends concerning Ono no Komachi, the celebrated poetess of the ninth century known for her beauty, The seven legends are taken from the 'Nanakomachi' no plays which deal with anecdotes from Komachi's life (hence the title Nanakomachi): Namely, Soshiarai-komachi, Kayoi-komachi, Sekidera-komachi, Sotoba-komachi, Kiyomizu-komachi, Yamamoto-komachi (or Amagoi-komachi, not performed today), and Omu-komachi. Nanakomachi is considered one of Mitsuzaki's masterpieces, and a very difficult piece to perform. |
Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)
| Whence the seed Of these floating weeds Grown thick In ridges of waves? What is their seed? The story of Komachi in Soshiarai (1) Has a special quality to it. But closer to the heart of things Is the story of Captain Fukakusa And the one hundred nights He waited in vain at her doorstep. If the sun shines brightly Because the name of our country Is Hinomoto, the rising sun Then what about Amegashita (2)? Water flows quickly down As does the heart To a hermitage in Mount Osaka At the Temple of Seki. Whether Komachi in a cottage Or out among the holy wooden tablets, The girl of great beauty Once had many suitors Now shamed by age In the field of Ichiwara Komachi prays To the Merciful Goddess Kannon at the Kiyomizu Temple, Whose divine grace shines purely. The olden days Have never changed In my memory. The bamboo screen Inside the palace- How I yearn for it, How I yearn for it. (1) A no play entitled Soshiarai-komachi which deals with an episode involving Ono no Komachi's waka poetry and Otomo no Kuronushi who tried to show that Komachi plagiarized her waka from the Man'yoshu, an ancient anthology of waka. She disproved this. (2) Literally, 'Beneath the Heavens,' this is a term which is often used to refer to the islands of Japan. As a pun, however, it also means 'under the rain.' | Makanakuni nani wo tane tote ukikusa no nami no une une oishigeruran (ai) Sooshiarai mo nanishioo sono fukakusa no shooshoo ga momoyo-kayoi mo kotowari ya hinomoto nareba teri mo seme saritote wa mata amegashita towa shita yuku mizu no oosaka no (ai) Iori e kokoro sekidera no uchi mo sotoba mo sodetsuma wo hikute amata no mukashi wa komachi (ai) ima wa hazukashi ichiwara no (ai) koseki mo kiyoki (ai) kiyomizu no daihi no chikai kagayakite (tegoto) Kumori naki yo no kumo no ue arishi mukashi ni kawaranedo mishi tamadare no uchi ya yukashiki uchi zo yukashiki |
Nanakomachi appears on the following albums
| Album | Artist | |
 | Abe Keiko - 02 |
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō Voice : Abe Keiko Shamisen : Abe Keiko Voice : Fujii Kunie Koto : Fujii Kunie |
| Abe Keiko Record Set - 09 |
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō Voice : Abe Keiko Shamisen : Abe Keiko Voice : Fujii Kunie Koto : Fujii Kunie | |
| Araki Kodo III and Fukuda Eika - Collection of Famous Performances - 03 |
Voice : Fukuda Eika Shamisen : Fukuda Eika Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō III Koto : Kawada Tō |
| Fascination of the Shakuhachi - 2 |
Koto : Kawahara Naoko Voice : Yagi Keiji Shamisen : Yagi Keiji Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan |
|
A te-goto piece (a two-verse song with an interlude between the verses) composed by MITSUZAKI kengyo of Kyoto, the koto accompaniment being done by YAEZAKI kengyo. MITSUZAKI kengyo is the famed composer of GODAN-GINUTA, AKIKAZE NO KYOKU and other works. With these pieces, composed only with the koto in mind and excluding the sangen, he laid down the basis for the revival movement in the Bakumatsu Era. However, this piece, with lyrics by FUNAZAKA Mitsue, does include the sangen. The sangen is in hon-choshi tuning while the koto is in hankumoi. NAKA KOMACHI describes seven different stages in the life of ONONO Komachi, a famed poet whose work is found in the Kokin Waka Collection and who is regarded as one of the six greatest poets. Little regarding her life is known and later she was also known as TAMATSUKURI Komachi.
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| Ikuta-Ryū Sōkyoku - Nana Komachi/ Sato no Akatsuki/ Hachidan no Shirabe |
Voice : Matsuo Keiko Shamisen : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Mori Yūji | |
| Inoue Michiko no Shigei - Volume 5 |
Voice : Inoue Michiko Shamisen : Inoue Michiko Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō Koto : Kobayashi Tamae | |
| Kinko Ryū Shakuhachi Sankyoku Meikyoku Sen - Dai Ichi Shū - Vol 2 |
Voice : Kikuhara Hatsuko Shamisen : Kikuhara Hatsuko Koto : Miyoshi Atsuko Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō | |
| Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū (zoku) vol. 14 (続三曲合奏大全集14) |
Shakuhachi : Kawase Junsuke III Koto : Fujishiro Fumitsuna Voice : Yonekawa Fumiko II Shamisen : Yonekawa Fumiko II | |
| Sasagawa Shizue no Shigei Vol. 5 |
Shamisen : Sasagawa Shizue Koto : Suzuki Kazuko Shakuhachi : Matsumura Hōmei | |
| Sasagawa Shizue no Shigei Vol. 8 |
Shamisen : Sasagawa Shizue Koto : Suzuki Kazuko | |
| Seiha Hogakkai Play Favorites 04 - Mitsuzaki Kengyo |
Shamisen : Inoue Michiko Voice : Nakashima Yasuko |
| Shakuhachi no Shinzui-Sankyoku Gasso - 03 |
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō |
| Sokyoku Jiuta |
Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko Shamisen : Yonekawa Toshiko Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko II |
| Sōkyoku Jiuta Gassō-shū (disc 2) |
Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō V Voice : Fujii Taeko Koto : Fujii Taeko Voice : Mochitsuki Masako Shamisen : Mochitsuki Masako | |
| Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 36 |
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō Voice : Abe Keiko Shamisen : Abe Keiko Voice : Fujii Kunie Koto : Fujii Kunie | |