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Miyama Jishi

御山獅子

[Genre]Jiuta
[Style]Tegotomono
[School]Ikuta Ryû - 生田
[Composed]Yaezaki Kengyō - Koto
Kikuoka Kengyō - Shamisen

Poem (translated by John Tedford)

Mount Kamiji, pathway of the gods,
unchanged from ancient times
[is seen through] the Cyprus branches.

The five colored precious stones
glitter and shine in the morning sun

on the thatched roofs
as brilliant as the peak of Mount Asahi [1].

The pure stream
of the Isuzu River, also called Mimosuso,
flowing by the inner shrine
is edged with drying nets
near the homes of Uji.
We gaze at this sight

in the calm and tranquil
early days of Spring.

At the gate where the sasa [2] grows
we can hear the tinkling of sacred bells
and the noise of the lion dance
coming toward us.
[We can see] the Oda bridge
linking the inner and outer shrines
through the mountains.

There we can remember the story
of the kagura at the stone door [3].

The fresh morning scenery
at the inlet at Futami:

pools of water trapped among the rocks
full of salty seaweed.

TEGOTO

The evening scenery
at the temple called Sekidera:
fireflies in the fields;
maidens at play
drifting and floating about;
overflowing sake cups.
[When soon we reach] the gate at Toba
the brilliant maples

seem to dye the plain hemp garments
of the old people a delightful red.

The temple at
Mount Asakuma:
the view is unsurpassed.

The white snows of Fuji
are clear in the distant skies.


[I] Mount "Morning Sun"
[2] bamboo grass
[3] the dance performed by Ame no Uzume no Mikoto to lure the sun goddess from behind her stone door where she had hid.
かやの御屋根に五色の玉も、光をてらす朝日山。
清き流れの五十鈴川、みもすそがわの干網の、
染めて楽しむ老い人の、あさくまやまの眺めも勝る奥の院、

Miyama Jishi appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonFascination of the Shakuhachi - 1 Voice : Inoue Michiko
Shamisen : Inoue Michiko
Koto : Kobayashi Tamae
Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan
A te-goto piece (two-verse song with an interlude berween the verses) of Ji-uta singing composed by KIKUOKA kengyo of Kyoto with koto accompaniment by YAEZAKI kengyo. KIKUOKA kengyo was a great master of the shamisen who was active from the Bunka to Tenpou Eras, a rime close to the end of the Edo regime. The results of this co-operation with koto master KIKUOKA kengyo, both in composirion and the actual playing, have been highly appreciated. MIYAMA JISHI is one of many shishi-mai (dance of lion) pieces popular in sokyoku, and this piece is supposed to be based on one found in Ise-kagura-shishi-mai. This is a good example of the fact that various shishimai in the folk tradition, including "ECHIGO JISHI," influenced classical music in Japan.

Fujii Kunie, The World of Shamisen and Jiuta Singing 5 Koto : Nakashima Yasuko
Voice : Fujii Kunie
Shamisen : Fujii Kunie

Ikuta Ryu Sokyoku Senshu Volume 02 (下) Koto : Miyagi Kiyoko
Shamisen : Yazaki Akiko
Voice : Miyagi Kazue

Kikuhara Hatsuko Zenshu vol. 22 Koto : Kikuhara Hatsuko
Voice : Takahashi Eisei II
Shamisen : Takahashi Eisei II

Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 20 (三曲合奏大全集20) Shakuhachi : Morita Shūzan
Voice : Saotome Fumikatsu
Koto : Saotome Fumikatsu
Voice : Saitō Fumika Yohi
Koto : Saitō Fumika Yohi
Voice : Saotome Fuminori
Shamisen : Saotome Fuminori
Voice : Yamamoto Fumio
Shamisen : Yamamoto Fumio

Sasagawa Shizue no Shigei Vol. 3 Koto : Ueda Chikasatoi
Shamisen : Sasagawa Shizue

Sō no Shiori (Ikuta Ryū) vol 9 Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko
Voice : Satō Chikaki
Shamisen : Satō Chikaki

Sōkyoku - Koten Meikyoku Sen - Chidori no Kyoku/ Miyama Jishi/ Midare/ Shiki no Voice : Matsuo Keiko
Shamisen : Matsuo Keiko
Koto : Mori Yūji

Sōkyoku Jiuta Saku Shūsei 25 (Collection of Koto/Shamisen Songs vol. 25) Shakuhachi : Kawase Junsuke II
Voice : Abe Keiko
Shamisen : Abe Keiko
Shamisen : Fujii Kunie
Koto : Fujii Kunie

Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 34 Shakuhachi : Kawase Junsuke II
Voice : Abe Keiko
Shamisen : Abe Keiko
Koto : Fujii Kunie
Play ButtonTogashi Noriko - 04 Shakuhachi : Kawase Junsuke II
Shamisen : Togashi Noriko

Yonekawa Fumiko - Complete Works vol. 2 Voice : Yonekawa Fumiko I
Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko I
Shakuhachi : Nōtomi Judō II
Shamisen : Yonekawa Fumiko II