Sato no Akatsuki
里の暁
| [Genre] | Jiuta |
| [Style] | Tegotomono |
| [School] | Ikuta Ryû - 生田 |
| [Also Known As] | Daybreak in the Village |
| [Composed] | Yaezaki Kengyō - Koto |
| Matsuura Kengyō - Shamisen |
Poem (translated by John Tedford)
| Swift as an arrow, the evening moon sets while sweet-smelling spring still lodges in the grove of flowering orange... Summer has come, a lone voice cries; the mountain cuckoo sings, and flies away. In ever deeper darkness, raven-black, the night is lit by only firefly lamps. But even in these shadows, the humid haze of summer rises up; while overwhelming, restless dreams of love call back the soul of the departed... ...As was the case in distant China an ancient story, still recalled. Rank and stale, thee lingering smoke of sooty fires, climbs to the fringes of fragrant clouds, and vanishes, I wonder where? into the sky of shortest summer nights. | あやめも知らぬうばたまの、 闇夜を照らす蛍火の、 その影さへもかげろうの、 たちまさりたる思ひ寝の、 亡き魂返すもろこしの、 そのふるさとのしのばれて、 いづち行くらんみじかよの空。 |
Sato no Akatsuki appears on the following albums
| Album | Artist | |
| Ikuta-Ryū Sōkyoku - Nana Komachi/ Sato no Akatsuki/ Hachidan no Shirabe |
Voice : Matsuo Keiko Shamisen : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Matsuo Kazuko | |
| Kyomono Series Vol 1 Matsuura Kengyo - NY Sankyoku Kai |
Shakuhachi : Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin Koto : Kanogawa Keiko Voice : Henry Horaku Burnett Shamisen : Henry Horaku Burnett | |
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The verses of Sato no Akatsuki, on the other hand, are rather unusual, and considered by some to be inauspicious, owing to the reference to a disagreeable odor: "rank and stale, the lingering smoke. It was composed for memorial services held by the Mitsui family of Kyoto, patrons of Matsuura. Interestingly, the lines of the mea- and atop-uta sections are divided precisely at the point of a classical reference to a story from China: that the Han Dynasty Emperor Xiao-wu saw the face of his dead Lady Li appear to him in the smoke of burning incense. The musical setting for this piece is unusual as well -the rather lively virtuoso passages of the tegoto seem to have more in common with some festive occasion, than with the memorial services of the Mitsui family. Sato no Akatsuki was probably written sometime during the late 1790's. There is some doubt whether Yaezaki, or his older contemporary Urazaki Kengyo, actually composed the koto part, but, in either case, the original vocaI/sangen composition by Matsuura exhibits an expansiveness of design, a flamboyance of technique, which is more indicative of certain pre-kyomono compositions from Osaka. This influence is particularly evident in the tegoto, which contains elaborate Instrumental passages that, although effective in their own right, seem to exist for showcasing the skill of the performer rather than for purely musical reasons. However, ever. at this early date, one of Matsuura's outstanding characteristics, analytically speaking, is apparent: the wholesale repetition of lengthy passages of music in order to impose internal unity within what, basically is a loosely-defined form. In Sato no Akatsuki, the use of this technique is restricted to the tegoto; in his later Wakana it becomes organic. Not only do repetitions of music occur within the vocal sections, which is more than enough, but, more unusually, the mae-uta, is heard again in the ato-uta. This brings a sense of total unity to the work--a sense, one might add, that is generally lacking in most kyomono. Matsuura was unique in this regard: he was the only kyomono composer known to have experimented in this way with the form. His technique, more prevalent in his later works, of repeating passages within the internal organization of the tegotomono form secures; for Matsuura Kengyo, a special place-that of the innovator in the evolution of Japanese chamber music. Maeuta: Swift as an arrow, where does it set, (I long to know), the evening moon? Through sweet-smelling spring still lingers, In the grove of flowering orange, "Summer has-come!" a lone voice cries; So sings the mountain cuckoo, And then flies away. In ever-deeper darkness, raven-black, The night is lit by firefly lamps. But even in these shadows, The humid haze of summer rises; While dreams of love -- Restless, overwhelming dreams - Call back the soul of one departed... Ato uta: ...As was the case in China, (an ancient story, still recalled). Rank, stale; the lingering smoke of sooty fires, Climbs to the fringes of more fragrant clouds, Vanishing (I wonder where?), Into the sky of shortest summer nights. | ||
| Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū (zoku) vol. 20 (続三曲合奏大全集20) |
Shamisen : Yamakawa Miwako Voice : Yamakawa Yoshiko Koto : Yamakawa Yoshiko Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan II | |
| Yoshida Seifu Collection of Famous Performances volume 2 |
Koto : Yoshida Kyōko Shakuhachi : Yoshida Seifū | |