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Chidori no Kyoku

千鳥の曲

[Genre]Sokyoku
[Style]Meiji Shinkyoku
[School]Ikuta Ryû - 生田
[Composed]Yoshizawa Kengyō II - Koto

History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):

Chidori no kyoku ('Song of Plovers') is one of a set of compositions for voice and the koto entitled Kokin no kumi, in which a new tuning (and mode) for the koto, called kokin-joshi, was introduced.

Two waka poems are sung in this piece: the first waka is from the Kokin waka shu, a tenth century anthology of court poetry compiled by imperial command. The second one, sung after the tegoto (or instrumental interlude), is from the Kin'yo shu, a twelfth century anthology.

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)

At Shionoyama
Frequenting the sand spit
Plovers call out:
'You, my lord,
May you live eight thousand years!'
'You, my lord,
May you live eight thousand years!'

At Awaji Island
The call of the plovers,
Flying to and fro.
How often they have awakened
The guard at Suma Pass!
How often they have awakened
The guard at Suma Pass!
(maebiki)

Shionoyama
sashide no iso ni
sumu chidori
kimi ga miyo woba
yachiyo tozo naku
kimi ga miyo woba
yachiyo tozo naku

(tegoto)

Awajishima
kayoo chidori no
naku koe ni
ikuyo nezamenu
suma no sekimori
ikuyo nezamenu
suma no sekimori

Chidori no Kyoku appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonAll the Best from Japan
Play ButtonAraki Kodo III and Fukuda Eika - Collection of Famous Performances - 01 Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō III

Art of the Koto - Volume I Koto : Yoshimura Nanae
Play ButtonChallenging Eternity Disk 20 Shakuhachi : John Kaizan Neptune
Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko II
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko II
Voice : Fukami Satomi
Koto : Fukami Satomi
Play ButtonEvening Snow Shakuhachi : Tani Senzan
Koto : Tanaka Yōko
Play ButtonFlute and Koto of Japan Shamisen : Yonekawa Toshiko
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Play ButtonFujii Kunie Sokyoku Jiuta No Sekai 5

Fukami Satomi - Sokyoku Jiuta Shu - 2 Koto : Fukunaga Chieko
Voice : Fukami Satomi
Koto : Fukami Satomi

Ginyu Shakuhachi : Gunnar Jinmei Linder

Haru no Umi - Koto Meikyoku Sen - 2 Koto : Sawai Tadao
Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan
Play ButtonHibiki - Tokyo Inter-arts In Berlin Shakuhachi : Aoki Shunsuke
Koto : Shigeta Emiko
Koto : Satō Miyuki
This was originally a piece for Kokyu (a 3-stringed instrument found throughout Asia), and was arranged for koto by YOSHIZAWA Kengyo in 1855. It is amongst the most beautiful and most frequently played works of classical koto music. The piece can also be performed by a solo koto (the vocal part is taken by the koto player). The shakuhachi part has no independent function. Both text strophes, which have the form of the classical Japanese poem (waka) with 3 I syllables (5-7-5 + 7-7), are taken from different collections of poetry from the Heian-period (794-1185).

Ikuta Ryu Sokyoku Senshu Volume 01 (上) Koto : Kobashi Mikiko
Voice : Miyagi Kazue
Koto : Miyagi Kazue

Ikuta-Ryū Sōkyoku Senshū - volume 7 Voice : Matsuo Keiko
Koto : Matsuo Keiko
Voice : Matsuo Kazuko
Koto : Matsuo Kazuko
Play ButtonIsaac Stern - The Classic Melodies of Japan Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan

Japan - Courtly Songs Shakuhachi : Chida Etsuko
Play ButtonJapan - Ensemble of Traditional Instruments of Japan Shakuhachi : Ifuji Reizan
Play ButtonJapanese Koto Music of Kimio Eto - Koto and Flute - Featuring the flute of Bud Shank, The Koto : Etō Kimio
Play ButtonJapanese Koto Music with Shamisen and Shakuhachi
(Music of Plovers)
Composed by Yoshizawa Kengyo in the early 19th Century. Consists of four parts, the first part gives an impression of Gagaku followed by a classical poem which reads:

The plovers which live
Out on the shore
Will chirp
"Forever, the Court"

The music in the third part is gay and refreshing. Then the second folk song type poem is sung:

The Watchman at Suma
Keeps dreaming all night
Because he hears
The crying of chidori.

The voice of plovers is played by sliding the nail piece on the string, twice and twice again, before the music ends. The music is played by two kotos and four shakuhachis.

Kikuhara Hatsuko Zenshu vol. 18 Voice : Kikuhara Hatsuko
Koto : Kikuhara Hatsuko

Kinko Ryū Shakuhachi Sankyoku Meikyoku Sen - Dai Ichi Shū - Vol 1 Voice : Uehara Masaki II
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Koto : Ōtsuka Masae

Kinko Shakuhachi Gaikyoku Anthology Volume 1 - First Level - tape 3 Shakuhachi : Kawase Junsuke III

Kinko-Ryū Shakuhachi / Yamaguchi Gorō no Sankyoku (Yamada-Ryū Hen) Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Voice : Nakanoshima Keiko
Koto : Nakanoshima Keiko

Kodō Araki Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō V
Voice : Tani Sumi
Koto : Tani Sumi
This melody was the very first melody I performed on stage, an event that took place in January, 1950, when I performed together with a group of lovely girls who were studying under Shojuku Kojima. It also was my debut piece on television. Later on, I joined another teacher, Shinki Sato, but I still cherish this song in my heart, and although well over twenty years have gone by since, I still wish that I could return to that state of innocence I was in back in those days. The piece was composed by Kengyo Yoshizawa of Nagoya, in Central Japan, in 1855. It is put together in three sections, a prelude, an interlude, and a finale, and the prelude is adopted from the KOKIN WAKA SHU, a collection of the 31-syllable Japanese poems both old and new, while the finale comes from the KINYO SHU collection.
Play ButtonKoto Music of Japan

Koto no Kyoshu Nihon no Merodi-shu Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko
Koto : Tsujimoto Chikatoyo
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko II
Shakuhachi : Suginuma Sachio
Koto : Yonekawa Megumi

Koto no Miryoku - Disk 2 Koto : Yamauchi Kimiko
Play ButtonMasterpieces of the Koto Koto : Sawai Tadao
Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan

Melody of Japan - Brightness of Summer Koto : Hanabusa Harue
Koto : Miyakoshi Keiko
Koto : Yui Ensemble
Play ButtonMusique Traditionnelle du Japon Voice : Nishimura Yayoi
Koto : Nishimura Yayoi
Shakuhachi : Kikusui Kofū
CHIDORI NO KOKYU. Pièce célèbre pour koto, cette composition peut être exécutée, comme c'est le cas ici, par l'ensemble chant, koto, shakuhachi.
Chidori est le nom d'un oiseau familier des côtes japonaises. Le chant décrit la beauté de la nature au bord de la mer.

Nihon no Shirabe - Sō-Shamisen-Shakuhachi ni yoru Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
Koto : Fujita Chikasayo
Koto : Satō Chikaki
Play ButtonNingen Kokuho Shirizu 5 Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Play ButtonRokudan Koto : Miyagi Michio
Play ButtonRokudan Koto no Meikyoku Koto : Kobashi Mikiko
Voice : Miyagi Kazue
Koto : Miyagi Kazue
Play ButtonRokudan no Shirabe - Koto Favorites Koto : Nakashima Yasuko
Voice : Okuda Masako

Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū (zoku) vol. 12 (続三曲合奏大全集12) Shakuhachi : Mori Kozan
Voice : Mishina Chiyoko
Koto : Mishina Chiyoko
Voice : Imai Tsutomu
Koto : Imai Tsutomu

Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 1 (三曲合奏大全集1) Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
Voice : Yamase Shōin III
Koto : Yamase Shōin III
Voice : Yamase Shōin II
Koto : Yamase Shōin II

Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 1 (三曲合奏大全集1) Shakuhachi : Kitahara Kōzan II
Voice : Yamase Shōin III
Koto : Yamase Shōin III
Voice : Yamase Shōin II
Koto : Yamase Shōin II
Play ButtonSeiha Hogakkai Play Favorites 09 - Meiji Shinkyoku Voice : Yuize Shin'ichi
Koto : Yuize Shin'ichi
Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan
Play ButtonShakuhachi - Chidori No Kyoku Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Play ButtonShakuhachi - Yamaguchi Goro Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō

So - Japanese Traditional Music Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko
Voice : Yonekawa Megumi
Koto : Yonekawa Megumi

Sō - Meikyoku no Shirabe (Koto music of Japan) Koto : Kobashi Mikiko
Voice : Miyagi Kazue
Koto : Miyagi Kazue

Sō no Shiori (Ikuta Ryū) vol 4 Koto : Fujii Kunie
Voice : Satō Chikaki
Koto : Satō Chikaki

Sōkyoku - Koten Meikyoku Sen - Chidori no Kyoku/ Miyama Jishi/ Midare/ Shiki no Voice : Matsuo Keiko
Koto : Matsuo Keiko
Play ButtonSokyoku Jiuta Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko II
Koto : Yonekawa Megumi

Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 18 Voice : Tomizaki Shunshō
Shamisen : Tomizaki Shunshō

Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 40 Koto : Mishina Masayasu
Voice : Inogawa Koji
Koto : Inogawa Koji
Play ButtonSong of Daybreak Shakuhachi : Gunnar Jinmei Linder
Shakuhachi : Bruce Huebner
Chidori no Kyoku "Plovers" was originally composed for koto and voice by Kengyo Yoshizawa II (1800-1872). "Plovers" is one of the kokin gumi, a series of five pieces ("Spring", "Summer", "Fall", "Winter", and "Plovers") named after the Kokin Wakashu poetry collection from which their song texts are taken. Rather than use the usual format of koto and voice with added shakuhachi, we perform "Plovers" as a shakuhachi duet. Mr Linder plays the original koto line, composed sometime between 1831 and 37, while I play this unusual kaede obligato part written specifically for shakuhachi by Nomura Keikyu in 1925. Nomura was a figure in the prewar shakuhachi world, who lost his temper in an argument and stabbed a man to death. Because of this incident the "Plover" kaede and several other shakuhachi kaede for other koto pieces that he wrote, have been all but forgotten.

Souvenir of Japan - Shakuhachi Fuhin Shakuhachi : Tanaka Kōmei
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō

The Flower - Yoko Hiraoka and David Wheeler Shakuhachi : David Kansuke Wheeler
Koto : Hiraoka Yoko

The Shakuhachi and Its History Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko
Shakuhachi : Nōtomi Judō I

The Shakuhachi and Its History Koto : Matsuo Keiko
Shakuhachi : Hoshida Ichizan I

Tomiyama Seikin - So Koto : Tomiyama Seikin I
Play ButtonTradition and Avantgarde in Japan Voice : Tani Sumi
Koto : Tani Sumi
This composition by Yoshizawa kengyo belongs to a group of works titled kokingumi. The title refers to song suites on waka texts, that is, brief poems of thirty-one syllables from the classical poetry anthology Kokin wakashu (tenth century). In Chidori no kyoku there are two waka. The first is by an anonymous poet; the second, by Minamoto no Kanemasa, and it is the only exception, having been taken from a later waka anthology, the Kin'yoshu (twelfth century). Both poems are about the chidori, the Japanese plover, a bird that lives at the sea with a piercing cry that sounds like chi-yo, chi-yo. They evoke associations with the Japanese word chiyo ("For thousands of generations!"), which is used to wish someone well.

The first waka, which appears in Kokin wakashu in the section containing the "poems of well-wishing," alludes to this. The second waka, by contrast, is a "winter song." Minamoto no Kanemasa, one of the most famous waka poets of the early twelfth century, evokes the disconsolate loneliness that the watchman at the border post in the Bay of Suma (now in Kobe). Not far away Awaji Island rises from the sea. No one can be seen here during the winter. All that can be heard is the cries of the little chidori birds, and they emphatically announce the end of the night to the watchman.

The musical allusions to gakuso court music are achieved primarily through the choice of the kokinjoshi tuning, whose structure (pentatonic without half-tone steps) is based on the banshiki-cho scale of gagaku court music. In formal terms the composition is like a tegotomono: the two song sections frame a longer tegoto (instrumental interlude).

Chidori no kyoku
Transliteration

[Maebiki]
(1)
Shionoyama
Sashide no iso ni

sumu chidori

[Ai]

Kimi ga miyo woba
ya-chiyo tozo naku

[Ai]

Kimi ga miyo woba
ya-chiyo tozo naku

[Tegoto]

(2)
Awajishima
kayo chidori no
naku koe ni

[Ai]

Ikuyo nezamenu
Suma no sekimori

[Ai]

Ikuyo nezamenu
Suma no sekimori

[Atobiki]


Song of the Plovers
Translation
[Prelude] -1-

(1)
On Shio Mountain,
on the cliffs of Sashide,
which jut into the sea,
the plovers nest:

[Brief instrumental interlude]

May the emperor's illustrious life
last eight thousand generations,
they cry!

[Brief instrumental interlude]

May the emperor's illustrious life
last eight thousand generations,
they cry!

[Long instrumental interlude] -2-

(2)
On Awaji Island
the plovers fly back and forth
their piercing cries:

[Brief instrumental interlude]

How many nights have they awakened
the watchman at border post of Suma!

[Brief instrumental interlude]

How many nights have they awakened
the watchman at border post of Suma!

[Postlude]

-1- Imitation of the gestures of the gakuso zither used in court music creates a festive atmosphere for the song of good wishes that follows.

-2- In the first half of this tegoto section, performed at a more rapid tempo, the gestures are intended to symbolize the sound of the waves; in the second half, the call of the plovers.

Traditional Music of Japan Koto : Fujita Toshi
Shakuhachi : Ifuji Reizan
Koto : Yoshikawa Tomiko
Koto : Haga Mikiko
Play ButtonUehara Masaki Koto : Uehara Masaki II

Yamada - 04 Voice : Uehara Masaki II
Koto : Uehara Masaki II
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō

Yamada-Ryū Koto no Kagami Shakuhachi : Shimabara Hanzan
Koto : Hagioka Shōin III
Voice : Shigenegawa Mihagi
Play ButtonYamaguchi Goro no Sekai Shakuhachi : Tanaka Kōmei
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō