Itsuki no Komoriuta
五木の子守唄
[Genre] | Min'yo |
[School] | Min'yo |
History (Takahashi Yujiro):
Many variants of this lullaby existed around Itsuki village in Kyushu, in a loose duple or free rhythm. At some unknown point early in the 20th century, this version arose, with its Western-influenced triple meter. I'll only be here 'til Bon; if Bon comes early, I'll go home early. I'm just a beggar; these are goodly folk, with nice obi waist-sashes and nice kimono. If I should die, bury me by the roadside; offerings or water will come from the heavens. (If I should die, who would cry for me? Only the locusts in those pine mountains.) |
Itsuki no Komoriuta appears on the following albums
Album | Artist | |
Bamboo Spirit |
Shakuhachi : Peter Ross | |
Distant Cry of Deer, The |
Shakuhachi : Koga Masayuki | |
Endless Sea - Impressions of Japan |
Shakuhachi : John Singer | |
Flower Dance - Japanese Folk Melodies | ||
This sad lullaby reflects nostalgic thoughts of young girls employed as baby-sitters. Itsuki is a small town in Kumamoto, Kyushu, where many prisoners from Korea were held after the war during the last half of the 16th century. The words say "I'm a beggar. You are rich, with obi and rich kimono. Who will weep if I'm beaten to death but the cicadas on the pines. No, not the cicadas, but my young sister who would cry for me."
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Flute and Koto of Japan |
Shamisen : Yonekawa Toshiko Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō | |
Koga Masayuki Shakuhachi Solo Music |
Shakuhachi : Koga Masayuki | |
A Japanese folk song from Itsugi Village sung by servant maidens to sleeping children.
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Koto Melodies of Japan - Hogaku Yonin no Kai (The Four Players Group) |
Koto : Yazaki Akiko Koto : Gotō Sumiko Shakuhachi : Kitahara Kōzan II Koto : Kikuchi Teiko | |
This, too, is a song of the composer's hometown. It is a lullaby of poor people living in the heart of the mountains. The melody of the first half is played by a low-pitched shakuhachi and the latter half with the instrument pitched an octave higher.
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Koto no Miryoku - Disk 2 |
Koto : Yamauchi Kimiko | |
Marco Lienhard - Shakuhachi |
Shakuhachi : Marco Lienhard | |
Melody of Japan - Pathos of Autumn |
Koto : Pro Musica Nipponia | |
Memories of My Home |
Shakuhachi : Riley Kōho Lee | |
Min'yo - Folk Song from Japan - Takahashi Yujiro and friends | ||
Many variants of this lullaby existed around Itsuki village in Kyushu, in a loose duple or free rhythm. At some unknown point early in the 20th century, this version arose, with its Western-influenced triple meter. I'll only be here 'til Bon; if Bon comes early, I'll go home early. I'm just a beggar; these are goodly folk, with nice obi waist-sashes and nice kimono. If I should die, bury me by the roadside; offerings or water will come from the heavens. (If I should die, who would cry for me? Only the locusts in those pine mountains.) Copyright 1999 - Dr David W. Hughes e-mail dh6@soas.ac.uk | ||
Moonlit Castle |
Shakuhachi : John Singer | |
Music from the Earth |
Shakuhachi : Hayashi Shinzan | |
Musique Traditionnelle du Japon |
Koto : Nishimura Yayoi Shakuhachi : Kikusui Kofū Kokyū : Noda Noriko | |
ITSUKI NO KOMORI UTA. Le disque s'achève par une berceuse, dont le thème, très simple, exposé par le koto, est repris successivement par le shakuhachi, par le kokyu puis par les trois instruments ensemble.
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Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 24 (三曲合奏大全集24) |
Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko II Shakuhachi : Hayashi Reirin | |
Shakuhachi - Fue no Shirabe |
Shakuhachi : Mitsuhashi Kifu | |
Shakuhachi Min'yo - Furusato no Uta - Vol 4 |
Shakuhachi : Yashita Isamu | |
Shakuhachi no Shirabe |
Shakuhachi : Onodera Sendō | |
Shakuhachi no Shirabe - Hietsuki Bushi |
Shakuhachi : Miyata Kōhachirō | |
Shakuhachi with Piano in Concert |
Shakuhachi : Koga Masayuki | |
Itsugi Village where this song was born is situated in the mountains far up the River Kawabegawa. It requires one and a half hours to reach there by bus from Hitoyoshi in Kumamoto Prefecture. It is said that refugees of the Heike Clan came to hide in this village after they were defeated at Danno-Ura Bay. In the poor mountain village, a baby's nurse was always ill-treated by her employer. So, she wove her sorrows in the song to sing to the world.
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Shakuhachi, Shamisen no Shirabe; Nihon no Minyo - 2 |
Shakuhachi : Yoneya Iwao | |
Tokusen Shakuhachi Minyo |
Shakuhachi : Yoneya Iwao | |
World of Shakuhachi |
Shakuhachi : Yashita Isamu | |
World of Shakuhachi, The |
Shakuhachi : Yashita Isamu |