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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
Play ButtonDistant Cry of Deer, The Shakuhachi : Koga Masayuki
Play ButtonEndless Sea - Impressions of Japan Shakuhachi : John Singer
Play ButtonFlower 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."
Play ButtonFlute and Koto of Japan Shamisen : Yonekawa Toshiko
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Play ButtonKoga Masayuki Shakuhachi Solo Music Shakuhachi : Koga Masayuki
A Japanese folk song from Itsugi Village sung by servant maidens to sleeping children.
Play ButtonKoto 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.

Koto no Miryoku - Disk 2 Koto : Yamauchi Kimiko

Marco Lienhard - Shakuhachi Shakuhachi : Marco Lienhard

Melody of Japan - Pathos of Autumn Koto : Pro Musica Nipponia
Play ButtonMemories of My Home Shakuhachi : Riley Kōho Lee
Play ButtonMin'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
Play ButtonMusic from the Earth Shakuhachi : Hayashi Shinzan
Play ButtonMusique 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.

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
Play ButtonShakuhachi 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.

Shakuhachi, Shamisen no Shirabe; Nihon no Minyo - 2 Shakuhachi : Yoneya Iwao

Tokusen Shakuhachi Minyo Shakuhachi : Yoneya Iwao
Play ButtonWorld of Shakuhachi Shakuhachi : Yashita Isamu
Play ButtonWorld of Shakuhachi, The Shakuhachi : Yashita Isamu