{"id":16238,"date":"2021-04-01T14:36:25","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T17:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fjsp.org.br\/fjsp\/?page_id=16238"},"modified":"2021-04-21T14:17:37","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T17:17:37","slug":"musica-no-castelo-tamie-kitahara-ing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/fjsp.org.br\/fjsp\/musica-no-castelo-tamie-kitahara-ing\/","title":{"rendered":"Tamie Kitahara (Koto\/Shamisen)\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
Portugu\u00eas<\/a> | \u65e5\u672c\u8a9e<\/a> | Espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/h5>\n

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In this second concert of the <\/span>Music in the Castle (<\/span>M\u00fasica no Castelo<\/span><\/i>)<\/span> project, <\/span>produced<\/span> by the Japan Foundation, <\/span>teacher Tamie Kitahara <\/span>will be <\/span>interpreting classical repertoires of Japanese music with two very important instruments in the history of Japanese music, the <\/span>koto<\/span><\/i>, a horizontal Japanese harp or a large zither, and the <\/span>shamisen<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The koto<\/i>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The modern <\/span>koto<\/span><\/i> has thirteen strings, which can <\/span>made of<\/span> silk or nylon. The strings are tuned using movable frets, <\/span>allowing <\/span>the pitch to change <\/span>while the music is being executed<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The body is formed by two <\/span>Kiri<\/span><\/i> boards <\/span>(empress tree), <\/span>of <\/span>approximately 180 centimeters, forming a <\/span>resonance<\/span> box<\/span>. There are variations in the instrument, such as the seventeen-string <\/span>koto<\/span><\/i>, invented by Michio Miyagi, <\/span>responsible for<\/span> the bass-line <\/span>of the songs, and other models with twenty-one and eighty strings. Most people who play<\/span> the<\/span> koto<\/span><\/i> are women, <\/span>as its<\/span> sound is soft and gentle, practically a sweeter sound. This does no<\/span>t mean that there are no men <\/span>play<\/span>ing<\/span> the instrument.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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For centuries, <\/span>koto<\/span><\/i> music has been <\/span>cherished<\/span> by the nobility. In the 17<\/span>th<\/span> century, when the instrument’s popularity <\/span>grew<\/span>, Yatsuhashi Kengyo founded an independent style, <\/span>the <\/span>Yatsuhashi Ryu<\/span><\/i>. In 1664, a book was written by Sosan Nakamura, <\/span>Shichiku Shoshin Shu<\/span><\/i>, containing<\/span> the scores of the main songs by <\/span>Yatsuhashi Kengyo<\/span>, Rokudan no Shirabe, Hachidan no Shirabe<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Midare<\/span><\/i>, performed until today. Yatsuhashi created the tunings considered<\/span> to be the<\/span> most traditional for<\/span> the<\/span> koto<\/span><\/i>: Hira and Kumoi. In that century, there was <\/span>the instrument <\/span>was also popularized<\/span> as a dance accompaniment and as a group, formed together with <\/span>the <\/span>shakuhachi<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>sangen<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today<\/span>, there are two <\/span>currents<\/span>, <\/span>Ikuta Ryu<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Yamada Ryu<\/span><\/i>. The Ikuta school was founded by Ikuta Kengyo (1656 – 1715) at the end of the 17<\/span>th<\/span> century, based on the <\/span>adaptation for the<\/span> koto<\/span><\/i> of the existing formulas for <\/span>shamisen<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>sangen<\/span><\/i>), mainly in the alternation of songs with instruments originating from<\/span> the<\/span> Jiuta<\/span><\/i>. The <\/span>essential<\/span> characteristic of this school is its emphasis on instrumental techniques.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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At the end of the 18<\/span>th<\/span> centu<\/span>ry, the Yamada school<\/span> emerged,<\/span> founded by Yamada Kengyo (1757-1817). It was based on narratives, with more emphasis on <\/span>songs<\/span>. <\/span>Although they have<\/span> some pieces of the repertoire<\/span> in common, the styles differ as to<\/span> their orientation. Technically, the style of execution and the shape of the nail are different. The <\/span>Ikuta<\/span> style uses the nail with the rectangular shape, while the <\/span>Yamada<\/span> style adopts the oval shape, which <\/span>causes<\/span> the players to sit differently in relation to the instrument. The <\/span>player from<\/span> the <\/span>Ikuta<\/span> school sits at a<\/span>n oblique angle, while those from <\/span>the Yamada school sit at a right angl<\/span>e. The position the hand touching<\/span> the strings <\/span>is <\/span>also <\/span>differente.<\/span> The Ikuta school <\/span>musician <\/span>plays with the<\/span>ir<\/span> hand tilted in relation to the strings, <\/span>while those from the Yamada school play <\/span>with the<\/span>ir<\/span> hand in an upright position.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Teacher Tamie plays <\/span>in <\/span>the <\/span>Ikuta Ryu<\/span><\/i> style, from the Seiha school in Koto, Japan, from where she received the title of \u201c<\/span>Utahito<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span> master<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The shamisen<\/i>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The <\/span>Shamisen<\/span><\/i>, or <\/span>samisem<\/span><\/i>, is a Japanese musical instrument with three strings, whose resonance box has a <\/span>top covered in cat or snake skin<\/span>. It then<\/span> took<\/span> the place of<\/span> the<\/span> biwa<\/span><\/i> (former Japanese balalaik<\/span>a) in narrative music given its<\/span> more powerful sound. In the 16<\/span>th<\/span> century, composers for the instrument <\/span>soon<\/span> emerge<\/span>d<\/span>, who <\/span>then <\/span>began to write the songs on sheet music. New fi<\/span>elds for the instrument arose<\/span>, such as <\/span>the <\/span>sankyoku<\/span><\/i> (music for <\/span>the <\/span>koto<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>sangen<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>shakuhachi<\/span><\/i>), <\/span>joruri<\/span><\/i> (music that accompanies the puppet theater – <\/span>Bunraku<\/span><\/i>)<\/span>,<\/span> and songs to accompany the Kabuki theater.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tamie Kitahara\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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Teacher Tamie Kitahara was born in Japan in the province of Yamaguchi, in the city of Ube, and came to Brazil in 1955. During her childhood, she studied <\/span>koto<\/span><\/i> in the <\/span>Ikuta-Ryu<\/span><\/i> style. Since 1982, <\/span>she<\/span> has dedicated <\/span>her<\/span>self to the <\/span>Ikuta-Seiha<\/span><\/i> style and has been to Japan<\/span> several times to perfect the techniques of <\/span>the <\/span>koto<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>shamisen<\/span><\/i> instruments. In 1982, she won<\/span> the<\/span> Minyo<\/span> Contest (Japanese folk music), singing <\/span>at the Budokan gym in Tokyo. In 1996, she <\/span>was approved in<\/span> an improvement exam, becoming a master and receiving the stage name<\/span> of<\/span> Utahito, from the Ikuta Seiha school in Japan. Between 1995 and 2011, she was in Chile, Venezuela, Paraguay<\/span>,<\/span> and Bolivia at the invitation of the respective embassies<\/span>,<\/span> to<\/span> perform<\/span> traditional Japanese music. In 2003 and in 2013, <\/span>s<\/span>he went to Japan to participate in the <\/span>performances<\/span> celebrating the 90<\/span>th<\/span> and 100<\/span>th<\/span> anniversary of the foundation of the <\/span>Seiha School in Japan<\/span>. In Brazil, she<\/span> has performed with several renowned Brazilian musicians and artists, such as Camilo Carrara, Shen Ribeiro, Gabriel Levy, \u00c2ngela Nag<\/span>ai, Val\u00e9ria Zaidan, Paulo Tatit, and with the Mawaca group. She<\/span> is <\/span>a <\/span>representative of the Seiha Brasil group in Koto, formed by 30 members. Group <\/span>performances<\/span> are held annually to <\/span>promote the <\/span>Japanese culture.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Program\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The first song is called \u201c<\/span>Rokudan<\/span><\/i>\u201d (6 steps or 6 movements), by Yatsuhashi Kengyo, one of the most important songs<\/span> of<\/span> the classical Japanese repertoire. It can be considered an initiation song, not only <\/span>into<\/span> the instrument itself, but <\/span>also <\/span>into<\/span> the universe of Japanese classical music. The second, performed with the <\/span>shamisen<\/span><\/i>, is called \u201c<\/span>Gion kouta<\/span><\/i>\u201d, a traditional folk song from Gion, an important district of the city of Kyoto, where a traditional festival is held <\/span>in the summer <\/span>with large floats. It is a <\/span>traditional <\/span>place of the Maiko-<\/span>san, the famous geishas of Kyoto. The third piece, also very important in the classical repertoire, is called \u201c<\/span>Chidori no Kyoku<\/span><\/i>\u201d, a composition by Yoshizawa Kengyo II for <\/span>koto<\/span><\/i> and voice. <\/span>It can be translated as<\/span> ‘the <\/span>music of birds<\/span>‘<\/span>, with the birds in question being plovers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Below is a free translation of this<\/span> song<\/span>:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Chidori no Kyoku<\/i> \u2013 Song of Plovers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In<\/span> Shionoyama<\/span>
\n<\/span>Frequenting the sand spit<\/span>
\n<\/span>Plovers call out:<\/span>
\n<\/span>‘You, my lord,<\/span>
\n<\/span>May you live eight thousand years!’<\/span>
\n<\/span>‘You, my lord,<\/span>
\n<\/span>May you live eight thousand years!’<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On<\/span> Awaji Island<\/span>
\n<\/span>The call of the plovers,<\/span>
\n<\/span>Flying to and fro.<\/span>
\n<\/span>How often <\/span>have they<\/span> awakened\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>The guard at Suma City<\/span>!<\/span>
\n<\/span>How often <\/span>have they<\/span> awakened<\/span>
\n<\/span>The guard at Suma City<\/span>!<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Watch <\/span>Tamie Kitahara’s performance<\/span> in the <\/span>Music in the Castle<\/span> project.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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