Appreciate
53rd Gagaku Concert, Small Hall, National Theatre, Tokyo
Performed by musicians of Tokyo Gakuso
Outline
The text of the rōei Toku wa kore (‘Virtue is Here’) is from a preface to a Chinese poem by Ōe no Asatsuna (886–957). Its title is often given as Toku wa kore hokushin (‘Virtue is here with the Pole Star’).
Fujiwara no Mototoshi (1060–1142) included it in the ‘Sovereigns’ section of his Shinsen rōei-shū (‘New Selection of Poems to Sing’), and it can also found in the medieval military tale Genpei jōsui-ki, an extended, 48-volume version of Heike monogatari (‘The Tale of the Heike’).
It is one of the 14 rōei included in the Meiji sentei-fu (‘Selected Scores of Meiji’), one of seven in the first collection of scores of 1876.
Accompaniment is supplied by one each of three winds: mouthorgan shō, reedpipe hichiriki, and transverse flute ryūteki,.
Form of the piece (text and translation)
| ichi-no-ku | solo | toku wa kore hokushin | Virtue is here with the Pole Star; |
|---|---|---|---|
| unison | chin’you no kage futatabi aratamari | the seasons come again for the great rose of Sharon (every eight-thousand years). | |
| ni-no-ku | solo | son wa nao- | Respect is for the one |
| unison | -o nanmen | who faces south; | |
| san-no-ku | solo | shouka no | the hue of the flower of the pine |
| unison | iro tokaeri | changes ten times (every thousand years). |
Points for appreciation
Both ‘Pole Star’ and ‘the one who faces south’ refer to the sovereign, that is, the Japanese emperor. The text praises his virtue and prays for his longevity and a long, virtuous reign.
Since it lacks a seasonal reference, this rōei could be sung at congratulatory banquets throughout the year, and rivals the famous rōei Kashin in terms of its popularity.
