52nd Gagaku Concert, National Theatre, Tokyo
Musicians and Dancers of the Music Department, Board of Ceremonies, Imperial Household Agency
Outline
Azuma-asobi, literally ‘entertainment of the eastern provinces,’ is an extensive suite of multiple movements, with four or six dancers, belonging to the kuniburi-no-utamai genre of indigenous song and dance.
The suite was assembled in the early Heian period (9th century), based on folksong and dance from regions far to the east of the capital (including Suruga, present-day Shizuoka prefecture), to which was added a song (Motomego-no-uta) using waka poems composed by court nobles in praise of shrines in or close to Kyoto. During the Heian period (9th to 12th centuries) it was celebrated at ceremonies held at these shrines, by musicians and other celebrants sent from the Imperial Palace.
One story of its origins says that it imitates the dance of a heavenly maiden who descended onto the shore at Udohama (the seashore southwest of the famous sightseeing spot Miho no Matsubara in Shizuoka prefecture). This is a variant of the famous hagoromo (‘robe of feathers’) story of many folk cultures.
Azuma-asobi became extinct during the medieval period; present-day performance practice is based on a revival of the early 19th century. It is performed at the imperial court during the Kōreisai (Imperial Ancestral Festivals) held on the spring and autumn equinoxes.
Program, text and translation
Azuma-asobi is a long suite with five central movements: Ichi-uta (‘First song’), Ni-uta (‘Second song’), Suruga-uta (‘Song of Suruga’), Motomego-no-uta (‘Song of the one I want’), and Ōbire-no-uta (‘Song of Ōbire’). They are joined together with short instrumental preludes and vocal interjections to form the whole, which is over half and hour in length.
Komajōshi (instrumental prelude)
Ahare (vocal interjection)
Ichiniuta kowadashi (instrumental prelude)
Oburi (vocal interjections with the vowel ‘o’)
Ichi-uta (‘First song’)
| harenna | Harenna |
|---|---|
| te o totonoero na | Play together well! |
| uta totonoen na | Sing together well! |
| sagaemu no ne | The peak of Sagami. OR The sound of prosperity. |
| e wa ga seko ga | What my beloved said |
|---|---|
| kesa no kotote wa | This morning |
| ahare | Aware |
| nanatsuo no | Sounded just like |
| yatsuo no koto o | Playing on the seven-stringed, |
| shirabetaru goto ya | The eight-stringed zither. |
| na o kakeyama no | I’ll take you to the mulberry tree |
| kazunoke ya | on Kake Peak. |
Oburi (vocal interjections with the vowel ‘o’)
Suruga-uta no utadashi (instrumental prelude)
Suruga-uta (‘Song of Suruga’)
| ya utohama ni | The waves that beat | |
|---|---|---|
| suruga naru | Against the shore of Udo, | |
| uchiyosuru nami wa | Against the shore of Udo; | |
| nanagusa no imo | Everything goes well | OR: The words of the little sister |
| koto koso yoshi | With the little sister of seven plants. | Of seven plants are fine. |
Suruga-uta no nidan (Second verse of the Suruga-uta)
| koto koso yoshi | Everything goes well |
|---|---|
| nanagusa no imo wa | With the little sister of seven plants, |
| koto koso yoshi | Everything goes well. |
| aeru toki | When we meet, |
| isasa wa nenan ya | Let’s sleep together. |
| nanagusa no imo | Everything goes well |
| koto koso yoshi | With the little sister of seven plants. |
Kata-oroshi (literally ‘lowering the shoulder.’ Instrumental interlude)
Ahare (vocal interjection)
Motomego no utadashi (instrumental prelude)
Motomego-no-uta (‘Song of the one I want’)
| chihayafuru | The fair young pine trees |
|---|---|
| kono miyashiro no | Of this mighty, |
| hime komatsu | Mighty shrine! |
| aware ren rere ren yare ren ya | Aware ren rere ren yare ren ya |
| reren’ya ren | Reren’ya ren |
| aware no himekomatsu | Oh, the fair young pine trees! |
| aware ren rere ren yare ren ya | Aware ren rere ren yare ren ya |
| reren’ya ren | Reren’ya ren |
| aware no himekomatsu | Oh, the fair young pine trees! |
| himekomatsu | The fair young pine trees! |
Ōbire-no-uta utadashi (instrumental prelude)
Ōbire-no-uta (‘Song of Ōbire’)
| ōbire ya | The hills of Ōbire |
|---|---|
| obire no yama wa ya | And Obire |
| yorite koso | (Look good) close up, |
Ōbire-no-uta no nidan (Second verse of the Ōbire-no-uta)
| yorite koso | Close up, |
|---|---|
| yama wa ya yorame | the hills look good, |
| tōme hare | (though not) from a distance. |
Costumes and instruments
The dancers wear headgear (kanmuri) with a rolled flap (ken’ei) at the rear and fringed blinders (oikake) at the sides. Sprigs of artificial flowers (kazashi) suiting the season, such as cherry blossoms for spring, are inserted. They wear swords (tachi) at their waists. The outer trousers (ue-no-hakama) and outer robe (hō) are made of white silk. The outer robe has stenciled and hand-drawn designs: paulownia, bamboo and pheasants for the dancers; and palm trees, ferns and pheasants for the musicians. The dancers’ outer trousers have the same design as their outer robes, with the plants and birds above a depiction of golden sands at the lower hem.
The singers are accompanied by an ensemble of transverse flute komabue, reedpipe hichiriki, 6-stringed zither wagon, and clapper shakubyōshi (played by the lead singer).
Points for informed appreciation
The azuma-asobi suite was one favored by the Heian nobility for its bright, light atmosphere. There are descriptions of its beauty in Makura no sōshi (‘The Pillow Book’) and Genji monogatari (‘The Tale of Genji’). Its songs, and especially dances, were popular topics in Heian literature.
The accompanying ensemble features the most high-pitched of the three gagaku flutes, the komabue. The suite as a whole is pitched fairly highly.
The dancers begin with the outer robe covering both shoulders, but between the Suruga and Motomego dances they remove the outer robe from their right shoulders and tuck it away, so as to reveal the layers underneath. Wearing the outer robe off at one shoulder is called kata-katanugi.
Today, the azuma-asobi suite is performed in ceremonies at the imperial palace such as the Kōreisai (Imperial Ancestral Festival, held on the spring and autumn equinoxes) and the Jinmu Tennōsai (Emperor Jinmu Festival, held in honor of the first, mythological emperor on April 3), but these are not open to the public. The only public performance by the court musicians is given on August 1 at Hikawa Shrine (Ōmiya, Saitama prefecture). Performances by other groups can be seen in Kyoto at the Upper and Lower Kamo Shrines and Yasaka Shrine, in Nara at Kasuga Shrine, and in Nikkō at Tōshōgū.
