Musician test

I was told to take musician test in November.  It could be around the beginning of December, they say.

I thought I could take the test on the next chance, in February.  But my adviser geisha encouraged me to take the test in November.  It will soon be November!

The monthly theme songs are decided in Hakone Yumoto since long time ago.

The songs are mostly, a part of Nagauta songs.  For those Nagauta songs, I do not have to struggle much because I had studied most of them back in Kyoto.

There are other small songs of Kouta, Minyo, and Risougaku, featured around Hakone Yumoto, completely unfamiliar to me.

For the test, I must prepare about 20 songs in all—play shamisen and sing song at the same time in front of examiners.

The songs which I am going to play will be decided by lottery on the test day.

I must play 4 songs, 2 from Nagauta and 2 from Kouta or Minyo.

Hakone Yumoto Geisha Union now has only three qualified shamisen players.  A number of geishas study shamisen.  But most of them are not good enough to be qualified.

Now I am feeling that these three qualified musicians are beginning to feel threatened by my entry.  There are fewer jobs nowadays for real, traind geishas.  But on the other hand, music teachers seem to welcome me.

I think I will just do what I have to.  I think I may be able to produce another job, for now I have no idea how to, and try not to threaten other senior geishas.

Anyway, I am going to register as a geisha and start my job from October.

I think I will be named—according to the naming rule of Okiya house which I am going to belong.

Owara

Owara

On 10, September, a charity concert for Japan earthquake was held in Joyo-city, Kyoto.  It mainly was a concert of Western music--piano, voice, lute, and viola da gamba—because the hostess of this concert is a piano teacher.

She had planned this concert only after three days of the quake.

She was a MC of this concert, and the final pianist.

It was such a wonderful occasion because most of all the performers were from the same school, the same age.  Two of them are my closest friends.

I played kokyu and danced ‘Owara.’

Owara is one of the most famous bon dances, in Niigata Pref.  Every year, tens of thousands of people go to see this bon dance in Yatsuo, Niigata.  Too many people rush to see small groups of dancers and musicians.  It is said that it’s not comfortable to see this festival because the roads are too narrow and too many audience.

Owara is famous for using kokyu as a part of this music.

Kokyu is famous because of this festival, Kaze no Bon.

Therefore, I heard that I was awaited by those who were great fan of Owara and who actually went to Yatsuo to see the festival.

I first played owara in kokyu, and next, played Amazing Grace in kokyu.

I could felt the audience prayed for the victims while I was playing Amazing Grace.

I asked Master Kiba to let me use his recorded live music of Owara for my dance.

I love this music he arranged and played kokyu, with other instruments like biwa, shamisen, cello, and shakuhachi.

http://yuzuruha.net/special.html

You are able to listen to this music: 風の夢～越中おわら幻想～

Shugoro Honjo (2)

I felt that I must write about him again.

It is because I had a chance to see him on stage last Sunday, on the occasion of performances of his school, Honjo-ryu in Tokyo.

Master Shugoro Honjo’s shamisen skill was just astounding.

He played music composed by School Headmaster Hidetaro Honjo.  I’ve never heard such subtle but dynamic music played only by shamisen!

Composition is brilliant and amazing, including Western melodies and waltz rhythm, but without Master Shugoro’s shamisen performing technique, it never can be realized.

I was thinking that he is mainly a song teacher for me until that time.

But I realized that Master Shugoro is one of the best shamisen players in Japan. 

He said to me, praising my kokyu Master Daisuke Kiba, `I think his performance shows enormous potentialities of kokyu’.

I think Master Shugoro Honjo’s shamisen performance shows enormous potentialities of shamisen.

It is unlike Tsugaru shamisen, but sometimes sounds alike.  But mostly, the music flows elegantly.  I never thought shamisen music is something ‘elegant.’

How lucky am I to see such wonderful master!

Shugoro Honjo (Risougaku folk-song master)

Our folk-song (Risougaku) master in Hakone is a jovial young man, Shugoro Honjo.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%AC%E6%A2%9D%E7%A7%80%E4%BA%94%E9%83%8E

On my first lesson, he told me the right place of the strings of shamisen when I was tuning the instrument.  He explained the reason why. 

He also told me how I should hold shamisen…not too close to myself.

Although young, he is a talented player and singer, born to a shamisen player, and later become the disciple of famous Honjo headmaster Hidetaro.  He plays and teaches shamisen for various historical play.

It seems, from what was said among geishas waiting for his lesson, he is teaching here in Hakone for at least more than 6 years.

When a geisha said to him, ‘Why, you are lucky to have an excellent student,’ talking about me, he answered, ‘I thought Hakone musicians are on the verge of extinction.’

‘But I saw the light.’

This is true to almost every geisha districts all over Japan, where there are less and less shamisen player—excellent players, I mean.

Shugoro-sensei also plays kokyu.

When I told him that I am a disciple of Daisuke Kiba, he said that he definitely wanted to see him.

‘I don’t know whether he would like to see me, but I really would like to see him!’ he said.

The reason why Master Shugoro said so was that he thinks my master, Daisuke Kiba is the leading figure of kokyu player and is dedicating to popularization of kokyu.

I was glad that I could introduce them to each other.

So far, I have very good time taking lessons from excellent masters of music and dance.

The problem, if there is, is that I never worked as a geisha, an entertainer.

I shall not see it until October.