Nebiki no Matsu
根引の松
| [Genre] | Jiuta |
| [Style] | Tegotomono |
| [School] | Ikuta Ryû - 生田 |
| [Composed] | Minezaki Kōtō - Koto |
| Mitsuhashi Kōtō - Shamisen |
History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):
| This grand jiuta piece, originally composed by Mitsuhashi Koto of Osaka, is congratulatory in character by describing scenes from the old Japanese New Year. Nebiki no matsu ('Pine Seedlings') were in ancient Japan believed to bring longevity and happiness when uprooted on the first Day of the Rat (according to the Sino-Japanese zodiac) in the New Year. This piece is one of the most developed tegoto-mono, having as many as three tegoto (instrumental interludes). As the result of independent arrangements by different koto masters, several different versions of Nebiki no matsu are extant today. |
Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)
| The Divine Wind of the New Year Is blowing. Therefore, Let us offer up a saibara (1), Performing in the fashion Of the Sacred Music of Ise, Though we use flutes of bamboo, Not of reed (2). From the reed plain Of the marshes Along the Naniwa Shore, The cry of cranes Come from Tamino Island Rises with the rising sun. Let us imagine That those auspicious cries (3) Are a passage of koto music. Early spring breezes Blow through the caves. Rhubarb and ginger (4) Sprout auspiciously. Ancient pine trees Growing by the gate Of a field watch's house Put forth new green. All the world Is at peace. The New Year manzai man (5) Old, yet ever young, Brings tidings of spring And a reign of ten thousand years. The legendary Isle of Eternal Youth Is none other than This, our own Fertile 'Land of Brightness (6).' (1) Saibara were originally folk songs which were later adapted into the court repertoire and accompanied by instruments of the court orchestra. (2) Ogi is a kind of reed for which Ise (in the present Mie Prefecture) is famous. (3) The crane, thought to live a thousand years, is regarded as an auspicious creature. (4) The Japanese word for rhubarb is fuki. Fuki is a kind of Japanese rhubarb but may be represented by the Chinese characters for ‘wealth’ and ‘honor. The Japanese word for ginger is myoga. Myoga is a plant belonging to the ginger family (zingiber mioga), but may be represented by auspicious Chinese characters meaning ‘divine protection.’ (5) Manzai is a strolling comic entertainer who appears in the New Year season to sing auspicious songs and offer blessings for the coming year. (6) Akitsushima, which may be translated either 'Bright Island' or 'Autumn Island,' is an ancient name for Japan. | (maebiki) Kamikaze ya ise no kagura no manebi shite ogi niwa arunu fuetake no (ai) ne mo saibara ni fuki-osame baya (tegoto) Naniwazu no niniwazu no ashiwara ni noboru asahi no moto ni sumu tamino no tsuru no koegoe wo (ai) koto no shirabe ni kikinashite (tegoto) Nokiba ni kayoo harukaze mo fuki ya myooga no medetasa ni nomori ga yado no kadomatsu wa oitaru mama ni wakamidori yomo urarakani nari ni keri (tegoto) Somosomo haru no tokuwaka ni manzai iwoo kimigayo wa (ai) yomogigashima mo yoso naranu akitsushima choo kuni no yutakasa |
Nebiki no Matsu appears on the following albums
| Album | Artist | |
 | Fascination of the Shakuhachi - 3 |
Koto : Tomiyama Seikin II Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan Voice : Tomiyama Seikin I Shamisen : Tomiyama Seikin I |
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Te-goto piece (a two-verse song with an interlude between the verses) composed hy MITSUHASHI Koto of Osaka in the ni-agari tuning. MITSUHASHI Koto composed the famed SHO CHIKU BAI, and NEBIKI NO MATSU is said to have been composed following the success of this earlier piece. The two compositions are certainly very similar, far more so than other famed pieces such as MINEZAKI's ZANGETSU and YUKI. The piece celebrates the arrival of the new year and is divided into three parts by a te-goro (interlude), each part containing musical elements of kagura, soukyoku, koro-kumi-uta and manzai. It also describes things particular to the city of Osaka, the central city of Kamigara (the western part of Japan and the country's cultural center in old days), in particular the new year in that region.
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| Japanese Koto Music with Shamisen and Shakuhachi | |
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(Pine Tree Hunting) composed by Koto Mihashi is a traditional piece for shamisen. It was once a custom for people to go out to forests to pick short pine trees to decorate their homes at the New Year. The composition is actually a musical description of a pine tree being plucked from the ground. The three strings of the instrument are plucked and a drum effect is caused by the snapping of the plectrum against both the string and the tight cat skin covering the square box of the instrument.
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| Jiuta no Sekai - 5 |
Shamisen : Tominobu Seika Shamisen : Tomiyama Seikō Voice : Kikuhara Hatsuko Koto : Kikuhara Hatsuko Voice : Tomiyama Seikin I Shamisen : Tomiyama Seikin I | |
| Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū (zoku) vol. 21 (続三曲合奏大全集21) |
Koto : Yamane Ichiyo Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō V Koto : Itō Shōchō II Voice : Itō Mieko Voice : Itō Manami Shamisen : Yamato Ikubo Koto : Kojima Ishūshi | |
| Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 4 (三曲合奏大全集４) |
Koto : Takizawa Ikuko Shakuhachi : Sano Reihi Shamisen : Fujii Hirokazu Shamisen : Togashi Noriko Voice : Fujii Kunie | |
| Shakuhachi no Shinzui-Sankyoku Gasso - 01 |
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō |
| Sōkyoku - Nebiki no Matsu / Sankyoku- Uji Meguri |
Koto : Kobashi Mikiko Voice : Matsuo Keiko Shamisen : Matsuo Keiko | |
| Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 24 |
Voice : Nakanoshima Kin'ichi Koto : Nakanoshima Kin'ichi Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō Voice : Nakanoshima Keiko Koto : Nakanoshima Keiko Voice : Tomiyama Seikin I Shamisen : Tomiyama Seikin I | |
| Togashi Noriko - 05 |
Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo I Shamisen : Togashi Noriko |
| Yachiyo Jishi (Koto Meikyoku no Shirabe vol. 5) |
Koto : Nakanoshima Kin'ichi Shakuhachi : Nōtomi Haruhiko Voice : Nakanoshima Keiko Koto : Nakanoshima Keiko Shamisen : Shinagawa Shōzō | |