The Four-Woman Concert in Genji Monogatari : a Window Into Heian Musical Performance and Teaching

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The Four-Woman Concert in Genji Monogatari : a Window Into Heian Musical Performance and Teaching The Four-Woman Concert in Genji Monogatari : A Window into Heian Musical Performance and Teaching by Lloyd Botway A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Approved April 2013 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: John Creamer, Chair Anthony Chambers Theodore Solis ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2013 ABSTRACT Japanese literature of the Heian Era (794-1185) abounds with references to musical instruments and episodes of performance. This thesis provides some insight into that music by translating sections of the “Wakana II” (Spring Shoots II) chapter of the early 11th-century novel Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji ). It explains the musical references and shows how, in the context of the novel, musical performance, musical teaching, and interpersonal relationships were inextricably intertwined. Detailed appendices provide background on traditional Japanese musical instruments, musical theory, and related subjects. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank John Creamer for his support and encouragement throughout this project, and his sharpening of my academic toolset: using Japanese resources in the library and online, and improving my reading skills in both modern and classical Japanese. Anthony Chambers provided valuable practice in the art of translation. Ted Solis offered useful information from a musical point of view. Rachel Bowditch gave me insight into Richard Schechner’s concept of performance. Finally, I thank my friend Hirose Yaemi for her constant willingness to help me, especially with knotty issues of modern Japanese translation. Musical examples were typeset using Sibelius ® composition and notation software, version 7.1.3. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 Heian Aristocratic Artistic Sensibilities ...........................................................................1 Musical instruments .........................................................................................................3 The story ..........................................................................................................................5 THE FOUR-WOMAN CONCERT, TRANSLATED AND ANNOTATED......................8 PERFORMANCE ..............................................................................................................43 Who is playing? .............................................................................................................44 If there are multiple players, what are their relationships? ............................................45 Where is the performance? ............................................................................................46 What is the reason for the performance? .......................................................................47 Who plays what instruments? ........................................................................................48 TEACHING .......................................................................................................................49 Parent teaching child ......................................................................................................50 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..............................................................................................................54 FICTIONAL SOURCES ...................................................................................................65 Kojiki .............................................................................................................................66 iii Man’yōshū .....................................................................................................................68 Wakan rōeishū ...............................................................................................................69 Kokinshū ........................................................................................................................70 Utsubo Monogatari ........................................................................................................70 Ochikubo monogatari.....................................................................................................71 Makura no sōshi .............................................................................................................72 NON-FICTION WORKS ..................................................................................................73 Gakusho yōroku: a Chinese musical digest ...................................................................74 Genji monogatari-specific works on music ...................................................................74 FORMS AND USES OF HEIAN MUSIC ........................................................................77 The Public vs. the Private: Hare and Ke ........................................................................78 Gagaku ...........................................................................................................................79 GAGAKU INSTRUMENTS .............................................................................................82 Stringed Instruments ......................................................................................................85 Koto........................................................................................................................... 85 Kin............................................................................................................................. 89 Wagon ....................................................................................................................... 89 Biwa .......................................................................................................................... 91 Wind Instruments ...........................................................................................................93 iv Hichiriki .................................................................................................................... 93 Flutes ......................................................................................................................... 95 Shō ............................................................................................................................ 97 Percussion ......................................................................................................................99 NAMING OF INSTRUMENTS ......................................................................................101 A Chapter of Makura no sōshi: Naming of Instruments ..............................................102 Naming of Instruments: Explanation ...........................................................................103 SONGS ............................................................................................................................105 Rōei ..............................................................................................................................106 Saibara..........................................................................................................................107 Imayō ...........................................................................................................................109 Song accompaniment ...................................................................................................109 MUSICAL THEORY ......................................................................................................110 Melody and Transposition ...........................................................................................111 Structure of Pieces: Jo-ha-kyū .....................................................................................113 FOR FURTHER RESEARCH .........................................................................................116 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. String instruments. ........................................................................................................ 84 2. Typical koto tuning. ...................................................................................................... 89 3. Wagon tuning. ............................................................................................................... 90 4. Possible biwa tuning. .................................................................................................... 92 5. The hichiriki .................................................................................................................. 94 6. Flutes. ............................................................................................................................ 96 7. The shō . ......................................................................................................................... 98 8. Chords played by the shō . ............................................................................................. 98 vi INTRODUCTION On this occasion, to have the usual admirable sound of the koto combined with the sounds of the sō and biwa , I’d like to have a women’s concert. 1 So the character of Genji says in the “Wakana II” (“Spring Shoots II”) chapter of the early 11th-century Japanese novel Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji ), and so begins one of many scenes of musical performance
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