University of Texas Press

The Donkey's Ears Go Flop, Flop: Miyagi Michio's Works for Children Author(s): Anne Prescott Reviewed work(s): Source: Asian Music, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Winter - Spring, 2005), pp. 27-43 Published by: University of Texas Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4098502 . Accessed: 29/05/2012 23:35

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http://www.jstor.org The Donkey'sEars Go Flop, Flop: Miyagi Michio'sKoto Works for Children Anne Prescott

Abstract:Miyagi Michio gilA L (1894-1956),koto performer,composer, and edu- cator,was a musicalinnovator who modifiedtraditional instruments, incorporated new ideasinto the bodyof workcalled s6kyoku Z 0,' andadopted compositional and playingtechniques from Western music and instruments.He was also one of the first Japanesecomposers to createpedagogical materials and entertainingworks that were appropriatefor children,and thoseworks are still widelyused todayto teachkoto- playingto beginners,particularly children. This paper will providean introductionto the Miyagischool of kotoplaying, examine the traditionalmethod of teachingkoto to children,investigate Miyagi's motivation for creatinga pedagogicalmethod for chil- dren,provide a historicaloverview of Miyagi'sdakyoku @ (children'ssongs), and finallyanalyze several of theseworks.

The Miyagi School of Koto Playing Koto players generally follow one of two major traditions of koto playing: Ikuta-rytit (the Ikutaschool), founded by IkutaKengy6 I t (1656- f. 1715),or Yamada-ryfti 1 fLj (the Yamadaschool), founded by Yamada_• Kengy6 [I BH3i t (1757-1817).These two traditionsare distinguishedby differingreper- toires, playing techniques and patterns, and geographic origins.2 Only a few kotenE-& (classicalworks) are sharedby the two schools. Groupedwithin each of these broadly defined schools are smaller associa- tions or schools that trace their lineage to an esteemed teacher who was the founder of that association.These smaller associationsare also often referred to as schools in English,and some of them develop into powerfulgroups, often specializing in the compositions of the first or successiveiemoto *- (head of the school). GeimeiEE, artisticnames, as well as the licensesthat certifylevels of achievement,are grantedby the iemoto.Today perhaps the best-known asso- ciations within the Ikuta-ryz[are the Miyagi Kai ij centered on Miyagi Michio, the Seiha H6gaku Kai IE?~hi , and the Sawai S6kyokuin ?jR#T-

Miyagi Michio was born and spent his early years in the foreign concession in Kobe. His fatherworked for a Britishtea company, so Miyagi grew up sur- rounded by people speaking foreign languages and he heard Western music streaming from hotels, churches, and homes. He lost his sight by the age of

@ 2005 by the Universityof TexasPress, P.O. Box 7819,Austin, TX 78713-7819 28 AsianMusic: Winter/Spring 2005 seven and did not have the opportunity to attend school, so in 1902his family apprenticedhim to NakajimaKengy6 II -i~t a11 , a renowned local koto andjiuta iftO master of the Ikuta-ryti.3Miyagi made rapid progress in his daily lessons; by 1905he had reached an advancedlicense level and was given the geimei NakasugaMichio V~i•V~. The Miyagi Kai considers 1905 to be the year that the Miyagi style of koto playingwas established,but the reformsand innovationsthat make this school distinctive did not begin to be put in place until four years later. The gene- sis of the Miyagi style occurred in the years from 1907 to 1917,when Miyagi taught and performed in Chosen (Korea), first in Inchon and then in Seoul. His father,Kunijiro, and the rest of his family had moved to Chosen in 1905, but Miyagi had stayed behind in Japanwith his grandmotherto continue his music studies. When Kunijir6was injured and unable to work, he sent for his young son to come and support the family by teaching koto. During his years in Chosen, Miyagi had many opportunities that would have been unavailable to him as a young koto player in Japan,where age and hierarchicalrestric- tions were strictly observed. From the organizationalform and playing tech- niques, to the lyrics (taken from his brother'sscience textbook), Miyagi'sfirst work, "Mizu no Hentai" * 0) !ft (Transformationsof Water,1909) was un- like any koto composition by any composer prior to that time, and this marks the true beginning of the Miyagi style of koto playing. Miyagi'searly expo- sure to Westernmusic in Kobe, his furtherexperience with Westernand other non-Japanesemusics in Korea, and his removal from the strict traditions of Japangave him the freedom to compose his own works in a completely new style, influencedby Westernmusical techniques, and to perform those works in public. On his return to Japanin 1917,Miyagi's radical (for that time) new com- positions soon came to the attention of both the traditionalkoto world and a numberof musicianstrained in Westernmusic. While many traditionalmusi- cians initially shunned him, his music was welcomed and his activities were supportedby those trained in Westernmusic. By the late 1920s,in the midst of a Westernizationboom in Japan,traditional musicians also began to support Miyagi'snew style of music. By the early1930s Miyagi was securelyestablished as the leaderin the creationof a new style of music for the koto, and the Miyagi playing tradition was firmlyin place.

Music Education in Japan In Japan,musical training practices for traditionalinstruments and for Western instrumentshave long been kept separate.Policies enacted by the government Prescott:Miyagi Michio's Koto Works 29 at the beginning of the era (1868-1912)dictated that the music taught in schools would be Western,that the teaching would follow Westernprinciples for music education, and that students would study Western composers, in- struments, songs, and genres. In 1880 the Japanesegovernment hired Ameri- can music educatorLuther Whiting Mason to help set up a school-basedmusic education and the TorishirabeGakari (Music In- system, Ongaku ffA-{, vestigation Committee)was establishedin the same year (Berger1991:19-20).4 One of the duties of the Ongaku TorishirabeGakari was to compose new songs in Japanesethat were a blend of traditionalJapanese and Westernmusi- cal elements in order to acclimateschoolchildren to Westernscales, melodies, and harmony.Accordingly, students were taught to sing Westernsongs or these newly composed songs in a Westernstyle and to playWestern instruments such as the recorderand piano. Parents increasinglypreferred that their children learn to play the piano or the violin ratherthan traditionalinstruments. By the earlytwentieth century severalgenerations of childrenhad learnedWestern or Western-stylecompositions, and the Westernmusical vocabularyhad become the norm. In recent years only three pieces of traditional Japanesemusic (one each from gagaku*?C, sokyoku,and )R~f) were included in the curricu- lum governing the nine years of compulsory education. Beginning with the new school year in April 2002, a change in the music curriculum mandated the addition of a full year of traditionalmusic instructionin the second year of junior high school. This instruction theoreticallyincludes hands-on instruc- tion as well as appreciation,but music teachers rarely have any training in either area. At this time traditional music instruction seems to be limited to whatever in-service training the teacher can obtain or the availabilityof suit- able resourcesin the local community. There has been virtually no pedagogical interchangebetween Western and traditional music. Western musical learning follows Europeanand American models, while koto, shamisen, and other traditional instruments and genres are still taught in the traditionalmanner popularized during the (1603-1867),in which students learn under the direction of a master to whom they owe their musicalloyalty. Lessons are based on the master-disciplemodel, where the teacher has the final word, and students play exactly as the teacher instructs,with no individualityin style or interpretation.Licenses are granted for levels of achievement,and geimei are still bestowed in some schools. Today some "cultureschools," operated by local governments,department stores, or other entities also offer traditional music instruction, but students in those schools are still allied with the artistic school of the instructor,and traditional teaching methods are used. 30 AsianMusic: Winter/Spring 2005

The TraditionalMethod for Training Beginners Koto teacherstoday use a varietyof beginningbooks, many followingthe same approachpopularized by Miyagi.They begin with a volumecontain- ing introductoryetudes that familiarizestudents with the stringsand nota- tion, introducingnew techniquesand playingpatterns one or two at a time. Short,newly composed exercises and simple folk tunes (sometimes even non- Japanesemelodies) reinforce the techniquesbeing taught.Gradually, longer newlycomposed songs areintroduced as preparationfor the traditionaland modernperformance repertoire. Adults, particularly those with previous musi- cal training,may skip most of the preliminaryetudes and immediatelygo to the traditionalperformance repertoire. Priorto the 1910sthere were no materialsspecifically meant for teaching koto to childrenor beginners,5however teachers generally followed a similar patternfor beginning instruction. Instructors first taught simple folk songs or other non-performanceshort tunes to familiarizestudents with the strings, but theysoon movedinto the primaryperformance repertoire. Although the playingtechniques and patterns of classicalworks are not usuallyparticularly difficult,it is the lengthof thesecompositions, the complexinterplay between the voiceand koto, and the lyricsthat are difficult for even educated adults to understandthat make these pieces a challengefor beginners. In her memoir,Hito to Gei y) L,L masterkoto playerYonekawa Fumiko i)1) I i chroniclesher earlyyears of koto training.Born the sameyear as Miyagi(1894), Yonekawa began studying the koto at the age of three,and al- though she does not specificallymention which piecesshe learnedfirst, at the age of sevenshe mastered"ShOchikubai" •444r (Yonekawa1996:260), a lengthypiece that todayis reservedfor advancedadults. In orderfor her to studythis piece at the ageof seven,she musthave previously mastered a great dealof the classicalrepertoire. Although the individualplaying techniques in thiswork are not notablymore difficult than in otherclassical works, it is the lengthof the piececoupled with its lyrics'archaic literary language that would makethis a challengefor a young student.The lyricsinclude a passagethat refersto the pine tree, a symbolof hope and good fortune,and cranes,aus- piciousbirds symbolizing longevity. The "everlasting reign" in the lastEnglish line refersto thatof the Emperor. A pinetree of Onethousand years Now decoratedand Celebratedby everyone, Willlive for endless generations, Prescott:Miyagi Michio's Koto Works 31

Withthe soundof thewind. On thevenerable pine branches Thriving,freshly green, A pairof cranes Nestand dance In celebration Of the everlastingreign.6 - (Tsuge1983:94)

Todaykoto students usually begin their study of the instrument with collec- tions of 6tudesand short tunes that have been compiled into variousbooks for beginning students.The firstworks that aretaught afterthose beginning books have been completed arefrom the classicalrepertoire, and these arelikely those that were taught to beginners, both children and adults, prior to Miyagi'sde- velopment of pedagogicalmaterials. "Kurokami" M%7 is often one of the first pieces learned by Ikuta-ryiikoto players,although it is rarelyprogrammed in concerts. It is relativelyshort, has few vocal ornaments, and the vocal melody follows the koto part quite closely. The lyrics, which begin, "It is the pillow we shared that night, when I let down my jet-black hair. That is the cause of my lament when I sleep alone with my single robe to cover me. 'You are mine,' he said" (Tsuge 1983:81),are straightforwardand easily understood, but are perhaps not entirelyappropriate for a young child. "Yfigao" j 7A is a much-performedwork that is also typically one of the earliestclassical pieces studied. "Yugao"was composed for shamisenin the first half of the nineteenth century by KikuokaKengy6 'VF 0 N (1792-1847)and the koto partwas addedby YaezakiKengy6 (1776?-1848).The lyrics are by an unknown author but are based onA~Vlgi~.r the "Ytigao" chapter in the Genji Monogatari (Taleof Genji). Aqt, Who lives here? He hasa servantinquire in the twilight, Genji'scart comes to a halt. Let'speek through a crevice In the high hedge-fenceby this tastefulhouse to which persons rarelycome. Holding a fan permeatedwith faint scent Of fragrantincense, The owner of the house offers Genji a blossom of the "EveningFaces" Glitteringwith pale dew. In a brief dream, he is bound together with Yiigao, a flowerever more beautiful. When he awakes,he feels keenly The chilly winds of midnight.8 - (Tsuge 1983:101) 32 AsianMusic: Winter/Spring 2005

"Yfigao"begins with the voice entering alone, a traitfound in manytraditional Ikuta-ryaiworks. Although not a dauntingchallenge for experiencedplayers, beginnersmust learn how to findtheir pitch before beginning and enter with confidencebefore hearing the firsttone of accompaniment.As is typicalof the traditionalrepertoire, the voice often sings a melodicpitch that is unrelatedto the koto part,often in closedissonance such as a majoror minorsecond, and this is a majordifficulty for the beginner.There are also difficultstereotypi- cal ornamentsthat must be realizedwith precision against a contrastingkoto accompaniment.

Miyagi'sMotivation for Composing for Children Miyagiwrote and publishednumerous volumes of essaysthat chroniclehis life and works,and he writesat lengthof the threemain reasonshe com- posedmusical works for children.The primaryincentive was his own some- times traumaticexperiences learning to playthe koto as a child,the second washis encounterwith the kotoworks for children authored by SuzukiKoson S*t1l (1875-1931),'and the thirdwas a desireto counterthe declinein the numberof childrenstudying the koto as a resultof the Westernization of Japanesesociety in generaland specificallythe intrusionof Westernmusic instructioninto the schools.His successin theseventures was aidedby his associationwith the writerKuzuhara Shigeru iA I L,6, I his generalsuccess as a composerand performer,and the culturalenvironment of Japanin the 1920sthat prompted a widespreadinterest in creatingliterature and music for children.10 Beforethe MeijiRestoration of 1868there had been a long historyof blind musiciansin Japan.The governmentin the Edo periodhad enactedlaws to protectcertain professions, including that of koto master,for the blindto en- surethat they could supportthemselves. Although these lawswere lifted in 1868,the traditioncontinued through the beginningof the twentiethcentury. Miyagi'steacher, who was himself blind, made it a rulenever to teachhis blind studentsanything twice in orderto "toughenthem up." Withholding meals or not allowingthe studentto returnhome untilhe recalleda passageperfectly wereusually considered to be effectiveways of ensuringthat a younglearner concentratedand remembered everything the firsttime around. The first koto piecethat Miyagi learned was reportedly "Shiki no Hana"Ve90 4 (Flowers of the FourSeasons) (Kikkawa 1990:62), a short,easy piece with the following lyrics:"Spring is sakura,Summer is citrus,Autumn is chrysanthemum,Winter is daffodiland plum blossoms." Although this earliestrecollection of learningto play the koto was pleasant, Miyagi's experiences soon turned painful. Miyagi found the piece "Musume Prescott:Miyagi Michio's Koto Works 33

D6joji"M #1 to be so difficultthat regardlessof the threatenedconse- quences,he was unableto memorizethe lyrics.After finally admitting to his teacherthat it was impossiblefor him to recallthis piece,his teacherreplied, "Youcan't remember it becauseyou don'tunderstand the meaning"(Kikkawa 1990:67).This is a portionof thelyrics with which Miyagi struggled: "The great templebell harborsmyriad malices. Struck at midnight,the bell echoesthe evanescenceof allthings. Struck at theghost hour, the bell echoes the birth and deathof allbeings. Struck at daybreak,the bell echoes supreme enlightenment. Struckat sunset,the bell echoesthe gospelof Nirvana"(Tsuge 1983:77).12 TheEnglish version is clearerthan the originalJapanese, but even in English it requiressome effort to understand.Imagine then a ten-year-oldchild who, becausehe wasblind, had neverattended school, had neverstudied classical literatureand archaic language, and had never seen the kabuki play from which thisjiuta piece is thoughtto havebeen taken. No wonderMiyagi had difficulty rememberingthe lyrics.Miyagi often mentioned this particular experience in his writingsand conversations, and he citedthis as one of the mainreasons he took to composingsimple works with lyricsthat were attractive to andeasily understoodby children. Duringthe time that Miyagilived in Chosen(1907-1917), he encountered the worksof the koto composerand performerSuzuki Koson. In particular, Suzuki'sconcerts in Seoulon June5 and 6, 1915,were very important to Mi- yagi'sfuture compositional activities. One of the worksperformed by Suzuki on those two dayswas his compositionfor childrencalled "Karigane to Tsu- bame"Vb ~a Q (Kikkawa1990:150), which may have been the earliestkoto workcomposed specifically for children. After hearing that work, Miyagi told a friendthat he would like to tryto writea piecefor children (Kikkawa 1990:150), and Miyagioften citedthis experienceas a centralfactor that motivated him to writechildren's pieces. Thethird reason Miyagi wrote works for children was to attractmore young studentsto the studyof koto. The Meiji-eraeducational reforms mentioned abovethat favored Western music led to a declinein the numberof children, particularlygirls, studying the koto.This decline, coupled with the dearthof compositionsappropriate for young learners, led to a dramaticdecline in the numberof young koto students.Miyagi reasoned that worksthat children wouldenjoy hearing and wouldwant to learnto playmight help to slowor evenreverse that decline.

The History of Miyagi'sDAkyoku Miyagicategorized his worksfor beginners as "teachingpieces" and dokyoku i (children'ssongs). Children'ssongs in general are usually referredto as =t 34 Asian Music: Winter/Spring2005 d6yo an older term whose meaning has changedthroughout history, and today_i, it is most often used to mean Western-stylechildren's songs composed in the twentieth century for the purpose of teaching children the principles of Western music. Miyagi chose to use the term dikyoku, coined by Suzuki Koson, which he thought was a more neutral, modern-soundingname for his compositions. There are117 extant dbkyokuby Miyagi,and it is quite probablethat he wrote many more. A numberof Miyagi'smanuscripts were lost duringWorld War II, and it is likely that there were some dakyokuamong them. He also sometimes wrote little pieces for a specificchild, and some of those pieces arelikely to have been lost. Eighty-six of his extant ddkyokudate from the period 1926to 1936, with 1931being his most prolificyear, seeing thirteen dbkyokucomposed. The year 1918was also significant;of his thirteen compositions that year, nearlyall (eightd6kyoku and two trainingpieces) were for beginners. After 1937 Miyagi wroteonly sevendokyoku. Miyagi's first simpler work for beginners was "Fue no Ne"i~0i (Soundof the Flute),written in 1913and called a teachingpiece. Thiswork was composed even before he heardSuzuki Koson's works for chil- dren and demonstrateshis earlycommitment to education.The firstworks which called were "Oumu" 5 from Miyagi specifically dokyoku -5 d (Parrot) 1917or 1918and "O-Saru"k5 (Monkey) written in 1918. "O-Saru"and "Haru no Ame" *a )i (Spring Rain) were performed in at the first concert of Miyagi'scompositions on May 16, 1919.13Many in the audiencewere musicians and scholarswho were trained in Westernmusic, Miyagi's initial supporters in his quest to create a new kind of music for the koto. "O-Saru,"the first of Miyagi'sd6kyoku ever performedin concert, drew laughter from the audience, who were accustomed to restrained,formal, and serious koto music. Having never heard Suzuki'schildren's songs, they never dreamedthat koto music could be light and "cute"(Kikkawa 1990:221-2). An event that occurred soon after Miyagi moved from Seoul to Tokyo in April 1917had a significant impact on his compositions for children. One of his first acquaintancesin Tokyo was KuzuharaShigeru, a teacher and author of children'snursery rhymes and poems. When Miyagi first heard Kuzuhara's nursery rhymes, he felt that they were perfectly suited for children. The two became friendsand professionalassociates, and the lyrics to 102of Miyagi's117 surviving d6kyokuwere written by Kuzuhara. Another reasonMiyagi's dikyoku were so successfulwas the almost simulta- neous boom in newly composed Western-stylesongs specificallyfor children. This movement, called the Akai Tori ,, or "redbird," movement,14 saw , the composition of hundreds of children'ssongs. Miyagi'ssupporters like to point out that the first public performanceof Miyagi'sdikyoku pre-date by a Prescott:Miyagi Michio's Koto Works 35 few weeks the publication of the first of the Akai Torichildren's songs, thus boasting that Miyagiwas in fact ahead of his times.

An Analysis of Some of Miyagi'sWorks for Children

The Miyagi Michio ShokyokuShGi 9• M* , in two volumes, is a peda- gogical collection of short dikyoku,i~_•R teaching pieces, and exercises written by Miyagi for beginners, particularlychildren.'5 The works included in the ShokyokuSha were composed between 1913and 1934, and they are arranged so that playing and singing techniques are introduced one or two at a time, with the length of the pieces increasinggradually. The texts for sixteen of the pieces are by KuzuharaShigeru, and the lyrics for the other works are by con- temporarypoets, or are taken from relativelysimple and well-known classical literature.Miyagi's inclusion of these classicaltexts may have been a reactionto criticismearly in his careerthat he was not able to compose in the "traditional style."Today the original two volumes are published together as one volume, and include seven etudes, thirteen dokyoku,and seventeen teaching pieces. Miyagi'sapproach was to begin by teaching students to sing in unison with the koto, and the first eight songs in the ShbkyokuShuf do just that. Gradually extra unison and melodic notes are added in the voice or koto, and then vocal and koto ornamentsare added.The ShokyokuSha begins with works as short as eight measuresand ends with compositionsthat approachin length the shorter works in the classical repertoire.Exercises interspersed throughout the book offer practicewith various rhythms, as well as traditionalplaying patternsand techniques. These small steps in learning to play and sing together make it much easier to master this art, particularlytoday when koto music is not as prevalent as it once was. There are no instructions on how new playing tech- niques are realized, so the ShjkyokuSha cannot be used as a self-instruction manual; the learner must have the guidance of a teacher in order to use the book effectively. "Roba-san" / , or "Mr. the first in the t• +-7f> Donkey," song ShokyokuShh, was composed in 1931to lyrics by KuzuharaShigeru. The two verses are:"Mr. Donkey, Mr. Donkey, clop, clop, your ears go flop, flop, clop, clop. Ring-a- ling, ring-a-ling,the bell aroundyour neck. Yourears go flop, flop, clop, clop." This is a far cry from "The great temple bell harbors myriad malices."The voice follows the koto exactly, making it easy for the beginner to get used to singing and playing at the same time. There are over 10,000 members of the Miyagi Koto Association, and virtually all of them began their koto studies with "Roba-san."Add to that the many non-Miyagikoto playerswho also used his book early in their studies, and you have a great number of koto players 36 AsianMusic: Winter/Spring 2005

1.Ro - ba san Ro - ba san to - ko - tot - to 2.Ka - ra - ran Ka - ra - ran ku - bi nosu zu

O - mi - mi pyo - ko pyo - ko to - ko - tot to O - mi - mi pyo - ko pyo - ko to - ko - tot to

Figure1: "Roba-san"

To - sa - ma tsu - zu - mi o chot - to ka - shi - te

Figure2: "O-Sh6gatsuDesu Kara,"measures 1-4 in Japanwho can sing, "Roba-san,roba-san . . ." The twelve songs follow- ing "Roba-san"follow the same pattern of easily understood lyrics and vocal lines that are the same as the koto line. Occasionallythe voice will sing two identical pitches against one note of the same pitch in the koto (see Figure 2, m. 4, beats 1 and 2). Some of the early songs also include an optional shami- sen part, which is availablein the beginning shamisenbook. The koto version can be played as a solo, however,and the only indicationthat there is a shami- sen version is in notes at the end of those pieces, with instructions on tuning the shamisen and koto when they play together. The first thirteen songs con- centrate on introducing various koto-playing techniques while the voice and the koto melodies are the same. These playing techniques include the whole press, which raises the pitch one whole step (Figure 3); the half press, which raises the pitch one half step (Figure4); octaves (Figure4); shan > -? '/, which is simultaneouslystriking two adjacentstrings with the third finger (Figure4); upstrokes,or plucking the string in a motion towardthe body (Figure5); and sha-sha -> -i- , simultaneouslyplucking two adjacentstrings in rapid suc- cession, first with the second and then with the third finger (Figure 5). Their potential appealto childrenis seen in the titles, for example,"O-Sh6gatsu Desu Kara" IEIf 6 (BecauseIt's New Year's "Yukino $B -C- V Day), Penki-ya" -o S (Mr.Snow Painter),and "Ko-tanuki,Ko-usagi" -T499 (LittleRac- coon, Little Rabbit). There are four renshui * (exercise) pieces among the first thirteen songs in the collection. The first renshiiin the book familiarizes students with the strings;the second, between songs six and seven, introduces the eighth note played with downstrokes (the thumb plucking away from the Prescott:Miyagi Michio's Koto Works 37

O - mi - ya ni na - ni ga a - ri - ma - su ka

3: to measures1-4; whole Figure "O-Miya O-Tera," t-= press

A - II

I~ I I

Figure 4: "Yoshino Yama," measures 13-16; 7 = half press; / -v '/= shan

NI, I -- --_ ,I , . A-sa fu-ru Yu - ki wa sa a - ra sa- ra ki no ha ki no ha ni

IJf•I v 1 '"'" JI I: ...... F I • i ---i------.i ...... ,•.... ,, ,-, -_• . , .. -- ,• sa a6- ra sa t sa - a -ra -w-.-sa - ra

Figure5: "Asano Yuki,Hiru no Yuki,Ban no Yuki,"measures 1-6; A= upstroke; --= sha-sha - -Pv body); the third,between songs eight and nine, introducesthe dotted half note and dotted quarternote rhythms,and the fourth, between songs nine and ten, provides practice playing octaves and the shan (simultaneous striking of two adjacentstrings with the third finger) technique. Three of these exercises are reinforcedby the inclusion of that playing technique or rhythm in the song immediatelyfollowing the exercise. "Hana Saka Jijii" , the fourteenth song in the ShokyokuShfi, is the first example in that volume of a work in which the koto and voice melodies differ substantially.This dckyokuwas written in 1934,with lyrics by Kuzuhara. The koto plays pitches that reinforce the voice melody, but the voice part is sparselysupported throughout (Figure6), and the voice often entersbefore the koto plays the same pitch (Figure6). This is one of the typical styles of tradi- tional koto music. The voice part does not, however, contain any of the vocal ornaments typically found in traditional pieces, so the beginner has only to 38 AsianMusic: Winter/Spring 2005

m mi .a .I i ka-re - ki no U-e da ni mo no e - da ni ea-chi-ra

Figure6: "HanaSaka ]ijii," measures5-8; Koto:whole notes; voice: quarternotes

A• ? l II ri I I voice, I ' '' tsu -a--'j- - - yu - u na - a-ga - --- a-ra -- koto 3 -d

Figure7: "Kazashino Kiku,"measures 1-2 cope withholding his or her own againstthe koto accompaniment.In "Hina Matsuri"* r) (Doll Festival)and "KattaKame no Ko"V - tt:•-O9- (The LittleTortoise that Won), a secondkoto partis added,but the firstkoto part closelyfollows the voice, providing support for the beginningplayer. In "Hina Matsuri,"the first(beginner) part is in the most commontuning, hira j6shi 49.3-T,but the second(teacher's) part is in the tuningkumoijoshi ~A)~M# at a lowerpitch level, which is a typicalscenario for duets in the classicalreper- toire.16In all of the otherduets in volumesI and II, both koto partsare in hiraj6shi. In "Kazashino Kiku"b ? L,o3~ (DecorativeChrysanthemum), the twenty-thirdpiece, the voicehas a solo pick-upnote before the koto entrance (Figure7). It also includessome typical ornaments, including what would be considereda dissonancein Westernmusic but is quitetypical between vocal and instrumentallines in koto and shamisenmusic. Figure 7 showsone in- stanceof thisnear dissonance. On beat 4 of measure1 the student first plays the Ebto D pattern,but halfa beatlater must be carefulto sing the F to D clearly and precisely.The threerenshi pieces in the last halfof volumeI emphasize eartraining for playing half and whole presses in tune,fingering exercises, de- scendingpatterns played with the thumb,and sixteenthnotes. These serve to roundout the playingpatterns and techniquesthat arenecessary to playthe worksin the followingvolume that todayare publishedtogether in a single bookwith those appearing in the firstvolume. The seven compositions in vol- ume II, with "Yamato Kumo" ~ (Mountainsand Clouds), are beginning tJ longer,and they combineall of the koto and vocaltechniques found in vol- Prescott:Miyagi Michio's Koto Works 39 ume I to preparestudents for the standardrepertoire. The final piece, "Kaid6" A9, is the firstopportunity for the beginning student to play in a varianttun- ing, kumoijoshi. Without a doubt, the student will have had the opportunity to hear this tuning in the second koto part of "Hina Matsuri,"but since this is the first piece the student has played in that tuning, there is a note explain- ing that kumoijbshi is createdby startingwith hirajbshi and tuning the fourth and ninth strings up a whole step and the third and eighth strings down a half step.17 Another "Yoruno Daiku-san"k D _ Car- Miyagi dikyoku, 1)iI &/ (Evening penter), which is not included in the ShokyokuShui, was written in 1927. Be- cause they were written specificallyas pedagogical tools or to entertain chil- dren, most of Miyagi's children'ssongs are not performed in concert. "Yoru no Daiku-san,"however, is programmedoccasionally to showcasevery young children with exceptional talent, or for a known performerto show off his or her own children'sabilities. "Yoruno Daiku-san"can be performed as a solo, with the koto and voice parts nearlythe same, or as a duet with two koto parts and voice. The part added to make it a duet is the more difficult,and this part is usuallyplayed by an adult, usuallythe teacher,or an older child. The lyrics are always sung by a child- either one of the performers,or sometimes children who are not playing.When childrenplay and/or sing "Yoruno Daiku-san"as a duet, they learn how to sing againstan entirelydifferent koto accompaniment. Yet one koto part is still playing their melody, giving them a sense of security. Influencedby his own bad experiencesas a child, the works of SuzukiKoson, and the decline in the number of children playing koto, Miyagi Michio was one of the first Japanesecomposers to write for children, and he composed more koto works for children than any other koto composer. Some of these dbkyokuwere assembledinto a volume called the MiyagiMichio Shikyoku Shai, which is organized so that through itudes, pedagogical songs, and dbkyoku, beginners are graduallyintroduced to koto-playing and singing techniques. The works in the ShbkyokuShiu are rarely performed on stage, but some of Miyagi's other dbkyoku,particularly "Yoru no Daiku-san,"are programmed as showcases for talented young performers.Although other koto composers followed Miyagi's lead in writing works for children, Miyagi remains one of the earliest,the most prolific,and the most often-performedcomposer of chil- dren'skoto works.

East Asian StudiesCenter, Indiana University 40 AsianMusic: Winter/Spring 2005

Appendix A

Contents of Miyagi MichioShikyoku Shia, Volumes I and II

VolumeI

Exercise:familiarizes students with strings "Roba-san"m / t solo with voice +-/: (2 verses) "TenTemari" 1): solo with voice verses) t- •'/ -7 (2 "Fukujus6"NiM5: solo with optional shamisen duet, voice (1 verse) "O-Sh6gatsuDesu Kara" -3IET~ )6: solo with voice (4 verses) -4-• "O-Miyato O-Tera" L& ?3: solo with voice (2 verses) "YoshinoYama" UfO:f solo with optional shamisen duet, voice (1 verse)

Exercise:familiarizes students with eighth-note downstrokes "Kobato"+J%)Q: solo with voice (1 verse) "IwaMoru Mizu"t t5 * : solo with voice (1 verse)

Exercise:familiarizes students with dotted half note, dotted quarternote "Yukino Penki-ya" 0-~' / + : solo with voice (1 verse) - Exercise:octave, shan practice "Haruno Sono" a>0 i: solo with optional shamisen duet, voice (1 verse) "Ko-tanuki,Ko-usagi" -iA koto duet with voice (2 verses) _ .: "Asano Yuki,Hiru no Yuki,Ban no Yuki"}4•l o) dE Ro): koto duet with voice (3 verses) "Kimi no Megumi" o t) <" : solo with optional shamisen duet, voice (1 verse) "HanaSaka Jijii" Eflffif: solo, 2 verses "Harugasumi" A:solo with optional shamisen duet, voice (1 verse)

Exercise:ear training,practice in playing pressesfor P5, half press/whole press differentiationpractice "HinaMatsuri" ~ •, : duet with voice (3 verses) "Ichiban-boshi,Niban-boshi" --*I-#V: duet with voice (1 verse) "OrochiTaiji" )ttEi: solo with voice (2 verses) "KattaKame no Ko"f- -L : duet with voice (2 verses) '-M Exercise:traditional fingering pattern practice "Oigawa"t4)1ll: solo with optional shamisen duet (1 verse) "Hanayori Akuru" E V0 ~V < 6: solo with optional shamisen duet (1 verse) Prescott:Miyagi Michio's Koto Works 41

Exercise: descending sixteenth note practice "Iwama Tojishi" tr@M t; L: solo with optional shamisen duet (1 verse) j "Kazashi no Kiku" h' ?"L , : solo with voice (1 verse)

VolumeII

"Yama to Kumo" [h ~ 2: solo with voice (1 verse) "Fuji no Hana" solo with voice 4-L: "Yama no Ue" L duet with voice (2 verses) "Yuki no Kumo"?_?: I : solo with 2 tegoto (instrumental sections); can be - played as a duet with one person playing each tegoto "Fue no Ne" o): solo with voice (3 verses) "Fuji no Takane" DAi- ,Rah:solo with voice "Kaid6" iAi: solo with voice

Notes

ILiterallymeaning "koto music," sakyokuV # is the term used to refer to music played on the koto. 2The Ikuta-ryuioriginated in the / area of western Japan,while the Yamada-ryiiis associated with the area around Tokyo in eastern Japan.Since World War II, both styles have been found throughoutthe country,with the Ikuta-rycihaving the largernumber of followerstoday. 3Ikuta-ryaiadherents also play jiuta-style shamisen, itself also associated with the Osaka/Kyotoregion. 4The OngakuTorishirabe Gakari effectively operated as a school of music, with stu- dents and teachersworking together to create,master, and disseminatemusic in a new style blended with Westernmusic. 5 Beforethe twentieth century (and in some cases as late as 1945) the use of notation was limited, and works were taught by rote.

7Thejiuta version of Kurokamiis an adaptationof a kouta ,]\•by Koide Ichijfrii6 (d. 1800).Versions for severalother styles of shamisen playing also exist. ?-fi--+8

9TodaySuzuki Koson is rememberedprimarily for his influence on Miyagi. 10 Other than those written by Miyagi, most of these musical efforts were in a West- ern musical form, as the governmentmade a concerted effortto teach childrenWestern musical principles. 42 Asian Music: Winter/Spring2005

' Several versions of this work exist, and it is unclear which version Miyagi first learned. The Musume Dojoji story appearsin both the Noh and kabuki repertoriesin variousversions. The basic story line involves the dedication of a new bell at the temple D6joji. The formerbell was destroyedwhen a young woman, Kiyohime,fell in love with a Buddhist priest, who had taken vows of celibacy.The woman pursued him relent- lessly, and her hate and jealousy turned her into a serpent.The priest took refugein the temple and the temple abbot lowered the bell over him. The frustratedserpent/woman coiled itself around the bell, and the flames from its jaws destroyed both the bell and the priest. As a result, a ban was imposed on women entering the temple. In the most common formulationsof the story, a beautiful temple dancer appears at the dedication of the new bell and asks to dance in order to raise funds for a temple destroyed by fire. At first the monks refuse her offer because of the ban on women in the temple, but they relentwhen they see her disappointment.She changesher costume nine times in the dance, and the priests become uneasy as they recallthat the snakewas supposed to have shed its skin nine times. They try to drive her from the temple, but she climbs on the bell and reveals that she is Kiyohime and has come to destroy the new bell. 12 Z_ i •j (Kikkawa1990:66). ,' _,Ji. 13This was the firstkoto concert consisting entirelyof works that were composed by the performer.It was widely shunned by traditional musicians, who could not accept the radicallynew style of Miyagi'scompositions. His earliestsupporters, however, who gave the concert rave reviews,were those who had been trained in Westernmusic. 14This movement was named for the magazineAkai Tori,which publishedliterature and songs for children. 15Thisbook is still widely used to teach beginners. 16The pitches for hirajoshi in this piece (beginning with string 1 on C) are C F G Ab C Db F G ALC Db F G; for kumoijoshi (beginning with string 1 on G) are G C Db F G Ab C Db F G Ab C Db. 17All playersmemorize the intervallicstructure of hirajoshi,but beginning and inter- mediate players rarelymemorize the other named tunings. Experiencedkoto players also memorize other commonly used named tunings, such as kumoijbshi. It is com- mon, however,for all koto playersto think of all tunings in relation to how they differ from hiraj6shi, and this is how they are usually noted in printed scores. Newly created tunings may be noted in relation to hiraj6shi, or more likely the tuning is given on a five-line staff or using solfege syllables.

ReferencesCited

Berger,Donald Paul 1991 Sh6kaand D6yi: Songsof an EducationalPolicy and a Children'sSong Move- ment of Japan: 1910-1926.Ph.D. Dissertation, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. Prescott:Miyagi Michio's Koto Works 43

Chiba Junnosukeand ChibaYuiko, eds. 1999 Miyagi Michio OngakuSakuhin Mokuroku ?4:R•M HRUR [Catalogue of the Music of Miyagi Michio]. Tokyo:H6gakusha. KikkawaEishi 1990 MiyagiMichio Den ;MA f [Biographyof MiyagiMichio]. rev. ed. Tokyo: H6gakusha. KikkawaEishi and KamisangoYfik6, eds. 1979 Miyagi Michio SakuhinKaisetsu Zensho 9 JA 01* A A*3 0 [Annotated Catalogueof the Compositions of Miyagi Michio]. Tokyo:H6gakusha. Prescott,Anne 1997 Miyagi Michio, The Fatherof Modern Koto Music. Ph.D. Dissertation, Kent State University,Kent, Ohio. Tsuge Gen'ichi 1983 Anthologyof S&kyokuand JiutaSong Texts.Tokyo: Academia Music Ltd. YonekawaFumiko 1996 Hito to Gei )A k [My Life and Art]. Tokyo:H6gakusha.