Nagauta the Heart of Kabuki Music - thoughts

General
#1

Written around 1959/1963, this book contains interesting bits for the shamisen enthusiast. The text is available in http://archive.org/stream/nagautathehearto000416mbp/nagautathehearto000416mbp_djvu.txt - might be worth buying the book for the full reading experience (figures etc).

Highlights so far, extended with some of my own speculation/notes:

  1. The nagauta shamisen is called the violin of Japan. Interesting allegory as the violin is also decidedly a classical instrument in western music. On Bachido the western metaphor for the tsugaru shamisen seems to be the guitar - the mainstay instrument of modern western music. Seems a few people on Bachido - not just Kevin - graduated from the guitar to the tsugaru shamisen.

  2. Tsugaru shamisen wasn’t even mentioned in the part concentrating on the shamisen, instead there were brief comparisons with jiuta and gidayu. Of course the context is rather classical, and folk instruments like minyou or tsugaru are not directly relevant. I would assume that by mid-20th century, the tsugaru shamisen was perceived as merely a regional folk instrument, and not an important part of the national culture? The revival of the tsugaru tradition only starts from the 1960s and 1970s.

  3. The book seems to imply that the nagauta shamisen is a chuzao. This is perplexing as it conflicts with general information on the internet such as http://bachido.com/wiki/Styles-of-Shamisen and http://www.dl.kuis.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~rafael.lopez/japan/music/shamisen/buying/instruments.html. Was there a shift in nagauta construction or classification in the late 20th century? Or does the middle-sized comment just refer to the instrument overall and not the neck?

Quote:

The differences in shamisen are designated by the thickness of their
necks, though other features are altered as well. The modern
nagauta shamisen is a middle-sized (ckuzao) instrument, the neck
averaging 2.5 cm. in width and 75 cm. in length. The body is
18.5 cm. across at its widest point, and 9.5 cm. deep.

  1. Nagauta originally employed different pitch scales from western music, but shifted to the same frequencies for its notes as western music in the 20th century. There has also been multiple similar changes to the tradition over the years which are discussed. This goes against notions that nagauta music is carved in stone and is unchanging. In any case there is quite a bit of liberty in the actual interpretation and performance of a given nagauta piece. The text details marked differences with western musical traditions here, though tsugaru players will soon bump to many of the same items as well.

  2. Niagari isn’t the most popular tuning in nagauta.

Of the one hundred nagauta pieces studied fifty-eight began
in hon-choshi, twenty-one in ni-agari, eighteen in san-sagari,
and three in ichi-sagari.

#2
  1. Japan may be considered one of the top nations when it comes to preserving traditional/classical culture. However the continuation of traditions is not a given, quote - this reads like an appeal to the reader:

[Shamisen] is studied by many amateurs as a means of recreation and refinement. Until recently there was some resistance to its use
among upper-class families who considered it too much of a
geisha or theatre instrument. Despite the heavy inroads of
Western music, shamisen-music publishers continue to flourish
and all department stores have a row of factory built instruments
for sale along with the ukuleles, trumpets, and saxophones. The
maintenance of a tradition of fine instrument making still resides
in the hands of private shamisen artisans. While not as numerous as in the Edo period, they are still kept busy with the
demand for quality workmanship. It is hoped that their special
skill will not fall victim to the further industrialization of Japan.

Seems the shamisen was doing quite well mid-century, but subsequently fell a bit out of fashion? Until the tsugaru revival at the turn of the century.

For example the kimono (in contrast to the yukata) didn’t fare so well - phased out of everyday use in late 20th century and now “extinct in the wild”, only used in specialized context like for some artistic performers. Kabuki seems to fare better with stars like Tamasaburo reportedly enjoying a wild popularity. Don’t actually know what’s the exact status of nagauta as a standalone art form.

© 2020 Kyle Abbott