Shakuhachi Master - John Singer
35. KINUTA SUGOMORI
As with many of the Kinko Ryu Honkyoku pieces, "Kinuta Sugomori" is indirectly connected with Japanese stringed instrument music created during the Edo period (1603 - 1867). Among the several "Ji" characters used in the "Ji Mono" of Jiuta Shamisen music there is a "Kinuta Ji" which is said to imitate the sound made when women beat the household fabrics in the autumn evenings.
In the story of the Noh play called "Kinuta", the wife was waiting in loneliness for her husband to return home after his having been away on a trip to the Capitol. After some time, she received a letter from her beloved telling her of a delay in his return until the following year. So, she would beat the household fabrics rhythmically in the cool autumn evenings to pass the time in her sadness.
In this piece, the technique called "Uchi" is often used. This technique reveals an aspect which relates to the "Sugomori-Ji" of the Shamisen (Chin-rin, chin-rin).
Copyright 2001 John Singer. All rights reserved.