Thank you so much for coming to our Spring 2024 "Hogaku 2.0 Next Japan Classic" performance today at Komyo-in Temple.
For this occasion, we have decided to host this public performance at Komyo-in Temple under the gentle light of cherry blossoms and fresh greenery.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who has joined us today as well as those whom we have had the pleasure and fortune to connect with.
We have been diligently developing the "Hogaku 2.0" project with the novel desire to include guitar to traditional Japanese "Hogaku" music, which has a history of over 1300 years, and to deliver its unique charm to the world. From 2024, we have begun full-scale multi-generational activities with Japanese musicians in their 20s, who will carry the torch for the future of "Jiuta'' folk music, and we will have begun recording our compositions several days before today's main performance. Today, we would be so happy if you could feel the era of a new "Hogaku 2.0'' while gazing upon the Hashin-Tei garden, in perfect union with sound, wind, and nature, with the scent of the incense and listening to the rich beauty of Japan that has continued on since ancient times.
Furthermore, we would also like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone involved for their cooperation in organizing this performance.Thanks to you, we are able to continue to challenge the traditions of Japanese Hogaku music and increase opportunities for people to listen to this beautiful ancient music in their daily lives.
Since ancient times, Japan has played a role in preserving the history of world cultures. “Hogaku 2.0” is a never-ending journey that connects the those treasures left behind by the pioneers of traditional Japanese Hogaku music to the future. The present location of that journey is here today.
I would be happy if you could share this journey with me for many years to come.
For more than 1300 years, the path of Japanese traditional music (hogaku) has been rooted in the traditional instruments with which it is performed. Atsumi Yukihiro's "Hogaku 2.0" project is a modern update to this tradition which, through the guitar, aims to convey its ancient charm to the world and pass it on to future generations.
In contrast to "Hogaku 1.0", which had been performed only with Japanese instruments, "Hogaku 2.0" is a progressive journey in modern Japanese music where Western instruments, like the guitar, are added to the traditional mix.
"Japanese Guitar" is a type of guitar music that utilizes the unique musical mechanisms of traditional Japanese music, like intervallic breathing, scales, and rhythms, as well as incorporates the musical structures of various traditional Japanese musical styles like Heian period gagaku court music, koto music, and regional folk songs, etc.
山内彩 (箏、三味線、地歌)Yamauchi Aya (Koto, Shamisen, Vocal, Jiuta folk songs)
岡村秀太郎 (箏、三味線、胡弓、地歌)Okamura Hidetaro (Koto, Shamisen, Koryu, Vocal, Jiuta folk songs)
長谷川将山 (尺八)Hasegawa Shozan (Shakuhachi flute)
演目｜Program
曲名｜Song Title
作者｜Composer
説明｜explanation
1.
鈴の段Suzunodan
作者不詳Composer is unknown
［人形浄瑠璃］寿式三番叟より。五穀豊穣、天下泰平を祈念して。(Ningyō jōruri, music for traditional bunraku puppet theatre) From the piece Kotobuki Sanbanso, this song accompanies a celebratory dance that prays for an abundant harvest as well as peace and tranquility for the world.
2.
風瞰図Fukanzu
渥美幸裕Atsumi Yukihiro
［邦楽ニ.〇］鳥瞰図、虫瞰図というマクロ、ミクロの視点。そして風瞰図という視点。(Hogaku 2.0) A world from macro and micro perspectives, such as a bird's eye view, an insect's eye view, as well as a perspective of the world from the fukanzu, the wind's eye view
3.
夕顔Yugao
菊岡検校作 / 八重崎検校 箏手付 / 渥美幸裕 ギター手付Written by Kikuoka Kengyo / Performed on koto by Yaezaki Kengyo / Performed on guitar by Atsumi Yukihiro
［地歌］光源氏が惚れ込んだ夕顔の宿の女との出会いから死別までを、儚く美しい旋律で描く。 [Jiuta folk song] The story of Hikaru Genji's encounter with the woman at the Yugao Inn, whom he fell in love with, until her death, is depicted in a fleeting and beautiful melody.
4.
暇Itoma
渥美幸裕Atsumi Yukihiro
［邦楽ニ.〇］演者の呼吸を繋ぎ合わせて、大きな間合いを遊ぶ。[Hogaku 2.0] This composition connects the performers' breathing together and plays in between large intervals.
5.
環Kan
渥美幸裕Atsumi Yukihiro
［邦楽ニ.〇］全ては巡る。少しずつ変わりながら。(Hogaku 2.0) Everything comes back around, while changing, little by little.
6.
月想Gesso
渥美幸裕 作 / 山内彩・岡村秀太郎 箏手付 地歌監修Written by Atsumi Yukihiro / Performed on koto by Yamauchi Aya and Okamura Shutaro / Supervised by jiuta
［地歌 邦楽ニ.〇新曲］月の巡りから想起され作詞作曲。地歌らしさと現代的旋律感覚を合わせた新しい試み。[New Hogaku 2.0 Jiuta song]
This new composition was created while envisioning the phases of the moon. It is a new attempt to combine the characteristics of Jiuta folk music with a modern sense of melody. 咲く野 香ぐ夜
望みをかけて
目を覚ます
弓にかかる
雲間の先の
うわの空
かけて 空高く
みちて やわらかく
波やがて
いざよいながら
またもなお
かけて 空高く
みちて やわらかく
7.
回雲録Kaiunroku
渥美幸裕Atsumi Yukihiro
［邦楽ニ.〇］雲の上の旅行記。 [Hogaku 2.0] A travelogue above the clouds.
The guitar played by Atsum Yukihiro is made of Jindai-boku (ancient Japanese wood that was buried underground for more than 800 years), and the entire guitar is made using only Japanese wood.
It was born out of a project to create fully Japanese guitars along with the maker, Kobayashi Ryosuke.
Please enjoy the gentle and deep sound that pairs beautifully with Japanese instruments.
