Kouta Lesson, three repetitions of Harusame
Aug 27, 2022, 08:20 AM
This recording compiles excerpts from one of my final lessons with my Kasuga-ryu kouta teacher before the pandemic struck in 2020. None of the elements of this recording has by any means disappeared. My teacher is still alive, although I have not been able to meet her again due to lock downs and ongoing travel restrictions. The instrument, a hosozao (thin-necked) shamisen, is an expensive niche item that few play but everyone knows as a symbol of "traditional Japan". The kouta "short song" shamisen genre exemplified here has fallen far from the spotlight since its final popularity boom in mid-20th century Japan. Yet it is still possible to search out people performing, studying and recording the repertoire.
However, in a broader sense, this sound feels to me infused with a sense of vulnerability to time. Despite kouta as a genre stubbornly clinging to life, few people have any sense of how to listen as connoisseurs -- how to make aesthetic or emotional sense of the music, the lyrics, the subtleties of singing style and technique. Furthermore, taken as a whole, this recording documents an increasingly rare and precious occasion -- a master passing on an unnotated musical lineage, face-to-face, through patient repetition. The fact that the song, "Harusame" (Spring Rain), refers to seasonal motifs that are quietly vanishing due to global climate change underlines the poignancy of this recording. Yet in a hopeful irony, these layered disappearances perfectly embody the classic Japanese aesthetic of mono no aware, the impermanence of things.
Recording provided by Gretchen Jude.
This is part of the Obsolete Sounds project, the world’s biggest collection of disappearing sounds and sounds that have become extinct – remixed and reimagined to create a brand new form of listening. Explore the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/obsolete-sounds
However, in a broader sense, this sound feels to me infused with a sense of vulnerability to time. Despite kouta as a genre stubbornly clinging to life, few people have any sense of how to listen as connoisseurs -- how to make aesthetic or emotional sense of the music, the lyrics, the subtleties of singing style and technique. Furthermore, taken as a whole, this recording documents an increasingly rare and precious occasion -- a master passing on an unnotated musical lineage, face-to-face, through patient repetition. The fact that the song, "Harusame" (Spring Rain), refers to seasonal motifs that are quietly vanishing due to global climate change underlines the poignancy of this recording. Yet in a hopeful irony, these layered disappearances perfectly embody the classic Japanese aesthetic of mono no aware, the impermanence of things.
Recording provided by Gretchen Jude.
This is part of the Obsolete Sounds project, the world’s biggest collection of disappearing sounds and sounds that have become extinct – remixed and reimagined to create a brand new form of listening. Explore the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/obsolete-sounds