Kyoto Spirit
"Honkyoku."
Kurahashi Yōdō II
Sparkling Beatnik Records - SBR 0007
Track | Titel | Kanji | Länge | Künstler | |
1 | San'ya (Jinbo) | 神保三谷 | 08'56 |
Shakuhachi: Kurahashi Yōdō II | |
The wandering monk Jinbo played this version of San'ya (literally "three valleys"), a common title for meditative honkyoku. Many consider this Kurahashi-sensei's signature piece. | |||||
2 | Azuma no Kyoku (Kinko Ryu) | 吾妻の曲 | 08'37 |
Shakuhachi: Kurahashi Yōdō II | |
Representative of a lighter more playful form of honkyoku sometimes referred to as "gikyoku," this piece expresses the longing of a wanderer for his home in the east (Azuma). | |||||
3 | Mukaiji (Fudaiji) | 霧海箎 | 07'30 |
Shakuhachi: Kurahashi Yōdō II | |
One of the three oldest honkyoku, Mukaiji is said to have been composed in a dream. The title is evocative of mist over the ocean. | |||||
4 | Kyorei (Fudaiji) | 虚鈴 | 07'13 |
Shakuhachi: Kurahashi Yōdō II | |
Kyorei is the oldest known shakuhachi piece, a slow quiet honkyoku that is at once very simple and very challenging: simple in its unornamented sighing melody, challenging because the player cannot hide behind technique. | |||||
5 | Kumoi Jishi | 雲井獅子 | 09'54 |
Shakuhachi: Kurahashi Yōdō II | |
Like Azuma, Kumoijishi is a gikyoku, said to evoke a mythical lion dancing in the clouds. | |||||
6 | San'ya Sugagaki | 三谷菅垣 | 09'05 |
Shakuhachi: Kurahashi Yōdō II | |
A well-known composition of the Kinko school of shakuhachi. This is the most rhythmic of all honkyoku. | |||||
7 | Taki Ochi (Ryogenji) | 滝落 | 11'51 |
Shakuhachi: Kurahashi Yōdō II | |
This is a colorful honkyoku composed at the Ryugen-ji kumoso temple, which was located next to a large waterfall that is clearly depicted in the music's three varying sections. | |||||
8 | Ajikan (Itchoken) | 阿字観 | 07'17 |
Shakuhachi: Kurahashi Yōdō II | |
An ancient meditative piece that exists in several versions. The title probably means contemplation (kan) of the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, a-ji. A-ji symbolizes the void. |