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Week 2 Entry The Mysteries of Hōryūji's Destruction

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Week 2 Entry The Mysteries of Hōryūji's Destruction

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Citation:
"Hōryūji Temple." Hōryūji: A Brief History, www.horyuji.or.jp/en/garan/. Accessed 4 Sept. 2023.

Quotation:
"On the fateful night of April 30 in the year 670, however, a great blaze swept through the temple grounds, leaving "not a single building" standing, as it is recorded in the ancient Chronicles of Japan (Nihon Shoki). However, historians in the latter part of the 19th century began to cast doubt on the accuracy of this account of Hōryūji's destruction and question whether the fire truly did occur."

My Thoughts:
This quote reflects much of our knowledge of history today and fuels my curiosity about Japanese history and culture. The mystery of Hōryūji's destruction fuels me with questions about what happened to the sacred place and if there were any intentions behind its destruction. Additionally, the ancient Chronicles of Japan claim that fire burned every building; however, recent historians question the accuracy of this ancient chronicle. This made me curious about the accuracy of history, who told the ancient chronicles, and what this story intended. Despite what happened, I was amazed by the perseverance of Japanese culture and how stories from the period continued to be told despite the site's destruction.

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Week 3 Entry Gatekeeping of the Anthology of Ten Thousand Leaves

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Week 3 Entry Gatekeeping of the Anthology of Ten Thousand Leaves

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Citation:

Genryaku-koubon Manyoushuu (Anthology of Ten Thousand Leaves, Genryaku Edition). E-Museum, https://emuseum.nich.go.jp/detail?&langId=en&webView=null&content_base_id=100167&content_part_id=0.

Accessed 11 Sept. 2023.

Quotation:

"In the late seventeenth century, these volumes belonged to Nakagawa Jôu (n.d.) of Matsusaka, a city near Ise Shrine. Later, they were acquired by the princely Arisugawa family, which passed on six volumes to the newly-formed princely Takamatsu family. The other fourteen volumes, which first became the possession of the Kuwana Matsudaira family, were later owned by the high-ranking government official Mizuno Tadakuni (1794-1851), and then by the Kogawa family before all twenty books came into the collection of the Tokyo National Museum."

My Thoughts:

This quote reflects the historical trend where wealthy families and individuals own knowledge and literary heritage that hold cultural significance. This practice limits the privilege and access of education to the wealthy class. Due to the private ownership of these historical artifacts, only a few could enjoy this privilege. These rich and powerful owners kept these texts secret to enrich their wealth and power with culturally significant artifacts. I find it interesting that the passing of these texts reflects the shifts in power dynamics. I believe the volumes publicly displayed in the Tokyo National Museum indicate progress towards the equity of education and allow all to benefit from the literary heritage within the poems.

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e-Museum - Genryaku-koubon Manyoushuu (Anthology of Ten Thousand Leaves, Genryaku Edition)

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文化財高精細画像公開システム(「e国宝」)

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Genji espies Murasaki for the first time, from the Wakamurasaki chapter of The Tale of Genji. 

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Week 4 Entry Avoiding the Truths of The Tale of Genji

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Week 4 Entry Avoiding the Truths of The Tale of Genji

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Citation:

Tsunenobu, Kano. 1670-1680. Genji espies Murasaki from the Wakamurasaki chapter of The Tale of Genji for the first time. UMMA Exchange.
https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/30246/view

Quotation:

"In the seventeenth century, large-scale folding screens of Genji themes became popular trousseau items among members of the military aristocracy. For these auspicious purposes, artists chose scenes that idealized courtly love, rather than the darker moments in the novel."

My Thoughts:

This quote reflects the historical trend where those unable to confront issues of the past are doomed to repeat it. To appeal to the wealthy military aristocracy who collect the folding screens, artists tend to focus on courtly love rather than confront dark themes of abuse. I find it interesting that the army elite avoids truths of the past and ignores the themes of The Tale of Genji by covering it up with courtly love. Failure to acknowledge and understand the past results in overlooking valuable advice folklore advises to teach us.

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Week 5 Entry Heike-Biwa's History and Impacts

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Week 5 Entry Heike-Biwa's History and Impacts

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Citation:

Chang, Ed. Music of the BIWA. Hogaku: Japanese Traditional Music.
https://japanesetradmusic.blogspot.com/p/biwa-music-satsumachickuzenheike.html

Quotation:

"Heike-biwa (平家琵琶, Heikyoku): In contrast to moso-biwa, the biwa elements here begin to act more as "commentary" or provide "sympathetic responses". This style (scattered fast arpeggios and drones) is so-named because it was used to support recitations of the Heike Monogatari (Tale of the Heike). In this adaptation of the epic Heike war poem, 200 verses are each phrased in a characteristic style. At the time of its greatest popularity, Heike-biwa melded elements from the earlier Gagaku, Shomyo chant and moso-biwa traditions. It is, however, rarely performed today in its original form."

My Thoughts:

I find the Heike-Biwa variant of the biwa most fascinating and culturally significant. The style was made to accompany the Tale of Heike retellings as a part of the story. The Tale of Heike imposes great cultural significance on the people of Japanese and allows the folklore to be passed down with music. I find the passion and dedication behind Japanese culture impressive since 200 verses, each phrased in a characteristic style, are composed for the tale. Lastly, I am surprised that the Heike-Biwa is rarely performed today in its original form, and I am curious what impacted the decline in tradition.

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Due to its origins, biwa vocal accompaniment is naturally influenced by Buddhist chant, and this style was adapted to deliver historical stories (as narrative poetry). Instrumentally, biwa technique stands out from most Western string instruments in that it's sound employs "sawari", a rattle/twang texture which is further manipulated by melodic string-bending (from pressing down on a string between frets). The music itself is usually not melodic, but based on patterns of short, sharp arpeggios, tremolo drones and energetic strumming. An original set of 13 set biwa phrase patterns has grown to over 23 in the modern heike-biwa tradition (below).

Typically, the voice and biwa alternate and overlap in conversational interplay, with cadenza-like interludes sometimes surfacing. For example, in many pieces after an opening cadenza the following pattern is repeated: an opening pitch is sounded by the biwa, followed by a vocal pattern related to that key, after which the biwa re-enters with the next "ground" pitch or, less-frequently, a musically-sympathetic response phrase, etc... At some point both the vocal and the biwa join together in a climactic sequence (although not always).
Styles:

Moso-biwa (盲僧琵琶) was the style of biwa accompaniment employed by wandering blind priests from Heian times. In this style, a thin-bodied biwa provides a fairly constant rhythmic backing, over which the Buddhist priest chant-sings sutras.

Heike-biwa (平家琵琶, Heikyoku): In contrast to moso-biwa, the biwa elements here begin to act more as "commentary" or provide "sympathetic responses". This style (scattered fast arpeggios and drones) is so-named because it was used to support recitations of the Heike Monogatari (Tale of the Heike). In this adaptation of the epic Heike war poem, 200 verses are each phrased in a characteristic style. At the time of its greatest popularity, Heike-biwa melded elements from the earlier Gagaku, Shomyo chant and moso-biwa traditions. It is, however, rarely performed today in its original form.

Satsuma-biwa (薩摩琵琶):

This style was developed in 16th-century Kyushu, and uses a modified design of the moso-biwa. The pick/plectrum is wide and fan-shaped, and its "gallant" style emphasizes percussive/twangy strikes (often with "back strokes"), extreme pitch bending, wide vibrato, left hand pizzicato, and flashy dramatic trills/tremolo (kuzure). Generally speaking, it is influenced somewhat by shamisen technique, and is more melodic than Heike-biwa.

Satsuma-biwa text is often based on war stories (adaptations of the Heike-Monogatari, such as "Atsumori no Saigo/The Death of Atsumori", "Dan no Ura" (climactic battle scene), etc), and the voice parts use enhanced end-vowel ornamentation as a stylistic device. In comparison to Heike-biwa, voice and biwa play together more frequently (in sections called nagashimono).

Newer Satsuma styles include Nishiki Satsuma (using Tsuruta Kinshi's 5-string Tsuruta-biwa and featuring longer interludes), and Kinshin Satsuma (which explore other bold new forms including those utilizing shigin, or Chinese poems).

Chikuzen-biwa BYAKKOTAI 筑前琵琶 白虎隊

Singer - Takashima-ka-kun Dan ko

https://www.britannica.com/art/Japanese-music/Biwa-vocal-and-folk-music
BiwaVocab for Satsuma-Biwa (Sound Information System by Junko Ueda)
Japanese Music & Musical Instruments, William Malm, 1959
Biwa Wiki

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(print by Utagawa Kunisada) The biwa ( 琵琶) is a 4-string lute (sometimes with a 5th string), originally imported from India and...

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10/22 Entry Implications of Handwriting in Handwritten Texts

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10/22 Entry Implications of Handwriting in Handwritten Texts

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Citation:
早稲田大学文学学術院Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences. (2021, March 17). 和本と日本前近代文学・文化の書誌学的研究 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07VCZYl45xI

Quotation: (Translated from the English subtitles)
"In addition, we have to examine whether the handwriting is more or less good or bad. Handwriting also helps us understand the copyist's scholarly competence and knowledge. It enables us to measure the trustworthiness of the text of the book."

My Thoughts:
I was very intrigued learning about the variations of the different styles in which Japanese books are printed and their cultural significance, but this quote about handwriting stood out to me. This quotation implies that Japanese culture and beliefs indicate that the handwriting of texts is a way to evaluate a source for credibility. This implies the recurring theme in history that there is a correlation between social classes, determined by wealth and power, with the accessibility to proper education. Sources found in good handwriting can be stereotyped and associated with credible, knowledgeable, and competent scholars and experts in the field. In contrast, sources that contain bad handwriting can be associated with works from uneducated people who aren't credible. The ability of good handwriting and bad handwriting can, therefore, classify and divide authors and poets and infer their educational level. I believe this reinforces the unjust societal norm that only those educated have a voice in literature, while those who don't have access to education tend to have their voices overlooked and their stories not heard.

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早稲田大学文学学術院Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences

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和本と日本前近代文学・文化の書誌学的研究