Esashi oiwake music
Esashi oiwake music（江差追分, "Esashi crossroads"） is a kind of folk music from the Japanese island of Hokkaidō. It started in the town of Esashi in Hiyama Subprefecture.[1]
An Eashi Oiwake song consists of three sections:
- Mae-uta (beginning song);
- Hon-uta (main part or original song)
- Ato-uta (final song)
Origins
Oiwake was originally a horseman's song (Mago-uta) from Oiwake village from Nagano Prefecture but spread throughout Japan during the Edo period. Once in Esashi, the melody was modified and also enlarged by adding starting and ending sections.
The song's lyrics changed, describing nature, customs and fishing in Esashi instead of a horseman's life in the mountains. This is reflected in fishing lyrics:
- 「ニシン来たかとカモメに問えば」
- Ask the seagull if the herring have come?
The Japanese Shakuhachi flute accompanies the singing which has a free rhythm rather than a mechanical, fitted rhythm. One version of the way that the term Esahi Oiwake was coined is from the town's efforts to reinvent itself as a tourism destination at the end of the 19th century after local fisheries failed. The town advertised itself using a popular oiwake song called Min'yo which became known as Easahi Oiwake as the town's version gained renown.[2]
References
- ↑ "'Esashi Oiwake' and the Beginnings of Modern Japanese Folk Song." World of Music 34(ll:35-56. Kibara, Tambo. 1993.
- ↑ Based on the Easahi Oiwake page of the International Shakuhachi Society's website.