Atsumori
Geschichte (Yokoyama Katsuya):
| The episode entitles "Atsumorei" is taken from Volume 9 of the Heike epic poem. Kinshi Tsuruta has adapted here the text modified by Togai Tanaka at the beginning of this century. We propose the following resume: Naozane, hero of the Genji clan, notices a general from the enemy clan about 65 yards from the river's edge; on horseback and clad in magnificent armor, he is gaining on the ships of Heike where he will be safe. Hearing Naozane's call, he turns in his tracks to answer his challenge. The engage in fierce combat. When Naozane, victorious, removes the helmet form his adversary before killing him, he sees that it is a mere boy of 16 or 17, just the age of his own sun. Unable to bring himself to execute the young man, he wants to let him go. But his companions who have gathered round cry: "If you let this man go, it will be treason; and in that case, we will kill both of you." Naozane, in tears, is obliged to execute the young general. "What a sad lot is that of a soldier. If I had not been born into a family of warriors, I would never have known this tragic situation", laments Naozane who, following this episode, withdraws and becomes a Buddhist monk. The ephemeral nature of terrestrial life and the impermanence of all things demonstrated by this account emanates from Buddhist thought and is characteristic of the Satsuma-Biwa genre and the Heike epic poem. |
Atsumori spielt auf den folgenden Alben
| Album | Künstler | |
| Ensemble Nipponia - Kabuki and other Traditional Music | ||
|
The biwa - a plucked, pear-shaped lute with four or five strings - is a seminal force in Japanese music, standing at the head of the great narrative tradition. Originally part of the gagaku court orchestra which came from the mainland to Japan in the 7th century, the biwa later was used by itinerant Buddhist monks as an aid to their chanting of sutras and narration of parables. The biwa has influenced the development of shamisen music, and its tales have flowed into the plays of noh, bunraku, and kabuki. In the 13th century, the biwa became the prime vehicle for narration of the great military epic, the Tale of Heike, one episode of which is given here. Atsumori tells of the tragic death of a young Heike warrior at the hands of Kumagai, an older Genji warrior. This excerpt takes the story up to the point where Atsumori and Kumagai face one another at the water's edge. The scene is set both in words and descriptive music. The early morning wind off Suma bay is simulated in a long shimmering tremolo. After a short interlude, the text tells of a defeated Heike warship in the distance. Following the next interlude, Kumagai appears, searching the beach for a worthy opponent. A portentous biwa tremolo: he spots Atsumori heading into the water after his ship: Kumagai calls him back to do battle. The excerpt concludes with an instrumental depiction of Atsumori kicking his way through the surf to meet his opponent and death.
| ||
| Japon | ||
|
The episode entitles "Atsumorei" is taken from Volume 9 of the Heike epic poem. Kinshi Tsuruta has adapted here the text modified by Togai Tanaka at the beginning of this century. We propose the following resume: Naozane, hero of the Genji clan, notices a general from the enemy clan about 65 yards from the river's edge; on horseback and clad in magnificent armor, he is gaining on the ships of Heike where he will be safe. Hearing Naozane's call, he turns in his tracks to answer his challenge. The engage in fierce combat. When Naozane, victorious, removes the helmet form his adversary before killing him, he sees that it is a mere boy of 16 or 17, just the age of his own sun. Unable to bring himself to execute the young man, he wants to let him go. But his companions who have gathered round cry: "If you let this man go, it will be treason; and in that case, we will kill both of you." Naozane, in tears, is obliged to execute the young general. "What a sad lot is that of a soldier. If I had not been born into a family of warriors, I would never have known this tragic situation", laments Naozane who, following this episode, withdraws and becomes a Buddhist monk. The ephemeral nature of terrestrial life and the impermanence of all things demonstrated by this account emanates from Buddhist thought and is characteristic of the Satsuma-Biwa genre and the Heike epic poem. | ||