Rosui Tosha, Rosetsu Tosha etc.
Azuma-Ryu Nigen-Koto
King Record (Japan) 1975
KHA 35 (LP) Gatefold sleeve w/booklet. w/obi.
sleeve : VG+(some light dirts, some color-faded)
media : EX/EX(some slightly noise)
Released in 1975 to commemorate Tosha Rosui’s succession as the sixth headmaster of the school, this album documents the tradition of Aauma-Ryu Nigenkin, a two-string zither style originally devised in Tokyo by the first-generation Tosha Rosen around the beginning of the Meiji era, and later recognized in 1973 as an Intangible Cultural Property. The recording features six members of the school, including Tosha Rosetsu, who studied under the fourth-generation Rosen and is heard here not only as a player but also as a vocalist. Reviving pieces for the nigenkin—an instrument rooted in Shinto music yet gradually modernized over time—the ensemble performs these works with added vocal elements. From solo nigenkin pieces to ensemble performances with shamisen, tsuzumi, taiko, flute, and voice, this is a rare and valuable document tracing the development of Japanese traditional music as it evolved from the Edo into the Meiji period, where elements of kabuki, noh, festival music, and kouta intertwine. The tone of the nigenkin is remarkably simple, with a resonance entirely unlike that of the standard koto. The instructional piece at the end of side B, “Tuning and Technique,” is also fascinating in its own right.
A2: 小督
B1: 笙の笛
B4: 調弦と手法