Sake (Sasa no Tsuyu)
酒 (笹の露)
| [Genre] | Jiuta |
| [Style] | Tegotomono |
| [School] | Ikuta Ryû - 生田 |
| [Also Known As] | Sake |
| [Composed] | Yaezaki Kengyō - Koto |
| Kikuoka Kengyō - Shamisen |
History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):
| The title literally means 'Dew-drops on a Bamboo Leaf.' However, sasa in old Japanese was another name for sake, or liquor made from rice, and the title should actually be understood in the second sense. Therefore, this piece is often called 'Sake,' as the text is nothing but a song in praise of sake. Sasa no tsuyu was originally composed as a jiuta by Kikuoka of Kyoto, a blind master of kiuta, around the beginning of the last century. Later Yaezaki (1766?-1848) of Kyoto, a renowned virtuoso of the koto, arranged it for koto and shamisen ensemble. This is a typical tegoto-mono piece of the Kyoto style, with extensive instrumental interludes, or tegoto, involving numerous responsorial patterns, and demands performance skill of a high order. |
Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)
| The sage Confucius said The drinking of sake Knows no bounds- He must have been A very good drinker. The Lord Buddha Admonished that Drinking involves Thirty-six evils- He must have been A very poor drinker. Be that as it may, Susanowo The god of Izumo Subjugated the eight-headed dragon With the thick sake Of eight-fold brewings. He owed his victory To the virtue of sake Even the great rock (1) Ran away humbly Before the Emperor's Staggering drunkenness. Empress Jingu (2) Brewed sake Auguring the return of her son. This sake: Drink deeply! Sasa, sasa! This exclamation Has been handed down To us, and so Drink up! Sasa! Drink up! Sasa! Liu Ling (3) and Li Po (4)- Without sake They would have been Ordinary men. Yoshino blossoms and Tatsuta leaves- Without sake They would be Ordinary places. Yoi, yoi yoi no Yoiya sa! (1) Refers to an episode in the Kojiki ('Record of Ancient Things,' the oldest extant book in Japanese, completed in 712), Vol. 2. The Emperor Ojin, drunk on wine brewed by a Korean named Susukori, rejoiced by walking along and singing a song. As he walked, he struck a large rock in the middle of the path with his staff whereupon the rock ran away. (2) Refers to another episode in the Kojiki, Vol. 2 When the Crown Prince Honda Wake no Mikoto went back to the capital, his mother Okinaga Hime no Mikoto (Empress Jingu) brewed machi-zake ('waiting wine') - wine made while awaiting the return of a loved one - to be drunk after his arrival. (3) Liu Ling (221-300), one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. Liu was chiefly known as a great drinker. (4) Li Po (689-762), one of the most famous of Chinese poets, often wrote of the pleasure of wine and the beauty of nature. | Saka wa hakarinashi to notamaishi sijin wa joogo niya mashimashiken sanjuuroku no shitsu ari to isame tamaishi (ainote) hotoke wa geko niya owasuran nani wa tomoare yakumo tasu (ai) izumo no kami wa yashiori no sake ni orochi wo tairage tamoo kore mina sake no toku nare ya (tegoto) Ooishi saketsuru kashikomi mo mikoto no ei no susume nari (ai) Hime no mikoto no machi-zake wo sasa yo sasa tono kotonoha wo tsutae tsutaete imayo no hito mo kikoshiose sasa kikoshimese sasa (tegoto) Ryuu hakurin ya ri taihaku sake wo nomaneba tada no hito yoshino tasuta no hana-momiji (ai) sake go nakereba tada no toko yoi yoi yoi no yoiya sa |
Sake (Sasa no Tsuyu) appears on the following albums
| Album | Artist | |
 | Fujii Kunie Sokyoku Jiuta No Sekai 3 |
Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō |
| Ikuta Ryū Sōkyoku Tokusen 4 - Sasa no Tsuyu |
Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō V Voice : Fujimoto Hakuin Shamisen : Fujimoto Hakuin Voice : Fukuda Tanehiko Koto : Fukuda Tanehiko | |
| Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 22 (三曲合奏大全集２２) |
Voice : Sasagawa Shizue Shamisen : Sasagawa Shizue Koto : Suzuki Kazuko Shakuhachi : Matsumura Hōmei | |
| Seiha Hogakkai Play Favorites 03 - Kikuoka Kengyo |
Shamisen : Inoue Michiko Voice : Tanaka Gaman Koto : Nakashima Yasuko Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan |
| Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 31 |
Voice : Nakanoshima Kin'ichi Koto : Nakanoshima Kin'ichi Voice : Tomiyama Seikin I Shamisen : Tomiyama Seikin I | |
| Yamada - 06 |
Voice : Uehara Masaki II Koto : Uehara Masaki II Voice : Tomizaki Shunshō Shamisen : Tomizaki Shunshō |