Poem (translated by Yamaguchi Osamu)

Kaede no Hana appears on the following albums

	Album	Artist
	Art of the Koto - Volume II	Koto : Yoshimura Nanae
	Fascination of the Koto 4	Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko II
Composed by Matuzaka Syun'ei (1854-1920) at the end of the 19th century. The text depicts landscapes of early summer in the suburb of Kyoto. The form of this composition is classified as tegoto mono (pieces with a long instrumental interlude). However, unlike traditional tegoto mono, this piece is performed by high and low koto parts which is characteristic of the early Meizi era.
	Fujii Kunie Sokyoku Jiuta No Sekai 4
	Fukuda Chieko	Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II Koto : Fukuda Chieko
	Japanese Treasures	Shakuhachi : Yes Yes
Kaede no hana (Maple Flowers), composed in the latter part of the Meiji period, though the style is more c1assical. The music describes the spring scenes of the Arashiyama hills in Kyoto. The young maples and other flowers in bloom among the rocks give one the image of the beautiful spring season of Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. The piece is stylistically characteristic of the Western part of Japan. For two kotos and one shakuhachi.
	Kikuhara Hatsuko Zenshu vol. 20	Voice : Kikuhara Hatsuko Koto : Kikuyanagi Shōko Koto : Kikuniwa Tomoko
	Koto no Miryoku - Disk 1	Koto : Yamauchi Kimiko
	Musical Cosmos of Yonekawa Toshiko 2	Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko II Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko II
Maple flowers This is a Meiji shinkyoku for high and low koto (with different pitches of the main strings) composed, in the style of tegoto mono, around 1897. The song text is by OZAKI Sisio. At the beginning of the Meiji period, in response to a new era, there was considerable activity in the sphere of jiuta and sokyoku in the Kansai area, particularly Osaka, and compositions for koto as the main instrument were made. Tunings made mainly of the yo mode without a semitone interval and a performance style in two parts, high and low, a new left hand techniques, improved singing and other new techniques came to the fore. This group of new pieces were later known as "Meiji shinkyoku". MATSUZAKA Syun'ei is usually known for his supplementary compositions to YOSHIZAWA kengyo's four pieces of the kokin gumi but he was also one of a few blind musicians, in comparatively conservative Kyoto, who was involved in the composing of Meiji shinkyoku. His other compositions include Haru no sakae and Sumie no asi. The supplementary compositions for the kokin gumi are also placed within his Meiji shinkyoku compositions. Kaede no hana is not only just a representative composition of his, but is also the best known piece within the shinkyoku. The song text clearly depicts a scene of early summer around the area of Arasiyama in the western part of Kyoto, long famed for its cherry blossoms and autumn leaves. The piece is one of only a few in the jiuta and sokyoku group which has summer as its theme. The whole tegoto section consists of the makura (known also as the zyo), the tegoto and the tirasi: the section of the latter half of the makura, with its fine rhythm and faster tempo, is called the mae tirasi. While following the formula of the traditional koto style of tegoto mono, the descriptive instrumental quality is strong. It is bright, and, by using freely a gorgeous polyphony, the atmosphere of early summer is painted with an abundant sense of color. The high part is tuned in roku agari tyosi with the 6th and 11th strings of hira zyosi raised a semitone. The 4th and 9th strings are raised a semitone a little before the tirasi. The low part is tuned in si ku agari tyosi with the 4th and 9th strings raised a tone and with the 1st string tuned to the same pitch with the 3rd string of the high part. In contrast to the frequent case in which ornamented variations are abundant in the high part, the special feature of this piece, is that this treatment is strong in the low part. As a result, the high part is called honte and the low, kaete. In the end, a short concluding section is added which leaves a lingering charm.
	Rokudan Koto no Meikyoku	Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko II
	Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 8 (三曲合奏大全集８)	Voice : Ueki Yasue Koto : Ueki Yasue Koto : Sano Namie Shakuhachi : Yamamoto Hōzan
	Sō no Shiori (Ikuta Ryū) vol 5	Voice : Fujii Kunie Koto : Fujii Kunie Koto : Satō Chikaki
	Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 42	Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko Voice : Yonekawa Fumiko II Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko II
	Yamaguchi Goro - Performance study 3	Koto : Kunishige Utazuke / Utasumi Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō Koto : Hoshi Utaka Koto : Saitō Utasen Koto : Imazawa Kasen