Kajimakura
楫枕
| [Genre] | Jiuta |
| [Style] | Tegotomono |
| [School] | Ikuta Ryû - 生田 |
| [Composed] | Yaezaki Kengyō - Koto |
| Kikuoka Kengyō - Shamisen |
History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):
| This piece was originally composed by Kikuoka Kengyo of Kyoto in the jiuta style, that is, as a song accompanied by a shamisen with an extensive interlude called tegoto. Later it was arranged into an ensemble piece for koto and shamisen by Yaezaki Kengyo (1766?-1848), the famous koto virtuoso of Kyoto. Kajimakura literally means 'rudder-pillow,' which actually implies 'asleep on a boat trip,' and the song expresses the yearning of a riverboat courtesan for a young man who might disregard her background and see the innocence and purity of her heart. |
Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)
| The dipping oars Raise clouds of spray Across the waters. Firm in their stand, The bamboo reeds Make me sad Through the sleepless nights On this river boat. Night after night My thoughts torment me. Is it the waves, My tears, Or the dew dripping Through the grass roof, That soaks my sleeves Bound up in sorrow? I drift here and there To drown my sadness, With a rudder As my pillow. However far My travel takes me, Let the final destination Be the foot of a pine tree Along the shore. A firm pledge of love Is all I ask, All I ask of you. I place my heart In your hands. Hold it there Forever and ever. | Kararo osu mizu no kemuri no hitokata ni nabiki mo yaranu kawatake no ukifushi shigeki shigeki ukine no tomari-bune (ai) Yoru yoru mi nizo omoishiru nami ka namida ka toma moru tsuya ka nurenizo nureshi waga sode no shioru omoi wo oshitsutsumi nagare watari ni ukarete kurasu kokoro-zukushi no kajimakura (tegoto) Sashite yukue no tooku tomo tsui ni yorube wa kishi no ue no matsu no ne kataki chigiri wo ba semete tanoman tanomu wa kimi ni (ai) kokoro yureshite kimi ga te ni (ai) musubi tomete yo chiyo yorozuyo mo |
Kajimakura appears on the following albums
| Album | Artist | |
 | Araki Kodo III and Fukuda Eika - Collection of Famous Performances - 01 |
Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō IV Shakuhachi : Araki Kodō III |
| Fujii Kunie Sokyoku Jiuta No Sekai 3 | |
| Fujii Kunie, The World of Shamisen and Jiuta Singing 5 |
Shakuhachi : Kawase Junsuke III Koto : Kobayashi Tamae Voice : Fujii Kunie Shamisen : Fujii Kunie | |
| Ikuta Ryu Sokyoku Senshu Volume 04 （上） |
Koto : Miyagi Kiyoko Shamisen : Yazaki Akiko Voice : Miyagi Kazue | |
| Ikuta-Ryū Sōkyoku Senshū - volume 7 |
Voice : Matsuo Keiko Shamisen : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Matsuo Kazuko | |
| Jiuta no Sekai - 5 |
Koto : Nakanoshima Keiko Voice : Tomiyama Seikin I Shamisen : Tomiyama Seikin I | |
| Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū vol. 10 (三曲合奏大全集１０) |
Koto : Nakashima Yasuko Voice : Yuize Shin'ichi Shamisen : Yuize Shin'ichi Shakuhachi : Nanba Chikuzan | |
| Sankyoku Home Practice - Chuden 1 |
Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II Shamisen : Ōta Satoko Koto : Satō Chikaki | |
| Sasagawa Shizue no Shigei Vol. 5 |
Shamisen : Sasagawa Shizue Koto : Suzuki Kazuko | |
| Sō no Shiori (Ikuta Ryū) vol 1 |
Voice : Inoue Michiko Shamisen : Inoue Michiko Koto : Nakashima Yasuko | |
| Sō to Sangen no Shirabe - Sōkyoku to Jiuta |
Voice : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Matsuo Keiko Shamisen : Mori Yūji | |
| Sōkyoku - Shin Aoyagi / Kajimakura |
Voice : Matsuo Keiko Shamisen : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Mori Yūji | |
| Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 33 |
Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko Shamisen : Yonekawa Toshiko Voice : Miyagi Kiyoko Koto : Miyagi Kiyoko Shakuhachi : Shimabara Hanzan | |
| Song of Daybreak |
Shakuhachi : Bruce Huebner |
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Kaji Makura "A Rudder for My Pillow" is one of the finest examples of the kyofu tegoto mono, a sub-genre of sankyoku that reached its peak of development under Kengyo Kikuoka (1792-1847). The form is typical of tegoto mono: two vocal sections, called the mae uta and ato uta, are separated by an instrumental interlude called the tegoto. These song sections are further broken by short interludes called ai no te. Also typical is the addition by another composer, Kengyo Yaezaki (1776-1848) in this case, of a koto tetsuke much in the same manner as the shakuhachi kaede above. The middle tegoto instrumental section of "A Rudder for My Pillow" is atypically divided further into two dan or "steps," a form borrowed from an older koto genre called dan mono. These dan have an equal number of beats and can be played simultaneously to create another layer of polyphony. The melismatic singing style and text content is typical of the tegoto mono and jiuta in general. In Kaji Makura, a courtesan, her life drifting like the boat upon which she works, longs for a man who will forget her unseemly past and love her for her pure heart.
| ||
| Togashi Noriko - 02 |
Shamisen : Togashi Noriko |
| Zoku Sō-Sangen-Shakuhachi ni yoru Mei Senshū - volume 8 |
Voice : Matsuo Keiko Shamisen : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Matsuo Kazuko | |