Mount Bandai in Aizu

A folk song from the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture. It has been sung as a Bon Odori song in the region, and although its origin is unknown, it is certain that it originated from "Echigo Jinku," a Bon Odori song sung in the Echigo region of Niigata Prefecture. It is estimated that this song was brought to Aizu via the Wakamatsu Highway along the Agano River and began to be used as a Bon Odori song in the late or final Edo period. When it was recorded by Kouta Katsutaro around 1935 (Showa 10), the lyrics to be used as the original song were taken from the Aizu folk song "Genjo Bushi," which goes, "Aizu Bandaisan is a mountain of treasures, gold falls on the bamboo grass," and the song was named "Aizu Bandaisan," taking the opening line. One theory is that the song began when oil-pressing craftsmen from Gogahama, Echigo, sang and danced in the grounds of Amida Temple in Aizuwakamatsu City, but in recent years it has been discovered that songs of the same genre are widely distributed throughout the prefecture, making it difficult to believe that a single group brought the song to a specific place.

[Tsutomu Takeuchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

福島県会津地方の民謡。同地方で盆踊り唄(うた)として歌われてきたもので、その源流は不明だが、新潟県越後(えちご)地方で盆踊り唄として歌われている『越後甚句(じんく)』が元であることは確かである。この唄が阿賀野(あがの)川沿いに若松街道経由で会津へ持ち込まれ、やはり盆踊り唄として利用されるようになったのは、江戸時代後期か末期のことと推定される。それが1935年（昭和10）ごろ小唄勝太郎によってレコード化されるおり、元唄にすべき歌詞を会津民謡の『玄如節(げんじょぶし)』の「会津磐梯山は宝の山よ　笹(ささ)に黄金(こがね)がなりさがる」を利用したため、曲名もその歌い出しをとって『会津磐梯山』とした。越後五ヶ浜(ごがはま)の油締め職人が会津若松市内の阿弥陀(あみだ)寺の境内で歌い踊ったのが始まりという説もあるが、近年、同系統の唄が県下に広く分布していることがわかってきたので、一集団が特定の所へ持ち込んだとは考えにくくなった。

［竹内　勉］

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