Big drum - Dadaiko

A large shime drum used in the left and right dances of gagaku. It is also called a kaen drum because the rim of the drum body is decorated with a huge spire-shaped ornament representing a burning flame. The size of the drum surface varies, with a diameter of around 2 meters. A hole is drilled around the periphery of a single piece of skin, and it is tightened tightly from both sides with a shirabeo (string). There are left and right-handed versions, and at the end of the approximately 240 cm handle protruding from the center of the flame is a gold-colored "nichigyo" (sun shape) on the left and a silver-colored "getsugyo" (moon shape) on the right. Among the flames, a rising dragon is carved into the left and a phoenix into the right against a background of rolling clouds, and on the surface of the drum, a Mitsudomoe pattern is painted in black lacquer on the left and a Futatsudomoe pattern on the right. Each drum is placed on a stand about one meter high with a balustrade on all four sides, and the player stands behind the drum and strikes it with two sticks. The playing method is the same as that of the gakudaiko drums used in Kangen music. There are only a few of these, and those at Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara and Shitennoji Temple in Osaka are designated as Important Cultural Properties.

[Yoko Hashimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

雅楽の左右の舞楽に用いる大型の締(しめ)太鼓。鼓胴の周縁に燃え盛る炎を表す巨大な尖塔(せんとう)型の装飾が施されることから、火焔(かえん)太鼓ともいう。鼓面の大きさはさまざまで直径2メートル前後。一枚皮の周囲に穴をあけ、調緒(しらべお)を通して両面から強く締める。左方用、右方用があり、火焔の中央から突き出た約240センチメートルの柄の先に、左方では金色の「日形(にちぎょう)」、右方では銀色の「月形(げつぎょう)」とよばれる数十本の棒の突き出た円板がつく。火焔の中には、連なる雲を背景に左方では昇竜、右方では鳳凰(ほうおう)が浮彫りされ、鼓面には左方では三巴(みつどもえ)、右方では二巴(ふたつどもえ)の模様が黒漆で描かれている。それぞれ、高欄を四方に巡らせた高さ1メートルほどの胴台にのせられ、奏者は太鼓の裏側に立ち、2本の桴(ばち)で打奏する。奏法は管絃(かんげん)の楽太鼓と同じ。数は少なく、奈良・春日(かすが)大社、大阪・四天王寺のものは重要文化財に指定されている。

［橋本曜子］

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