Study of koto

Japanese: 琴学 - きんがく

A discipline that was gradually systematized in the process of studying the music of the ancient Chinese seven-stringed zither (→ qin). It is also called "qin-do." In China, the zither has been respected as a tool for the cultivation of a gentleman, but later it was combined with Confucianism, Taoism, and other ideas, and strict rules were established for theory, playing techniques, and etiquette, forming a unique philosophy. Here, the primary purpose of the zither is not simply to play it, but to appreciate its mysterious charm. To achieve this, it was considered preferable to play it in the silence of nature rather than among noisy common people. This philosophy was perfected during the Ming dynasty, which can also be said to have reached its musical perfection, with the Ming dynasty recording the greatest number of compositions and zither scores published. As a result, notation methods also developed. While the oldest surviving koto score, Jieshicho Yulanfu, describes playing techniques in text, notation methods from the Song dynasty onwards in the Ming dynasty used reduced-character notation, combining techniques in various abbreviated Chinese characters, to make complex playing techniques easier to read at a glance. An old example of a piece written in reduced-character notation is Jiang Kui's Gu Yan from the Southern Song dynasty. Since then, more than 300 koto pieces were composed and notated during the Ming dynasty, many of which still exist today. Many koto pieces from the Ming dynasty onwards have themes of nature or glorify a secluded life away from the mundane world. In the past, koto music was considered to be accompanied by lyrics, but it gradually developed into instrumental solo pieces. However, some koto scores also include lyrics, and each piece has a title that suggests the content of the piece. Some of the pieces that are still widely performed today include "Yangguan Sanjo," "Heisa Rakugan," "Baika Sanron," "Takayama Ryusui," and "Nagato On." The koto was introduced to Japan during the Nara period, and it is known that it was also played during the Heian period, but the actual situation is unknown. It became popular in 1677, when the monk Togo Zenji (Shin'etsu), who had naturalized in Japan to escape the wars of the late Ming Dynasty, was welcomed by Tokugawa Mitsukuni and taught koto studies in Mito, and in the second half of the 18th century, many talented people followed Shin'etsu's footsteps. Shin'etsu's musical score is widely circulated as "Togo Kinpu."

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

中国古来の七弦琴 (→琴 ) の音楽を追究する過程でしだいに体系化された学問。「琴道」とも称する。中国では琴を君子の修養の道具として尊重してきたが，その後儒教，道教などの思想と結合して，理論，弾法，作法などに厳しい規則を設け，独特の思想を形成した。ここでは，琴は単に弾奏することよりも，幽玄な琴趣を悟ることを第1の目的とする。そのためには，騒がしい俗人の間で琴を弾じるよりも自然の静寂のうちに弾じるほうが好ましいとされた。こうした思想は明代にいたって大成したが，音楽的にも明代において完成したといえ，創作曲数，琴譜の刊行数は明代が最も多い。したがって記譜法も発達し，現存する最古の琴譜『碣石調幽蘭譜 (けっせきちょうゆうらんふ) 』が文章で奏法を記すのに対し，宋以後明代における記譜法は，手法を漢字の略字体でさまざまに組み合わせるなどした減字譜を用い，複雑な奏法をひと目で読み取れるように工夫した。減字譜で記される古い例に南宋の姜夔 (きょうき) の『古怨』があり，以後明代において 300曲以上の琴曲が作曲，記譜され，多くが現存する。明代以後の琴曲には自然を題材とするもの，あるいは俗世間を離れた隠遁生活を嘆美するものが多い。琴曲は古くは歌詞を伴った琴歌がよしとされたが，しだいに器楽独奏曲として発達した。しかし，琴譜には歌詞を併記するものもあり，また各曲が標題を有して，その曲の内容を示唆している。現在も広く演奏されるものに『陽関三畳』『平沙落雁』『梅花三弄』『高山流水』『長門怨』などがある。日本には奈良時代に琴が伝えられ，平安時代にも演奏されていたことは明らかになっているが，その実態は未詳。盛んになったのは，延宝5 (1677) 年に明末の兵乱を避けて日本に帰化した僧東皐禅師 (心越 ) が，徳川光圀に迎えられ水戸で琴学を教授してからであり，18世紀後半には心越の流れをくむ多数の人材が輩出。心越の伝譜は『東皐琴譜』として広く流布している。

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