Chinese fiddle

Japanese: 胡弓 - こきゅう

It is a general term for bowed string instruments played in the Orient, but in the narrow sense it refers only to those played in Japan; the general term for Chinese kokyu is huqin, that for Korean is haegeum, and that for Ryukyu is tiqin, but in present-day Okinawa it is also called kokyu. In Japan it is also written as kokyu or kokyu, and is a small version of the shamisen held vertically and played with a bow with a taut horsehair. It is said to have been introduced to Japan from Ryukyu by Ishimura Kengyo, but the details are unknown. In the early Edo period, it was played as an instrument for door-to-door entertainment. Yatsuhashi Kengyo is also said to have improved the kokyu. Around the Horeki era in Osaka, Masashima Kengyo, a disciple of Shinagawa Kengyo, organized kokyu solo pieces as artistic music, and Morioka Masaho, a member of that lineage, introduced it to Edo in 1795. However, in Edo, Fujiue Kengyo, who was said to be a master of kokyu, founded a four-stringed kokyu (however, the third and fourth strings have the same tune) around the time of the Horeki era, and it was passed down as Fujiue-ryu, linked to Yamada-ryu sokyoku. In addition, the Matsuo-ryu, founded by Seki Matsuo of Nagoya, is also linked to the Yamada-ryu and continues to this day. There is a record of a master player named Udezaki Kengyo in Kyoto around the Bunka era, but the subsequent tradition in Kansai is unclear. Currently, 12 pieces such as "Eishishi," "Karakogaku," "Shiriba," and "Tsuru no Sugoro" are passed down as Fujiue-ryu honkyoku, and in Nagoya and Kansai, only "Tsuru no Sugoro," as well as "Chidori no Kyoku" and "Semi no Kyoku," composed by Yoshizawa Kengyo, are performed as honkyoku. In the past, the combination of the three instruments, the sangen, the koto, and the kokyu, was the mainstream for sankyoku ensemble, but today this position has been taken over by the shakuhachi. In addition, the koto is used partially in certain parts of kabuki and bunraku, such as in "Numazu," "Akoya Kotozeme," and "Gosho Goroza," and is also used as accompaniment in folk songs, such as "Ecchu Owara" and "Mugiya Bushi."

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

Japanese:

東洋に行われる擦弦楽器の総称であるが，狭義には日本で行われるものだけをいい，中国の胡弓の総称としては胡琴，朝鮮のものは奚琴，琉球のものは提琴というが，現在の沖縄では胡弓ともいっている。日本では鼓弓，小弓とも書き，三味線を小型にして縦に持ち，馬尾を張った弓で奏する。日本には石村検校が琉球から伝えたものともいわれるが，詳細は未詳。江戸時代の初期には門付芸の楽器として行われた。八橋検校も胡弓の改良者として伝えられる。宝暦頃の大坂では，品川検校門下の政島検校が芸術音楽としての胡弓独奏曲を整理し，その系統の森岡正甫が寛政7 (1795) 年江戸に伝えた。ただし，江戸には別に宝暦頃に胡弓名人といわれた藤植検校が4弦 (ただし第3，第4弦は同律) の胡弓を創始し，藤植流 (ふじえりゅう) として山田流箏曲と結びついて伝承された。ほかに，名古屋の関松翁を祖とする松翁流も山田流と結びついて現在にいたっている。京都では，文化頃に腕崎検校という名手がいたとの記録があるが，その後の関西における伝承は未詳。現在藤植流胡弓本曲として伝えられるものは，『栄獅子』『唐子楽』『下り葉』『鶴の巣籠』など 12曲，名古屋および関西では，『鶴の巣籠』のほかには吉沢検校作曲の『千鳥の曲』『蝉の曲』などのみが胡弓本曲として行われている。なお，かつては，三曲合奏として三弦，箏，胡弓の3種の組合せが主流であったが，今日では尺八にその位置を奪われてしまった。このほか，歌舞伎や文楽においても，『沼津』『阿古屋琴責』『御所五郎蔵』など特定のものに部分的に用いられ，また，民謡でも『越中おわら』や『麦や節』などの伴奏に用いられる。

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