Saibara

Popular songs from the Heian period. These were originally folk songs arranged and sung in the style of imported Chinese music. They were mainly sung at banquets and entertainments for the court nobility, accompanied by Yamato flutes, Japanese harps, and biwa, and accompanied by shakubyoshi beats. They are classified into two types, Ritsu and Ryo, based on the difference in melody. The first documented example is found in the Sandai Jitsuroku, a passage for October 23, 859, which says that the late Empress Naishi Hiroi often played Saibaraku songs, but it seems that the popularity of Saibaraku reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Ninmyo 20 to 30 years earlier. The titles of the volumes of "The Tale of Genji" include the titles of Saibaraku songs, such as "Umegae (Plum Branch)," "Agemaki (Azumaya)," and "Azumaya (Garden House)." There are various theories about the name Saibaraku, including one that it was a song sung to urge horses carrying tributes when they were presented to the Ministry of Finance from various provinces, another that it was sung to the beat of a kagura song, another that it was sung to the tune of the Tang music "Saibaraku," and another that it was named after the lyrics of "Waga Koma (My Horse)," which is at the beginning of the tune in the musical score, "Ide my horse, go quickly," but the exact origin is unknown.

The contents are diverse, but many of them are about the everyday life of the common people, especially about love between men and women. On the other hand, there are also songs about the customs of the Daijosai (Great Blessing Ceremony) and New Year's songs. Judging from the contents, they seem to have developed and been perfected between the end of the Nara period and the beginning of the Heian period. Many of the songs are irregular in form, but many of them are reduced to the short poem format, such as "Ana no Mikoto" and "Ume ga Eda". In the mid-Heian period, two schools of songs, the Genke and To families, emerged and passed down Saibara, leaving behind 25 ritsusen poems, such as "Waga Koma" and "Sawada River," and 36 ryousen poems, such as "Ana no Mikoto" and "Atarashiki Toshi," for a total of 61 poems (two ritsusen pieces and four ryousen pieces are also named in the "Renchusho").

Saibaraku continued as a court entertainment for a long time, but was almost completely abolished during the Muromachi period. However, in 1626 (Kan'ei 3), Emperor Gomizunoo ordered the revival of "Ise-no-umi," and the pieces were gradually revived, and in 1876 (Meiji 9), six pieces, "Anato-to," "Yamashiro," "Morida," "Minoyama," "Ise-no-umi," and "Koromo-gae," were selected by the Imperial Household Agency Music Department, and in 1931 (Showa 6), four more pieces, "Mimasaka," "Tanaka-no-ido," "O-seri," and "Oinezumi," were revived and added to the selection. The current pieces are sometimes played between the Kangen Togaku performances at the Imperial Household Agency's gagaku performances.

[Tada Kazuomi]

"Japanese Classical Literature Series 3: Ancient Songs and Ballads" (1957, Iwanami Shoten), edited by Hiroshi Dobashi and Jinichi Konishi ; "Saibaraku Translation" (1966, Iwanami Shoten), by Motokiyo Yamai

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安時代の歌謡。もと風俗歌であった歌謡を、外来音楽である唐楽(とうがく)風に編曲して歌ったもの。おもに宮廷貴族の祝宴、遊宴の場で、大和笛(やまとぶえ)、和琴(わごん)、琵琶(びわ)などの伴奏で、笏拍子(しゃくびょうし)を打ちながら歌われた。旋律の違いで、律(りつ)・呂(りょ)の二つに分類される。文献上の初見例は、『三代実録』貞観(じょうがん)元年（859）10月23日のくだりに、薨去(こうきょ)された尚侍広井(ないしのかみひろい)女王が催馬楽歌をよくされたとあるものであるが、その20～30年前の仁明(にんみょう)天皇のころが催馬楽流行の一頂点であったらしい。『源氏物語』の巻名にも「梅枝(うめがえ)」「総角(あげまき)」「東屋(あずまや)」などの催馬楽の曲名がみえている。催馬楽の名義については、諸国から貢物を大蔵省に納める際、貢物を負わせた馬を駆り催すために口ずさんだ歌であったからとする説、神楽(かぐら)歌の前張(さいばり)の拍子で歌ったからとする説、唐楽の『催馬楽(さいばらく)』の曲調で歌ったからとする説、譜本の律旋冒頭にある『我が駒(こま)』の歌詞「いで我が駒早く行きこそ」によったとする説など諸説あるが、確かなところは不明である。

　内容は多様だが、民衆の生活感情、とくに男女の恋愛を歌ったものが多い。一方で、大嘗祭(おおにえのまつり)の風俗歌、新年の賀歌などもみいだされる。その内容からみて、奈良時代の末から平安時代の初めにかけて発達、完成したものらしい。歌謡の形式は多く不整形だが、『あな尊と』『梅が枝』など短歌形式に還元されるものも少なくない。平安中期に源家(げんけ)、藤(とう)家の2流が生じて催馬楽を伝え、律旋は『我が駒』『沢田川』など25首、呂旋は『あな尊と』『新しき年』など36首、計61首が残されている（ほかに『簾中抄(れんちゅうしょう)』には、律旋2曲、呂旋4曲の名をあげている）。

　催馬楽は宮廷芸能として長く続いたが、室町時代にはほとんど廃絶した。しかし、1626年（寛永3）後水尾(ごみずのお)天皇の勅令により『伊勢海(いせのうみ)』が再興されたのを最初に順次再興され、1876年（明治9）宮内庁楽部の選定曲として『安名尊(あなとうと)』『山城(やましろ)』『席田(むしろだ)』『蓑山(みのやま)』『伊勢海』『更衣(ころもがえ)』の6曲が、さらに1931年（昭和6）には『美作(みまさか)』『田中井戸(たなかのいど)』『大芹(おおせり)』『老鼠(おいねずみ)』の4曲が再興されて加えられた。現行曲は宮内庁の雅楽公演などで、管絃(かんげん)の唐楽演奏の合間に演奏されることがある。

［多田一臣］

『土橋寛・小西甚一校注『日本古典文学大系3　古代歌謡集』（1957・岩波書店）』▽『山井基清著『催馬楽訳譜』（1966・岩波書店）』

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