Sho

A Japanese free-reed air instrument. It is used in the Gagaku music of Togaku, Saibara, and Roei. It is made by inserting 17 thin bamboo tubes of various lengths into a circle on the top of a bowl-shaped cup (also called the "kashira"). Its graceful shape resembles that of a phoenix with its wings closed, so it is also known as the phoenix sho. It is about 50 centimeters long, with a cup diameter and depth of 6 to 7 centimeters, and a mouthpiece at the front center of the cup. The bamboo tubes are called clockwise: Sen, Ju, Ge, Otsu, Ku, Bi, Ichi, Hachi, Ya, Gon, Shichi, Gyo, Jo, Bo, Kotsu, Mou, and Hi, and 15 of these, excluding Ya and Ke, have a shita (free reed) at the base. At the top of each tube there is a long, thin hole called a byojo, and near the lower reed there is a small finger hole. When the finger hole is open, it does not make a sound, but when it is covered, a consistent pitch can be produced by blowing or sucking, regardless of the tube length, depending on the position of the byojo. The reeds are made of a copper alloy called sahari, and have a U-shaped notch. A small amount of lead grain is placed on the top of the notch to fine-tune the pitch. Because the pitch is fixed, it is used as the pitch standard for other gagaku instruments.

When playing, the player holds the tsubo with both hands and holds the mouthpiece vertically at mouth height. If the inside of the tsubo is not dry, it will not sound good, so during each break in performance, the tsubo is heated over a charcoal fire or similar to evaporate the moisture inside. The playing method is usually to play a five- to six-note complex called "aitake". There are 11 types of aitake, each named after the name of the instrument that produces the central note of the complex. During the song, this central note follows the main melody of the hichiriki or ryuteki, but a unique fingering method called "tewari" is set so that there is no discontinuity in the sound when moving to another aitake. The aitake starts out soft, gradually gets louder, and finally suddenly becomes softer, completing the hand transfer, and the player alternates between inhalation and exhalation before moving to the next aitake. This change of breath is called "ki-gae".

In this way, the sho has a wide range of volume variations, and in Togaku and Bugaku, it is generally called "bugaku-buki" which emphasizes changes in tone, while in Kangen, it is called "kangen-buki" which emphasizes the skill of changing the tone. In Saibaraku and Roei, it is called "ippon-buki" or "ichiku" to play a single melody, and special playing techniques are also used in Togaku's Netori and Toshi.

Originally, the sho was introduced from China during the Nara period and modified to suit Japanese tastes, and the Shosoin archives contain one with reeds on all 17 tubes, as well as three u, which are larger than the sho and have a lower pitch. All have a long beak at the mouth. Various types of sho and u were seen in China as early as the Zhou dynasty, and they were used mainly for gagaku and banquet music from the Western Han dynasty onwards. The number of tubes varies from 13 to 36 depending on the era, but today the most common are the large 17-tube sho, the small 13-tube sho, and the 23-tube sao. Similar instruments today include the Korean sho and the khene of the Indochina Peninsula.

[Yoko Hashimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

日本の自由リードの気鳴楽器。雅楽の唐楽(とうがく)、催馬楽(さいばら)、朗詠(ろうえい)に用いる。長短17本の細い竹管を椀(わん)型の匏(ほう)（「かしら」とも）の上面に円形に差し込んだもので、優美なその形は羽を閉じた鳳凰(ほうおう)の姿に似ているため、別名鳳笙ともいう。全長約50センチメートル、匏の直径および深さ6～7センチメートルで、匏の前中央に吹口(すいくち)がついている。竹管は右回りに千(せん)、十(じゅう)、下(げ)、乙(おつ)、工(く)、美(び)、一(いち)、八(はち)、也(や)、言(ごん)、七(しち)、行(ぎょう)、上(じょう)、凢(ぼう)、乞(こつ)、毛(もう)、比(ひ)とよばれ、このうち也と毛を除いた15管には根元に簧(した)（自由リード）がついている。各管の上方には「屏上(びょうじょう)」という細長い穴があり、下方リード近くには小さな指孔がある。指孔は開の状態では発音しないが、これをふさぐと管長に関係なく、屏上の位置によって、吹いても吸っても一定の音高が出せる。簧は「さはり」という銅の合金でできており、コの字形の切り込みが入っている。切り込み上部に少量の鉛の粒をのせて音高の微調整をする。音高が固定しているため、他の雅楽器の音高基準に用いられる。

　演奏に際しては匏を両手で包み、吹口を口の高さまで垂直に持ち上げて構える。匏の内部が乾燥していないと鳴りが悪いので、演奏時には休止のたびに匏を炭火などであぶって、中の水分を蒸発させる。奏法は「合竹(あいたけ)」という5～6音からなる重音を奏するのが普通である。合竹は全部で11種類あり、各名称は重音の中心音の管名をもってする。曲中この中心音は、篳篥(ひちりき)や竜笛(りゅうてき)の主旋律をなぞるが、別の合竹に移るときに音が断続しないように「手移り」という独自の運指法が決められている。合竹は始めは弱く、しだいに音を大きくし、最後に急に弱くして手移りを終え、呼気と吸気を交替して新しく次の合竹に移る。この気息の切り替えを「気替え」という。

　このように笙は音量の変化に富み、一般に唐楽舞楽では「舞楽吹(ぶき)」といって気替えを強調し、管絃(かんげん)では「管絃吹」といって手移りの妙を聞かせる傾向にある。催馬楽や朗詠では「一本吹(いっぽんぶき)」「一竹(いっちく)」などと称して単音で旋律を奏するほか、唐楽の音取(ねとり)や調子では特殊な奏法も用いられる。

　元来、笙は奈良時代に唐より伝わり日本的に改変されたもので、正倉院には17管全部に簧のあるものや、笙より大型で低音の竽(う)が各3口保存されている。いずれも吹口には長い嘴(くちばし)がついている。中国ではすでに周代より各種の笙(シエン)や竽がみられ、前漢以来おもに雅楽や宴饗(えんきょう)楽に用いた。管数は時代によって13～36管までさまざまであるが、今日では大型17管、小型13管の笙、23管の竿が代表的である。現在同系のものとしては朝鮮の笙やインドシナ半島のケーンがある。

［橋本曜子］

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