Ishikawa Koto

Japanese: 石川勾当 - いしかわこうとう

Years of birth: Years of birth and death unknown. A jiuta shamisen player from the late Edo period. He was active in Kyoto during the Bunka and Bunsei eras (1804-1830). He excelled in composition rather than performance, but his stubborn personality caused him to be disliked by his peers, and he died in misfortune and poverty. "Yaegorome," which takes a poem about clothing from the Hyakunin Isshu, and "Toru" and "Shin Aoyagi," which are based on Noh plays, are known as the "three Ishikawa pieces," but all of them are difficult pieces and no one played them at first. "Yaegorome" became popular after Miyahara Kengyo had Yaezaki Kengyo add a koto to it, and "Toru" fell out of use in Kyoto, but it is said that Ichiura Kengyo added a koto to the piece that was brought to Osaka via Fushimi and revived it as a "Fushimi piece." He also composed the mishitari kaite (alternate part) of "Azuma (Higashi) Shishi." He is also considered to be the composer of "Shinmusume Dojoji." <References> Record album "Koto Jiuta Taikei" supervised and explained by Kenji Hirano

(Toshiko Kubota)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
江戸後期の地歌三弦家。文化・文政(1804～30)のころに京都で活躍。演奏よりも作曲に秀でていたが,偏屈な性格のために仲間の反感を買い,不遇で赤貧のうちに没した。百人一首から衣に関する歌をとった「八重衣」,謡曲を題材とした「融」「新青柳」は「石川の三つ物」と呼ばれるが,いずれも難曲で,当初は演奏する人もなかった。「八重衣」は宮原検校が八重崎検校に箏の手を付けさせてから世に広まり,「融」は京都では廃絶したが,伏見を経て大坂に伝わったものに市浦検校が箏の手を付けて「伏見物」として復活させたと伝えられている。他に「吾妻(東)獅子」の三下り替手を作曲。「新娘道成寺」の作曲者とも擬されている。<参考文献>平野健次監修・解説レコードアルバム『箏曲地歌大系』

(久保田敏子)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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