Charumera - Charumera

A Japanese double-reed airphone. It is a wooden conical tube with seven finger holes on the front and one on the back, and a piece of straw is attached to the mouthpiece, which is held in the mouth to play. It is thought to be a Japanese adaptation of the Chinese sona, which was introduced at the end of the 16th century. It has generally played an important role in the sounds of the working downtown area as the instrument of soba noodle shops that play improvised variations on the basic melody "do-re-mi-re-do, do-re-mi-re-do-re" through the streets late at night. Due to this background, it was used in Kabuki music to create a Chinese atmosphere (such as in "The Battle of Koxinga") and a downtown feel (such as in "Kamiyui Toji"). In Nagauta, it was used in the Tang music combinations in "Tiger Hunt" and "The Tale of the Three Kingdoms Fox Spirits".

As for the name, the Iberian brass flutes, which were introduced in the latter half of the 16th century and were different from the Chinese ones, were called Nanban flutes, but these did not become popular, and it is thought that the name was derived from a corrupted version of the Portuguese word charamela, "charumera." This series of similar instruments may have been transmitted and transformed from the West Asian surunai or its prototype.

[Osamu Yamaguchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

日本のダブル・リード（複簧(ふくこう)）気鳴楽器。木製円錐(えんすい)管で、表に7、裏に1個の指孔(ゆびあな)があり、吹口に二つ裂きの藁(わら)を取り付け、口にくわえて吹奏する。中国の嗩吶(ソーナー)が16世紀末に渡来して日本化したものと考えられている。一般には、「ドレミレド、ドレミレドレ」の基本旋律を即興的に変奏しながら深夜の町を流す夜鳴きそば屋の楽器として、庶民的な下町の音の一端を担ってきた。こうした背景があるため、歌舞伎囃子(かぶきばやし)で中国的な雰囲気を出したり（『国性爺合戦(こくせんやかっせん)』など）、下町の感じを出す（『髪結藤次(かみゆいとうじ)』など）のに利用され、長唄(ながうた)では『虎狩(とらがり)』『三国妖狐物語』の唐楽(とうがく)の合方(あいかた)などに用いられた。

　名称については、16世紀後半伝来の中国系とは異なるイベリア系真鍮(しんちゅう)製のものが南蛮笛とよばれたが、これは普及せず、そのポルトガル語charamelaがなまった「チャルメラ」が転用されたと考えられる。これら一連の類似楽器は、西アジアのスルナイ、またはその祖型から伝播(でんぱ)変容したのであろう。

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