Modern - Imayo

Japanese: 今様 - いまよう

(1) A popular song from the mid-Heian to the Kamakura period. It is an abbreviation of "imayo-ka." "imayo" is a general term meaning "the style of the present age." "imayo-ka" refers broadly to all the new songs that have been newly created in each era, while in the narrow sense, it refers to a specific type of song (usual imayo or just imayo). In the narrow sense, imayo is a poetic form similar to hōbunka and shikū shinka, which have a four-line format in which a line consisting of two long and short syllables, such as 7-5 or 8-6, is repeated four times. The term "imayo-ka" first appeared in the Murasaki Shikibu Diary, but it became popular as a form of entertainment at the Imperial Court from the time of Emperor Go-Suzaku. Emperor Go-Shirakawa was a particular fan, and his work, Ryōjin Hishō, is an important source of information on imayo. Imayo can be found in many books, such as the Tale of the Heike, and those that have been passed down as eikyoku (traditional songs) are included in scores for roei. Originally, imayo was professionally sung by courtesans and other folk performers, and the content was often about the lives of the lower classes. However, after it began to be sung as a ceremonial song at Imperial court ceremonies, it was passed down as one of the eikyoku along with roei, and schools were formed. In the Edo period, literary creation of songs in the imayo style was carried out by scholars of Japanese classics, and influenced the establishment of new style poetry in the Meiji period. (2) On the other hand, from around the mid-Heian period, lyrics were applied to songs of gagaku music and sung. In particular, those that were applied to the song Etenraku became popular, and were called "Etenraku-yo (song) mono" (Etenraku-yo (song) mono), and developed as one of the temple songs used in lectures and ennen (ceremonies for the ennen period). Since the poetic form is similar, this is also treated as a type of imayo. It is this "Etenraku Imayo" that became the origin of the Tsukushigoto and "Kurodabushi". It was also incorporated into the music for the one-stringed koto and two-stringed koto, and the song "Shiki no Keshiki" (The Scenery of the Four Seasons), written by Jien, was particularly popular. (3) As the title of the kagebayashi (geza) song in kabuki, it refers to the gezauta (backstage) song used in court plays to express the feel of court-style songs. A special type of music combination is called "imayogaku no kaikata."

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

Japanese:

(1) 平安時代中期から鎌倉時代にかけて流行した歌謡。「今様歌」の略。「今様」とは「当世風」の意味の一般語彙で，「今様歌」は，広くはその時代時代で新しい感じのする新興の歌謡全体をさすが，狭くはそのなかの特定の歌謡 (常の今様，ただの今様) をさす。その狭義の今様は，七五，八六など長短2つの音数律から成る句を4回繰返す四句形式をもつ法文歌，四句神歌などと同様な詩型。「今様歌」の語は『紫式部日記』に初見されるが，後朱雀天皇の頃から宮廷の公式の御遊に用いられるものとして盛行した。特に後白河法皇は愛好者で，御撰の『梁塵秘抄 (りょうじんひしょう) 』は今様の重要な資料である。『平家物語』など諸書にも散見し，郢曲 (えいきょく) として伝承されたものは，朗詠の譜に付載されている。本来，今様は遊女などの民間芸能者により専門的に歌われ，内容も下層階級の生活をうたったものがみられるが，宮中の節会などに儀礼的歌謡として歌われるようになってから，朗詠などとともに郢曲の一つとして伝承の家を生じ，流派ができた。江戸時代には，今様歌体の歌謡の文芸的創作が国学者たちによって行われ，明治の新体詩の成立に影響を及ぼした。 (2) 一方，平安中期頃から雅楽曲の唱歌に歌詞をあてはめて歌うことが行われ，特に『越天楽 (えてんらく) 』の唱歌につけたものが流行，「越天楽謡 (歌) 物」といわれ，特に講式や延年で用いられる寺院歌謡の一つとして発展したが，詩型が同様であるところから，これも今様の一つとして扱われる。筑紫箏や『黒田節』などの祖となったのは，この「越天楽今様」のほうである。そのほか，一弦琴や二弦琴の曲にも摂取され，特に慈円作詞『四季の景色』の歌が用いられることが多かった。 (3) 歌舞伎の蔭囃子 (下座 ) の曲名としては，王朝物に用いて王朝風の歌曲の感じを表わす下座唄をいう。楽 (がく) の合方 (あいかた) のなかで特別なものを「今様楽の合方」という。

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