Boat Song - Funauta

In the classification of Japanese folk songs, it is one type of work song. It is a general term for songs sung when rowing a Japanese boat with an oar or oar, and there are two types: sea songs and river songs. The sea songs are called "oar bayashi" and consist of repeated shouts to keep the oars in sync, and also serve as a traffic signal on the sea. In the river songs, they are similar to kiyari songs, consisting of only shouts, and are sung when the tide comes in on boats going upriver or near the mouth of a river, and ropes are attached to the boat and it is pulled along the shore. However, it is thought that from the mid-Edo period onwards, when small boats or one-person boats are rowed on inland seas or rivers, people began to sing popular songs to relieve the monotony and loneliness. Today, most of the songs with beautiful melodies that are called "funauta" are of this type. There are also other names similar to "funauta," such as "ofunauta" (funauta) and "funakatabushi" (funakatabushi). The former is a ceremonial song to celebrate a ship's arrival, and the latter is a sailor's drinking song; they are completely different from "funauta."

[Tsutomu Takeuchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

日本民謡の分類上、仕事唄のなかの1種目。和船を櫓(ろ)や櫂(かい)で漕(こ)ぐおりの唄の総称で、海と河川の2種類がある。海のものは「櫓囃子(ばやし)」などとよばれて掛け声だけを繰り返すことで、櫂先をそろえる一方、海上での交通信号のかわりにもしていた。また河川の場合は、上り船や河口近くで潮があげてきて、船に綱をつけて岸に沿って引く場合に歌う、掛け声だけの木遣(きやり)唄的なものであった。ところが江戸時代中期以降と思われるが、小人数や1人乗りの小舟で内海や河川を漕ぐおり、単調さと寂しさを紛らすために、流行(はやり)唄を歌うようになった。今日「舟唄」とよばれて美しい節回しをもっている唄は、ほとんどがそれである。なお、「舟唄」と似た名称に「お船歌」と「船方節」がある。前者は船祝いの儀式唄であり、後者は船乗りの酒盛り唄であって、「舟唄」とはまったく別のものである。

［竹内　勉］

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