Ryuta's Bushi - Ryuta's Bushi

A popular song from the early modern period. It is also called Takada Kouta or simply Takada. The founder, Takasabu Takada (1527-1611), was born as the youngest son of a drug merchant in Sakai, Senshu, and became a monk at the Nichiren sect's Kenhonji temple, but returned to secular life after the death of his brother Takatoku. Born with natural talent, he showed talent in linked verse, music, calligraphy, painting, and other fields, and gained fame by writing and singing his own kouta (short poems). This Takada-bushi was most popular during the Bunroku and Keicho periods (1592-1615), and continued to be popular until around the Genroku and Hoei periods (1688-1711).

Although the tunes no longer exist, it is believed that the work is a fusion of several earlier musical pieces to which he added his own unique rhythm. Accompaniment was mainly provided by fan beats, hitoyogiri, and small drums. Over 500 lyrics remain, both in his own hand and those of others, but not all of them are Takatatsu's work. Over 70% of the content are love songs, and the most common lyric form is the semi-modern 7575 style, with very few early modern short poems in the 7775 style. In that sense, Takatatsu's works are considered important historically as short songs that marked a transition from medieval popular songs to early modern popular songs.

[Junnosuke Chiba]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

近世初期の流行歌謡。隆達小歌あるいは単に隆達ともいう。創始者の高三(たかさぶ)隆達（1527―1611）は泉州堺(さかい)の薬種商の末子に生まれ、日蓮(にちれん)宗顕本寺の僧となったが、兄隆徳の没後還俗(げんぞく)した。生来器用な彼は、連歌(れんが)、音曲、書画などに才能を表し、自ら小歌を作詞してこれを歌い、名声を得た。この隆達節がもっとも流行したのは文禄(ぶんろく)・慶長(けいちょう)期（1592～1615）で、その後、元禄(げんろく)・宝永(ほうえい)期（1688～1711）ごろまでは流行し続けた。

　曲節は現存しないが、おそらく先行する数種の音曲を折衷し、そこに彼独自の節回しを加えたものと思われる。伴奏には主として扇拍子や一節切(ひとよぎり)、小鼓などが用いられた。自筆、他筆を含めて500首以上の歌詞が現存するが、すべてが隆達の作というわけではない。内容の70％以上は恋歌で、詞型は7575の半今様(はんいまよう)型がもっとも多く、近世小歌調の七七七五調はきわめて少ない。その意味で、隆達節は中世歌謡から近世歌謡への過渡的小歌として、歴史上重要視されている。

［千葉潤之介］

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