Rōei. The Medieval Court Songs of Japan - Schneider

Rōei.
The Medieval Court Songs of Japan

Author(s): Eta Harich-Schneider
Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 13, No. 3/4 (Oct., 1957 - Jan., 1958), pp. 183-222
Published by: Sophia University
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2383043
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Roei
The Medieval Court Songs of Japan
By Eta Harich-Schneider, Wien
Many types of vocal music existed in medieval Japan, such

as kaguraa, saibarab, azuma-asobic, fi2zoku-utad, roeie, imayo',
kadag. Roei, imayo and kada originated during the Heian period;
in earlier sources they are comprised under the collective title
eikyokuh, "vocal compositions", in contrast to the much older
types of kagura, saibara and azuma-asobi which stem from the
most ancient folk songs.
The eikyoku were extremely numerous and enjoyed greatest
popularity at the Heian court. Particularly the art of improvising
roei was one of the favourite pastimes.
The name roei is of Chinese origin and is mentioned in the
Wen-chuani (Jap. Monzen) and the Pai-shih Wen-chii (Jap.
Hakushi-monjut). The meaning is: to sing joyfully with a loud
voice. With reference to a specific type of literary and musical
pastime in Japan the term seems to have been first used by
Fujiwara Kint6k. In contrast to wakal, which are poems in
Japanese style, r6ei are exclusively vocal pieces on texts from
the Chinese, or texts deliberately imitating the various Chinese
literary styles.
Of all this wealth of the past, only fourteen roei have survived
in the repertory of the Imperial court musicians of Japan. These
a _ b f,Z c d MXjR e M-A f +4 g r h g i %

3ij i k JLizf4 1 @t
2 Eta Harich-Schneider 184
pieces, and the traditions of their actual performance, have been

the starting point of this study. The texts are unchanged remains
of the first efflorescence of roei improvisations. The tradition pre-
serves characteristic traits of various historical periods and pro-
vides many a clue to the performance practices described in
earlier sources.
Next in importance, after the living tradition, are the r5ei
collections compiled, copied, augmented and modified during
nine centuries; further, the diaries of the nobility, which allow
an insight into the sociological connotations; and lastly the
compendia by professional musicians, which preserve important
musical detail.
This study was undertaken with the wish to assure to Japa-
nese music its due position among the music of the world. The
introduction was left deliberately unhampered by musical tech-
nicalities in order to give a glimpse of the general musical
atmosphere of the Heian period. The survey of the source
material in Part I, given in chronological order, will show the
changing mental attitude during the rise of Buddhism and its
effect on music. It will show the development from free impro-
visation to patterned form, from casual group song to the inten-
sity of artistic solo performance; it will show the strange late
effiorescence of music at the isolated, aloof and degenerate Ky6to
court of the 15th century, and finally the various attempts at
reconstructing the music of the past. In using a detailed des-
criptive method we intended also to touch upon the problem of
the written sources as such, to give an idea of the condition of
the brush-written documents and to expose the question of
proper appraisement of traced "copies of older copies of remote
originals". The musical analysis in Part II, being the first of
its kind, is a tentative effort to get away from the "mess of casual
information" which for so many years has frustrated serious
research in Japanese music. New discoveries of musical sources
may reverse some of the results here presented. Part III contains
the transcriptions of the fourteen songs into Western notation.
The author is keenly aware of the fact that, at the very best,
these notations can transmit only a vague reflection of the original
beauty of these songs. But considering the language difficulties,
she saw no other way to introduce to the Western world this
refined and noble musical heritage.
185 R6ei 3
Introduction: Music at the Heian Court
Music, poetry and songs were the very breath of Heian

culture. They were part of the daily life, evaluated as the most
essential accomplishments of the nobleman and the lady of high
rank. They were appreciated by everybody, be he courtier or
monk, prince or vassal. When examining the few and rigid re-
mains of the ancient court songs, one finds it hard to imagine, in
our time, how intimately they once were cherished and how spon-
taneously they once were performed. The composing of roei was
one of the attempts of the Japanese of the Heian period to
assimilate Chinese culture. This fact invites a comparison of
this ancient music with the attempts of the Japanese of modern
times to assimilate Western music. But the strenuous efforts
and feverish diligence which are usually devoted to the study
of Western music are very different from what we read in Heian
literature about r6ei singing. There is noticeable strain in the
modern efforts; there must have been happy enjoyment and a
perfect, easy familiarity with music in Heian times.
The Japanese have an inborn talent for song and a basically
emotional approach to music. Where shall we look for the last
remnants of the luxuriant art of r6ei singing? It may be that
we are nearest to the spirit of the medieval court songs when
we hear the fishermen of the Alpine lakes break into their
melodious and easy coloratures, or when we watch the mad young
bicyclists who used to rush along the streets of T6ky6, arms
crossed and chest erect, in perfect equilibrium, and shout long
sustained melodic tunes at the top of their lungs.
The most famous works of Heian literature are full of
references to r6ei singing and give a good picture of the intimate
connection between this music and daily life.
From the well-known woman writers, Sei Sh6nagona and
Murasaki Shikibub, we learn that the nobles of the Heian court
were well versed in this musical pastime.
Lady Sei was born about the year 966, and wrote her famous
"Pillowbook", Makura no S6shic, during the last years of the
10th century. Of exquisite culture, highly gifted and famous
for her spirited wit, she was the favoured lady-in-waiting of
a Atte b V,g c 'T
Empress Sadakoa, the daughter of Fujiwara no Michitakab. After

Sadako's death in A.D. 1000, she served Sadako's sister, Princess
Shigesac, for two years and finally became lady-in-waiting of
the young and serious-minded Empress Akikod. Later in life
Lady Sei is said to have fallen out of popularity and to have
died, lonely, in a hut. If this is so, her fate had been predicted
by her rival, Murasaki Shikibu, the celebrated author of the
"Tale of Genji", Genji Monogatarie. We do not know how Sei
felt about Murasaki, because she never mentions any woman,
except the Empress, in her diary. But Murasaki must have
detested Sei. She writes: "Sei Sh6nagon's most marked charac-
teristic is her extraordinary self-satisfaction.... Her chief pleasure
consists in shocking people.... She will soon have forfeited all
claim to be regarded as a serious character, and what will
become of her when she is too old for her present duties I really
cannot imagine."'
Sei's diary gives a different impression of her. She certainly
is slightly malicious and irritable, but these traits lend piquancy
to her great talent. She has a true poet's mind, a wonderful
feeling for atmosphere, for the inexplicable charm of the moment,
for the well-placed word and the lingering silence. In Makura no
S6shi, ch. 74, she gives a description of a foggy morning in the
height of summer:
Once in the early morning, when the garden was filled with
dense fog, the Emperor heard the people outside and leisurely he
deigned to get up. The court officials were swarming all over
the garden, enjoying the break of day, whilst gradually the fog
dispersed. The daylight became stronger. "Let us walk along the
guard's station at the gate," I said to the other ladies. "I come
along," "And so will I," they came flocking. We heard the gentlemen
raise their voices and sing: "Fallala-lala..., the voice of autumn,"'
and singing on and on they gradually approached the place where
we were hiding. "The ladies want to see the moon?" and similar talk,
meant to be the opening of a little flirtation. In the evening, or at
noon, we never were safe from them. From courtier up to Lord
1 Quoted from Arthur Waley's Introduction to his translation of

Lady Murasaki, The Tale of Genji, London 1952, p. XIII.
2 A line from the r6ei "Ike suzushikute wa": "The wind in the
high pine tree-Raises the voice of autumn."
aiYT b:w hT,V& cltR gjl m d eo fi
187 Roei 5
Chamberlain, whenever they were not too busy, they used to come
over.'
Again in ch. 130 we read:
On the monthly return of the date of the death of the late lord
(Fujiwara no Michitaka), the 10th day of the 9th month, the whole
court was assembled to celebrate the usual mourning ceremony. The
preacher, Seihan, spoke so impressively that the whole audience
was deeply moved and even the young gentlemen shed tears of
edification. When the ceremony was over, sake was served and
Chinese poerns were recited and sung. Fujiwara no Tadanobu4 sang
the roei:
Tsuki aki to go-shite To delight in the perfect autumn moon
Mi izuku ka8 His shape is no longer here...
He sang it beautifully.'
A delightful description of the charm of a wirnter night is

given in ch. 176:
When the snow was not too high, but falling in thin flakes, this
had a peculiar charm. And when it snowed heavily and the snow
was deep, we friends of sympathetic minds, two or three of us,
kept near the windows, close to the corridor between the room and
the outer sliding doors. We sat around the charcoal pot, clustering
together, in interesting conversation, and watched how it became
gradually dark. We purposely did not light the lamp because of the
glimmering snow. Stirring the ashes with the charcoal tongs, musing
about moving, exciting, and sometimes also funny stories, we enjoyed
the perfect union of our minds. And then-it might have been
already past eight o'clock-we heard the sound of somebody's
footsteps approaching through the garden. "Who may that be?"
And we peeped through the window. Sometimes a casual visitor
came, somebody we had not expected. "How are you getting along
in this rough weather? I would have called earlier if I had not
been busy...", and talk like that. Maybe that the old song passed
his mind: "On an evening of deep snow, how happy will she be
when the unexpected visitor comes.... "I And then we discussed the
3 Transl. acc. to the edition by Tanaka Jfitaro EU Eth;5 in Nihon

Koten Zensho II , Tokyo 1947, p. 154 f.
4 1 prominent courtier and minister, Lady Sei's lover for
several years.
5 In the roei collection the text reads: "Mi izuku ni ka".
6 Transl. acc. to Tanaka edition p. 241 f.
7 Refers to a poem by Taira no Xanemori *AZ, quoted in full
by Waley in his transl. of the Pillow Book, London 1928, p. 28 f.
newest events and heard about the interesting things which had
happened since noon. He was offered a round straw pillow to sit
upon, but he preferred to sit nonchalantly on the edge of the porch.
Until tne sound of the temple bells was heard from afar we did
not tire of talking. Sometimes it was almost near the break of day
when he finally took his leave. We saw him, slowly, reluctantly
strolling through the garden and we heard him sing: "Fallala-lala...
snow.. .fills the chain of mountains."8 What a deep and stirring
chiarm was in such moments! Women alone in their little group...
oh, never would they have talked away this snowy night in such
delightful atmosphere of elegance and spirit. We all agreed on that.9
Murasaki Shikibu was about twelve years younger than

Lady Sei. Widow at the age of twenty-six after a brief marriage,
she was appointed lady-in-waiting to Empress Akiko and enjoyed
the protection-and perhaps the favours-of Fujiwara no Michi-
nagaa, Akiko's father. Murasaki seems not to have reached a high
age and to have stayed in Akiko's service for her whole life.
In her Genji Monogatari the word roei itself does not occur,
but many of the songs are quoted.
The chapter Yuigao relates that when Yuigao has been mur-
dered through black magic Genji thinks nostalgically of the
evenings spent with his lost love: 10
... even the din of the cloth-beaters' mallets had become dear
through recollection, and as he lay in bed he repeated those verses
of Po Chii-i:
In the eighth month and ninth month when the nights are
growing long,
A thousand times, ten thousand times the fuller's stick beats."
In the chapter Suma we read of Genji's exile on the lonely

shore of Suma. This chapter is very rich in lyrical episodes, such
as Genji's recollection of the celebration of the full moon at court,
at which occasion one used to get together and to honour this
perfect night with the recitation of poetry and the playing of
music, a tradition still observed in those circles who wish to
preserve old Japanese customs.
8 From the r6ei "Akatsuki".

9 Transl. acc. to Tanaka edition p. 289 f.
10 Waley (tr.), The Tale of Genji, p. 77.
11 From the. roei "Hachigatsu kugatsu".
a ,O-A
189 R6ei 7
The moon rose in extraordinary splendour. Suddenly Genji

realized that this was the night of the full moon when the Imperial
Palace used to resound with exquisite music, and his friends and
all those lovely women to assemble for moonlight parties. Absorbed
in such nostalgic reveries, he gazed into the moon's shimmering face.
Two thousand ri away,
Yet my heart is still with my old love.
Thus he sang and could not hold back the long-accustomed tears.12
Again the chapter Otome contains a very interesting des-

cription of informal music-making at the court. At a party of
court nobles, Genji's friend, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
T6 no ChCij6, recites a poem from the Wen-chuan and indulges
in free improvisation:
The Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal played a few pieces on

his six-stringed Japanese zithern, using the harsh 'major' tuning
which was appropriate to the season.... On the boughs outside
the window only a few ragged leaves were left; while within
several groups of aged gentlewomen clustering with their heads
together behind this or that curtain-of-state, mioved by Chfij6's
playing were shedding the tears that people at that time of life
are only too ready to let fall upon any provocation. "It needs but
a light wind to strip the autumn boughs," quoted Chu1j6, and con-
tinuing the quotation, he added: "It cannot be the music of my
zithern that has moved them. Though they know it not, it is the
sad beauty of this autumn evening that has provoked their sudden
tears. But come, let us have more music before we part." Upon
this Princess Omiya and her daughter played The Autumn Wind
and T6 no Chuij6 sang the words with so delightful an effect that
everyone present was... thinking how much his presence added to
the amenity of any gathering.... I
Lastly, a lovely episode reported in the chapter Koch6. When

Yuigao's daughter, the beautiful young Tamakatsura, had come
to the capital, she was living in Genji's palace under his protec-
tion.
During the fourth month the weather was rather depressing.

But one evening, when it had been raining heavily all day, he looked
out and saw to his relief that at last the sky was clearing. The
young maples and oaktrees in the garden blent their leafage in a
marvellous curtain of green. Genji remembered the lines "In the
12 Translated from Ikeda Kikan MMIM,f Genji Monogatari Taisei

ER"a*S, T6ky6 1953, I p. 424.
13 Ibid. I p. 679.
fourth month the weather grew clearer and still... ", and then his
thoughts wandered to the girl in the western wing. He felt a sudden
loniging, on this early summer evening, for the sight of something
fresh, something fragrant; and without a word to anyone he slipped
away to her rooms.'
The Kokonchomonshuia by Tachibana Narisue'5 is a source

of the 13th century, a time of Buddhist revival, when the clergy
took an active influence in matters of music and literature. In
this work we read:
The tonsured Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal in Horikawa was

already in the pious habit of arranging for musical meetings during
Buddhist festivals when he was still Chief Councillor of State.
When the pious crowds had finished telling their beads and praising
the name of the Buddha and so forth, one started to sing r6ei.
A certain monk of a higher rank, who had also become Under-
Councillor, sang with great abandon the lines
In the East five hundred grains of dust...,"
and in his fervour made a slip of the tongue, singing "eighty grains
of dust" instead of "five hundred grains." The court lady Owari
heard this behind the curtain and (whilst he was still making a
long coloratura on "eigh ... ty...") she broke in pertly: "You
dropped four hundred and twenty grains"-and this was, indeed,
alacrity of mind."7
R6ei singing at times came in handy in delicate situations.

The following anecdote is a good example:
My6on-in, the minister, on a certain evening brought secretly

a sweetheart to his palace. He said to his vassal, Owari no Kami
Takasada: "When the morning breaks, mark the hour well and use
your discretion (so that the lady gets out here in time and is not
compromised)." Not too late but not too early, just at the right
moment, Takasada went into the garden and sang the roei:
14 Ibid. II p. 793.
15 OA. Lived probably 1204-1273. Hans Eckardt in his recent
publication, Das Kokonchomonshit des Tachibana Narisue als musik-
geschichtliche Quelle (Wiesbaden 1956), gives a fully commented trans-
lation of the chapter "Dance and Music". The anecdotes quoted above
are not contained in this chapter.
16 Grains of dust are a symbol of the Buddha's infinite virtues
and graces.
17 Transl. acc. to reprint in Nihon Koten Zenshfu E (abbr.
NKZ), edited by Masamune Atsuo E T6ky6 1946, p. 409.
191 R6ei 9
"The guests are drinking in the hall,

The dew in the garden has not yet dried;
The footmen are waiting at the gate,
The summit of mount Chi-lung blushes in the first light."
What a tactful man! In truth, a loyal and useful vassal.'8
Or the following piece from ch. 25:
In the little temple of Saga people were assembled to hold a

vigil in prayer and devotion. When it was deep in the night, an
unknown monk began to sing in roei style the following words:
"The lotus flower has become a prayer,
The lotus leaf has the shape of the Buddha's eyes."
In complete self-forgetfulness the monk thought that he was
all alone. But it happened that Takamichi Ason passed close by,
and when the r6ei was finished, he greeted the monk with great
consideration and courtesy and said: "How gratifying, how won-
derful and interesting." The poor monk was greatly elated when he
was given such unexpected praise, and he wanted to give himself
some airs of importance: he assumed a pose and said with great
dignity: "Well, that is no wonder. I had the privilege to study
the art of r6ei singing with Takamichi personally."
As regards this piece: The Minister to the Riaht, Nakamikado
Muneyoshi, selected ninety (r6ei) pieces at the time of Chisokuin;
after this My6on-in selected hundred and twenty other pieces
which were added to the ninety. So there were altogether two
hundred and ten r6ei. In all these the lines quoted before are not
contained. I shall say, this monk talked in a most peculiar way.
However, since this happened everybody goes on singing these lines
in r6ei style."9
The purpose of this short introduction was to give an idea

of the general cultural atmosphere in which the r6ei originated.
The quotations were chosen from this point of view. Sociologi-
cally, they prove that r6ei singing was not confined to professional
musicians only. It was widespread among the aristocratic and
intellectual classes. Musically, the examples show that r6ei
singing was frequently a spontaneous solo performance. How-
ever, it was practiced also systematically and in groups. There-
fore, the r6ei form and the technical performance must have
been bound to certain technical rules. The r6ei must have been
arranged in a definite, characteristic shape, which had to be res-
pected. On the other hand, it must have been possible, even
18 Transl. acc. to reprint in NKZ p. 209.

19 Transl. acc. to reprint in NKZ p. 406.
desirable, to improvise r6ei and to surprise the listener with

unexpected nuances. The form, therefore, must have been definite
as well as flexible. It must have been simple enough to stay
within reach of the amateur, and it must have allowed for a large
scale of shadings, in order to appeal to the artist of highest rank.
There must have been room for the display of highest virtuosity
and even for intimately personal, passionate expression. The
musical analysis in part II of this study is an attempt at explain-
ing how this was possible.
In the art of r6ei literature and music are inseparable. The
music, indeed, is not understood at all if the intimate connection
with literature and poetry of the roei is not seen. Therefore it
seems advisable to present first the literary side of the r6ei before
proceeding to the more complicated musical form.
Part I: Historical Information
1. Poets and Poetic Forms
a. The Poets
The present repertory of the Imperial court music of Japan

preserves 14 r6ei. Among the authors of these r6ei are four
Chinese poets of the T'ang period and eight Japanese poets and
scholars of Chinese literature of the Heian period. The total
number of composers of r6ei texts has, of course, been conside-
rably larger. They cannot be dealt with in this paper which has
as its purpose to trace the background of the preserved material
only.
The Chinese poets are Chang Tua (Jap. Ch6doku), Hsieh
Kuanb (Jap. Shakan), Hsieh Yenc (Jap. Shaen) and Kung-
ch'eng Id (Jap. K6j6oku).
Chang Tu20 became doctor of literature in the T'ai-chung
period (847-860). He held a series of offices, one of these during
the Chung-ho period (881-884). He is mentioned at the end of the
20 For information on Chang Tu and Hsieh Kuan the author is

greatly obliged to Mr. Albert Dien, East Asiatic Library, University of
California. Mr. Dien writes: "In the case of Chang Tu and Hsieh Kuan
the poems which you have gain added interest from being of a genre
in which possibly no other examples by these authors exist."
a An b No c W d 1
193 R6ei 11
biography of his grandfather, Chang Chiena, in the Chiu T'ang-

shu and in the Hsin T'ang-shub. These two accounts supplement
each other.
His only surviving work is the Hsiian-shih-chihC in ten
chapters. The Ssu-k'u Ch'uan-shu ts'ung-mu t'i-yaod gives addi-
tional information about the author and discusses the work briefly,
noting that it deals with supernatural happenings. The book is
to be found in several collections, including the Pai-haie, which
was compiled during the Ming dynasty.
Hsieh Kuan was a distinguished composer of prose-poems
(fu). Some of his writings are included in the Hsin T'ang-shu
and in the Sung-shihf. The Ch'uan T'ang-weng mentions that he
held a post on the staff of the Ching prefecture.
Hsieh Yen was born in the country of Wei and employed at
the court of T'ai-tsungh of the T'ang dynasty. Like Hsieh Kuan,
he specialised in prose-poems.
Kung-ch'eng I, too, was famous for his prose-poems. His
book of poems and miscellaneous writings, the Chu-fang-chii,
seems to have been lost.
Among the Japanese authors of r6ei are the most illustrious
names of the Heian period. Still contained in the repertory of the
Imperial court are r6ei by the following:
Minamoto no ShitagauJ (911-983), a descendant of Emperor
Sagak. He was a great scholar both in Japanese and Chinese
literature, well versed in waka and shih. A brilliant improvisor
of poems and songs at the elegant parties of the court and the
aristocracy, he was nevertheless not always crowned with success
and inclined to melancholy at times. A collection of waka, the
Minamoto-no-Shitagau-shi2', is still extant. In the 21 famous
collections of the time, known uncter the titles Chokusen Waka-
sh?2m or also Nijii-ichi-dai-shi2n, many of his poems are included.
One of these collections, the Gosen-shiio was edited by himself.
Equally prominent as a linguist, he commented on the Many6shf2P
and compiled the dictionary Wamyo-ruiju-sh6c. Some of his
writings in Chinese style are contained in the Wakan-r6ei-shf2r,
the first and most famous r6ei source, which will be dealt with
later, and in the Honch6-monzuis and the Ch5ya-gunsait.
a WeXb [FIN,$ Vre c ^ d I Zgtg-e ".r f q,-,P

A) ff 3 h -t '" i *S i A IN k a* 1 l AI * m a MV a n =:+ -
ftX o *M. p :E* q Wfii, r MffiMM& s *atil t jMfpt
Minamoto no Hideakia, or Eimei (911-950), a grandson of

Emperor Udab. His mother was a daughter of Sugawara no
Michizanec. Much admired for his talent and the perfection of
his style, he is the author of the most popular r6ei ("Ike suzu-
shikute wa") to which Sei Sh6nagon refers in her poetical des-
cription of the foggy morning.
Minamoto no Michinarid (+1019). He was employed suc-
cessively under the Emperors Ichij6e, Sanj&f and Go-Ichij6g. The
Minamoto-no-Michinari-shi2h contains the waka composed by him.
His r6ei "K6y6 mata koy6" was his motto for the Oigawa-wakai,
special songs for pleasure-trips on the river. The most important
of his works, the Waka-jittaiJ, treats of the theory of poetic
forms.
Oe no Tomotsunak, also called Nochi-no-G6sh6k6l (+957,
aged 72). Upon command of Emperor Murakamim he wrote the
historical work Shinkokushin. The collection of his poetry, the
Nochi-no-G6sh6ko-shWo, has been lost. He is the author of
the roei "Toku wa kore".
Ono no YoshikiP (+902). He was an expert in writing
Japanese waka, Chinese poems and Chinese prose. But above
everything he was admired as a master of calligraphy. Tachi-
bana no Narisue reports in the Kokonchomonshu2 that it was Ono
no Yoshiki who wrote the inscriptions on three of the twelve
gates of the Imperial palace. He wrote the r6ei "Jisei".
Sugawara, or Kan, Fumitokiq (899-981), a grandson of Suga-
wara no Michizane, according to tradition may be called the
father of the r6ei style, because he is the author of three famous
messages to the Emperor in which Minamoto no Masanobur, called
Ichij6, declined the office of Minister of the Right. The story
has it that the minister was so carried away by the beauty of
the lines which the great scholar had written for him that he
spontaneously raised his voice and sang, them. Fumitoki was an
acknowledged authority on the Chinese style, both poetry and
prose, and held the academic rank of Monj6-hakases. At court
he held the junior grade of the third court rank. Wherefore he
is sometimes referred to under the name Kan Sampint. He and
Oe no Tomotsuna were officially called the best poets of their
a Pj1 b 4* c Vfj d fijM e-J* f #j g %-A* h 0j

g i i q Wt+f; k ),k$j s I: :U m ;82:: n *St o
jf,g~- p /Jy3;ff A# q *)7,Z r Mel# s _t*M:E t I nrz
195 Roei 13
time. The r6ei "Haru sugi" is a quotation from one of the three
messages to the Emperor.
Tachibana no Aritsura, Zairetsua, lived about 944, in which
year it is recorded that he became a Buddhist priest taking the
name Sonkeib. His book of poems, the Shamon-Keik6-shi, was
edited by Minamoto no Shitagau. It is no longer preserved. He
wrote the r6ei "Sh6kon".
Yoshishige no Yasutaned (934 or 935-977), with the Chinese
name J6tane, the Buddhist name Jakushinf, and popularly called
Kei Hoing, was a fervent Buddhist from his early youth. He came
from a family of astrologers and followers of the Yin-Yang
School, but broke away from the family traditions to take up
Chinese literature and Buddhist philosophy. His teacher was
Sugawara no Fumitoki, his best friend Minamoto no Shitagau.
He was the teacher of Prince Tomohirah. His great talent brought
him brilliant successes. The Nihon-6j6-gokuraku-kii and the
Chitei-kii are his still extant works. Another one, the Kei Hoin-
shlk has been lost. He is the- author of the r6ei "T6gan seigan".
The r6ei "Taizan" is a quotation from the Shih-chil, the
Records of Chinese History, by Ssu-ma Ch'ienm.
b. The Chinese Literary Models of the Rioei
In r6ei four Chinese literary forms are used: shihn ( J. shi),

fu? (J. fu), hsilP (J. jo) and piaoq (J. hy6).
The shih are Chinese lyrical poems of a great variety of
forms and highly complicated combinations of metre and rhyme.2'
During the T'ang period two distinctive styles had been developed
which were called ku-t'ir, old style, and chin-t'is, new style. The
new style favours the arrangement of the characters in four
columns of five characters or also of seven characters. Each
column is a chiit, a section, an independent poetical (and also
musical) phrase.22 In the case of five character shih the last
21 For further information see Sekai Bungei Daijiten im -= *

ft, 5 vols., T6kyo 1935-37, vol. III, p. 453 ff.
22 The partition into chiu and the relation between musical and
poetic chi! will be dealt with in more detail in the musical analysis of the
r6ei (Part II of this paper).
a tA;tEfq b _:R c 49> _* d M&-L e tit f rx,b g WJi h A

ttg. ~Aj ;a;i k M%i?LXf I ~t-' m IR,j3 n r-, o MK p )T,
characters of the second and of the fourth chi! rhyme, while in

seven character shih the rhyme is on the last characters of the
first, second and fourth chi. The roei "Kashin reigetsu" and "Ike
suzushikute wa" are examples of shih in the classical sense.
The fu is a narrative composition of irregular metrical style
with rhyme, something between poetry and prose. This style
enjoyed greatest popularity in T'ang China and Heian Japan.
The number of quotations from fu in the roei repertory is there-
fore comparatively large (the roei "Akatsuki", "Shimpo no sake",
"Kyu2ka", "Issei" and "Hana").
Equally highly appreciated was the hsui, a special form of
Chinese prose composition. The purpose of the hsiu is the clear,
concise, but elegant definition of a special problem. Among
the various kinds of hsil are prefaces or postscripts of books,
congratulatory or panegyrical messages, and the like. The roei
"Toku wa kore", "TOgan seigan", "Koyb", "Jisei" and "Sh6konr"
are sections taken from hsiu.
The piao is a message to the Emperor or the Imperial govern-
ment, expressing a personal opinion in matters public and
political. It may even contain severe criticism, as e.g. the ex-
pression of righteous indignation at the ruler's waste or the
number of his paramours. It may also contain a refusal, as was
the case with the three messages the composition of which had
been entrusted to Kan Fumitoki. In such a case an elegant,
indirect form was necessary. In the roei "Haru sugi", which is
an excerpt from these marvels of diplomatic and literary skill,
the example of the Minister of Cultural Affairs, Yuan and the
Captain Cheng, the two Diogenes of the Chinese legend, is used
to influence the Emperor in his decision.
2. Survey of Roei Collections
a. The Wakan-roei-shig
The first collection of roei is the Wakan-roei-shut compiled
by Fujiwara Kint6a (966-1041). The original of this work in
Kintb's own handwriting is preserved in the Imperial archives
as an appraised Imperial treasure. I saw only an excellent
replica of this precious document, a photostat copy on facsimile
paper, in the possession of the Museum of Fine Arts in Ueno,
T6kyo. The work consists of two scrolls of different papers
a M,>k
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197 Roei 15
glued together: Chinese karakamia, Japanese torinokob etc., here

and there sprinkled with gold in different patterns. The first
scroll has 45 different parts of paper, the second has 40. The
height of both scrolls is 22 cm; the length of the first scroll
12.0 m, that of the second 11.21 m. The writing is in black ink
throughout. No red is used for markings.
The writing style is different for the Japanese waka and the
Chinese or Sinico-Japanese r6ei, while the waka are written in
many6ganac and the unique semmy6-gakid, occasionally also in
hiragana; the r6ei are all in kambun.
The work must have been very popular, for it was copied
many times during the Heian period. A precious copy is the one
by Fujiwara K6zei, or Yukinarie (972-1027). It is preserved in
the Imperial archives, and a copy of it is in the Y6mei Bunkof,
Ky6to, the archives of the house Konoeg, and is also available
in photostat. The two scrolls are written on different kinds of
paper glued together. The writing style is hiragana for the waka,
kanji for the r6ei. There are several modern editions of this
collection.
None of the Heian scrolls contains any indications regarding
the musical performance of the songs. Neumes indicating the
melodic lines appear only in much later collections. Yet, the
Wakan-r6ei-shut is of great musical importance. It is, of course,
not the first systematical collection of Chinese poems which
were selected as models for Japanese literati. In this respect
it has many predecessors, e.g. the Senzai-kakuh compiled by
Oe no Koretokii. It is, however, not the purpose of this study
to deal with collections of exclusively literary interest.
The Wakan-r6ei-shui was also a literary textbook. It may
even have served more as a pattern for calligraphy than as a
"musical score." But one may have sung the r6ei from these
scrolls. It is the first collection in which the term r6ei occurs,
and this term, after all, is a musical and not a literary term.
The arrangement of the texts follows the Chinese pattern.
In the first scroll the texts are arranged according to seasons
(jisetsui), the second scroll contains miscellanies (zatsuk). This
arrangement, with the standardized subsections, has been copied
in all later roei collections, and has had a decisive influence on
afft b i ,/k T c l, d k -p e jA3 ;W

h =Ffh,P i At"r* j *IM k X
musical program and performance practices.

The following survey of the Wakan-roei-shu will give an
idea of the number of texts available for vocal performance,
and of the manifold topics and poetical associations which in-
spired the musical interpretation.
We leave aside the waka. The Chinese texts amount to 564
separate numbers, signed by various Chinese and Japanese
authors. A good many of these texts, but by far not all of them,
seem to have been selected for musical performances.
SCROLL No. 1
Seasons 1) Spring
The first spring day - Early spring - Happy spring mood - Spring
night - Day of the rat (zodiacal sign) - Young green - 30th day of
the 3rd month (peach blossoms) - Decline of spring - The last day
of the 3rd month - The last day of the 3rd month in a leap year -
The nightingale - Mist - Rain - Plum blossoms - Red plum blossoms
- Willow trees - Flowers - Scattered flowers - Wistaria - Azalea -
Wild buttercups.
II) Summer
Changing clothes - Opening of summer - Summer gowns - 5th day
of the 5th month (now Boys' festival) - Cooling oneself - Summer
evening - Citrus blossoms - Lotus - The cuckoo - Firefly - Cicada -
Folding fan.
III) Autumn
First day of autumn - Early fall - The 7th night - Autumn pleasures
- Autumn evening - Autumn night - The 15th night (and moonlight) -
Moon - The 9th day ( and Chrysanthemnum) - Chrysanthemum - End
of the 9th month - Patrinia palmata (Lady's flower) - Autumn clover
- Orchid - Morning glory - Grass garden - Scarlet maples - Scattered
leaves - Wild geese (and return of the Wild geese) - Caterpillars -
Deer - Dew - Fog - Beating the laundry.
IV) Winter
Winter's opening - Winter night - Decline of the year - Around the
fireplace - Frost - Snow - Ice (and spring ice) - Hail - Praise of
the Buddha.
SCROLL No. 2
Miscellanies
Wind - Clouds - Clear weather - Dawn - Pinetree - Bamboo -
Grass - Cranes - Monkeys - Pipes and strings - Selected prose - Wine
- Beauties of nature - Water (and fisherman) - Imperial palace - The
deserted capital - The ancient castle (and deserted houses) - The
hut of the hermit - House in the mountains - House in the field -
Neighbour's house - Temple on the mountain - Buddhist service -
The monk - Far from the world - Fine view - Farewell - Travel - The
199 R6ei 17
blue warrior festival - Emperor (and Emperor in the monastery) -

The Emperor's descendants - The prime minister (and the crown
council) - General Field Marshall - Governor of the provinces - Hero
epics - Lady o Sh6kun - Girl playing entertainment music - The
courtesan - The old man - Friends - Dreaming of the past - Revealing
one's heart - Auspicious words - Eulogies - Love - The vanity of
life - White.
These titles are of course inherited from Chinese tradition.

The assignment of certain numbers to certain days and certain
occasions has survived. To this day the musical performance
of a spring song in autumn seems ridiculous to a musician of
the Imperial court of Japan. The educational value of this
Chinese heritage was great. These highly musical, suggestive
titles evoke and cultivate a feeling for atmosphere, an artistic
sensibility indispensable to the performing musician of high
standing.
The Wakan-roei-shut allows the following conclusions with
regard to Heian music: The costliness and beauty of these scrolls
indicate that r6ei singing was an art of the highest social class.
Arrangement and contents of the texts witness to a concept of
music of the greatest refinement of taste, feelings, emotions.
The formative power of Buddhism is evident and most important
for the further development of r6ei. The first scroll ends with
two hymns to the Buddha, the last one composed by Kan: a
comparison of the incense rising from the fire and spring blossoms
opening to the sun. From the very first, from early Heian, r6ei
were a Buddhist and not a Shinto art. This fact determined the
further development, the efflorescence and decline of r6ei and
especially the result of the modern attempts at remolding the
r6ei style. At the Heian court, these songs were a common good
and privilege of the aristocrats. But they were not part of the
professional court music. In fact the professional court musicians,
who had the status of servants, did not participate in the singing
as such. Their assignment was to take care of the instrumental
accompaniment. Perfect leisure and independence of spirit are
necessary conditions of this kind of creative improvisation.
b. The Shinmen-riei-shMa
The second important collection of r6ei is the Shinsen-r6ei-

shui compiled by Fujiwara no Mototoshib (c. 1056-1142). Copies
a VW:(* b H,X
of this collection are much rarer than those of the Wakan-r6ei-

shui. Only parts of the original are still extant. The oldest copy,
which consists only of the second scroll, is of the Kamakura time
and appraised as a National Treasure. It is in the private posses-
sion of Mr. Ogawa Mutsunosukea. Another Kamakura copy,
which is complete, has been appraised as Important Art Object
and is owned by Mr. Hosaka Junjib in Kamakura. The Ueno
Library has an interesting wood-block copy of late Edo in two
volumes (call number 851). In this copy the Japanese readings
of the Chinese and Sinico-Japanese poems are written in full on
the left side of the kambun texts.
In spite of the 50 or more years which separate the Shinsen-
r6ei-shut from the Wakan-r6ei-shut, there is no change in the
arrangement of the poems. There are no musical neumes nor
other musical indications. Modern editions are easily available.
c. The Roei Yoshoc of 1265
Two completely different collections bear the same title:

Roei Y6sh6 (Compendium of Important R6ei). The earlier one,
which we shall call Y6sh6 I, is a scroll preserved in two almost
similar copies of the late Edo period. One of the copies is now in
the Ueno Library, T6ky6 (call number X 149 makimono ikkan),
the other one is in the Jingui Bunkod, Ise (call number 3 866
makimono ikkan). The original is unknown.
This compendium has been reprinted by Takano Tatsuyukie
on pp. 493-500 of his Kayo-shu2seif. Takano deals with this impor-
tant source only from a philological point of view. In his reprint of
the texts an essential feature of the book is mentioned but omitted:
the neumes which make Y6sh6 I a milestone in the history of
Japanese music. Y6sh6 I contains 41 r6ei, all provided with
neumes written on the left side of the texts and with indications
of the phrasing in red strokes and dots.
Wakan-r6ei-shut and Shinsen-r6ei-shut are representative of
Heian culture. Yosh6 I was compiled in the Kamakura period at
a time when the revival of Buddhism had a dominating influence
on the arts and on music particularly. The priests Shinrang,
D6genh and Nichireni founded their sects in the 13th century.
a 'Ji1fltZ b QIMt c MRVI.P d " e Of1x.t f I;V

g tt h Ij i EIX
201 R6ei 19
The roei neumes were undoubtedly developed from the notations

of Buddhist sh6my6a which are believed to have been imported
from China. The oldest preserved shomyo notation in Japan is of
the year 1110. A later work on shomyo by the famous priest
Tanchib, of the year 1230, might have served as a model to the
compilors of Y6sh6 IL We will come back to these sources when
discussing the reading of the neumes.
Only one of the forty-one r6ei contained in Y6sh6 I, "Kashin
reigetsu", is still preserved in the repertory of the Inmperial
court of Japan. The other numbers must be considered obsolete.
They belonged to the exclusive repertory of the now extinct
tradition of the Fujiwara-ryu, the genealogical table of which
stands at the end of the scroll.
The scroll (Ueno copy) is 6.25 m in length. The height of
the scroll is 27 cm, the height of the script 20 cm. Black and red
ink are used. The writing style is kanji and katakana alternately.
The titles are mostly in kanji. When kana are used in the texts,
there is frequentlv the respective kanji written in thin strokes to
the right side of the kana.
Most interesting is the shape of the neumes. Although
slightly different from the oldest Buddhist neumes, still the
shape of the r6ei neumes is square (not florid); just as the shape
of Buddhist shomy6 neumes is to this day.
Indications of pitch are not given at all, and we shall discuss
later how it was possible to discern the intervals from the mere
shape of the neumes.
The numbers 7, 21, 22, 36, 38, 39, 41 are marked hikyokuc,
secret piece.
It seems convenient to examine at first the colophon of
Y6sh6 I, the notes in which provide an excellent picture of the
treatment of a shahon, a brushwritten copy of a famous manu-
script, in the course of time. In the case of Yosh6 I the colophon
allows at the same time an insight into the practice of roei
initiations.
The colophon reads:
The original says:

In the second year of Bun-ei (1265)
Younger-brother wood, ox
In the elevelnth month on the eleventh day
a fmq- b W c WA
All the secret roei were respectfully handed on23

To the most reverend G6yu
Shinkui, the monk
(seal) a
In the second year of Enkei (1310)

Younger-brother earth, bird
On the thirteenth day of the eighth month
All the secret roei without omission of a single piece
Were respectfully handed on
To the most reverend Fuitsu24
Inka
(sign) b
In the second year of Ansei (1855)

On the fifteenth day of the third month
The old book owned by a certain person
Was copied on my order by a professional copyist
Minamoto no Ason Muchiyoshi
(seal) C25
Besides the information in the colophon there are quite a

number of commentary notes of great historical and musical
interest written into the text, at the top margin or at the end
of the pieces.
No. 19, "Hakushu ni", top margin:

Upon a command from Omuro2l
The monk Matsu has put neumes
to this number.d
No. 20, "Matsurigoto wo", postscript:
The deceased venerable monk27 said
23 Omission of the character Jk in the Ise copy does not affect the
meaning of this passage. The Ise copy seems to have been made from
the Ueno copy, but is less reliable.
24 The Ise copy omits the character 4.
25 Found only in the Ueno copy. It is not contained in the Takano
edition and might have been purposely omitted in the Ise copy.
26 Name of a place in Kyoto where a Buddhist temple is situated.
27 Here and later most probably Fujiwara no Moronaga, intimate
friend of Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Spent the last 12 years of his life
as a Buddhist monk under the name My6on-in.
a 4 7 j- A= +* --- E--- -1g-a,gEk * ib ' A ,- b X

g =i a e ok , A -- H * f- ;k t W- (NEVP) c g-
+ES lEAWr~iTr+g 0 '\EPJR (#1X4) d k1pf 1WAV4tIf IT
203 R6ei 21
That next to the secret biwa piece Takuboku'2

This was the most precious among the secret pieces.a
No. 23, "Katei", postscript, gives the historical background

of this piece at some length, revealing the highly emotional
attitude towards music, which was typical of the 13th century:
When Emperor Go-Shirakawa went to Miyashiro to worship,

the deceased monk had the honour of accompanying him. The
heavy rain of the evening and the shrieking of the monkeys evoked
feelings of loneliness, and so the Lord's noble heart was moved,
and he deigned to require the singing of roei: whereupon the monk
sang this strain (Katei) (so movingly that the hearers shed abundant
tears) and all had to wring out their wet sleeves.
And on the way to Kumano when they had reached the Kiribe
no 6ji, he sang the same; a performance beyond praise, as it is said.b
No. 25, "Seitai mayu", and No. 26, "Hana no moto ni", have
the postscript:
The two preceding strains were taught by

My6on-in-dono to Tennoji Matsushiro.
From Shiro (Matsushir6) Sh6ren received them.c
The postscript of No. 27, "Shuakotan", brings another anecdote

from the life of the deceased monk:
When the deceased monk was still Prime Minister and General,
he proceeded to the venerable grave of Nochi no Uji-dono some-
time after the 20th day of the 9th month. There he thought of the
olden times, pressed his sleeve against his face and sang (amid
tears) this strain.
The Sh6hoku Shinshun, who was among his followers, also
shed abundant tears.
28 This piece for the biwa, of Chinese origin, had become obsolete
already in Heian times. Cf. Gempei-seisui-ki Wi*4WE Vol. 31.
a -olR5E 'i 7 t, 7 7 9 5G l'7" b OF,JjI jrAP&J

94.i i-; 7A +t Y94-7 94. 9t- 9 7-7 /5r
-p y 4 . 9 > o; 7 9 Y ,jC^ R 9 '4 .AM-=B9V\ C t v + ey 7t + p
~fr1L yp/ At25 1 VzRX_r} ;yE
Recently, the Chfinagon, Lord Reizei Sumifusa, sang the same

strain before the Empress, in the Inner Palace, and received a
crimson garment as reward.a
No. 28, "Kudoku", top margin:
Upon a command from Omuro the court official Takamichi29

provided for the first time this strain with neumes etc.b
No. 35, "Jigatsu', postscript:
Up to here, thirty-five numbers are properly written.

Ten of them are in the earlier book.c
From here the text continues:
(Written in the original)
Kangi 4th year (1232)
Elder-brother water, dragon
On the twenty-seventh day of the fourth month
At the foot of mount Tsukuba I yielded to the fervent
desire for musical instruction and taught all the secret
pieces which I had not handed on before.
Eiken^?
(seal) d
No. 38, "Kashin reigetsu", on the right side of the text:
The beginning is here, on (the word) reigetsu.

(Only) the first repetition starts (from the word) Kashin.e3'
29 Fujiwara no Takamichi. Cf. the anecdote from the Kokoncho-

'monshui p. 9.
30 Comparing this note with the genealogical table of the Fujiwara
tradition, we may reasonably conclude that the disciple who had such
fervent desire for initiation was the monk Shinku. The origin of the
collection would therefore have been in the following order: Eiken
handed 35 roei to his disciple Shinka (1232). Shinkui added six more.
and when he granted the final initiation to G6yu the collection comprised
41 roei (1265).
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205 R6ei 23
To the left stands in red ink:32
This number has other traditional versions which I note down here.a
The text of No. 37 and its comment at the margin have some
special sociological interest. The text might be translated:
One must be selected to go to court;

Vulgarity should not trample on the clouds of paradise.
Everybody hopes to become an Imperial scribe;
Yet the mediocre talent will not climb the moon.
The marginal note says, possibly with a slight tinge of irony:
One might feel that this poem is out of place at court.b
The seven hikyoku are:
No. 21 "Jin Akitsushima no"

No. 22 "Iku tsura zo minami ni"
No. 36 "Minami ni nozomeba"
No. 37 "Shoden wa kore"
No. 38 "Kashin reigetsu."
No. 39 "Kore hana no naka ni"
No. 41 "Haru no kasumi"c
The order of the numbers does not follow the established

arrangement in the Wakan-roei-shu2 and Shinsen-roei-shuf; it is,
on the contrary, quite casual. Numbers belonging to the zatsu-
type (such as "general", "wine" etc.) alternate in a random
sequence with others assigned to the four seasons or special
days within a season.
31 These rules concerning the irregular beginning and the tra-

ditional repetitions of "Kashin" will be met again in other sources.
They will be dealt with in the chapters on interpretation and transcrip-
tion of the roei.
32 Not in the Takano edition. A number of diverging neumes are
inserted in red ink. There is no way of telling when and by whom,
during the not brief period from 1287 to 1846, this marginal note was
made. It may stem very well from the last copyist.
a [jX-J A1Th2 b _ _'i'8@k / tt-<' c {c7A

4< d 7>y v>- >t Z ' Q z/ Q N;z It 4 N pt
The genealogical table at the end of the scroll contains six-

teen prominent members of the illustrious Fujiwara tradition.
It will be dealt with in more detail, in a special chapter, together
with the Minamotoa tradition.
The scroll is a wonderful piece of evidence for the transition
from the aristocratic Fujiwara supremacy in Chinese arts and
letters to classes outside this old claii, who take over during the
13th century. It shows the triumph of an intense new religiosity
over old hereditary forms.
d. The Roei Yosho of 1287
The second Roei Yosho is preserved in a shahon of 1846 in

the Raigei-inb at Oharac. A brushwritten copy of this shahon,
prefaced and commented on by Takano, is now in the Ueno
Library (call number 768i2).
This Yosho II, as we may call it, is said to be representative of
the Minarnoto tradition. The shahon, including the preface, con-
sists of 52 leaves and contains 93 roei provided with neumes. All
these numbers, except the last three, appear again in the much
later collection Kyi2jisshushod, frequently with neumes indicating
a diverging melodic treatment. The arrangement of the r6ei is,
on the whole, the traditional one, viz. according to seasons and
miscellanies. The writing style is kanji with katakana; kanji are
frequent, katakana scarce. Both texts and neumes are in black
ink. The neumes are square-shaped; they are provided with
katakana for the endings of the words. Pitch indications and
markings of the phrasing are lacking. Towards the end of the
book appears frequently the symbol for accelerando: kae, literally
meaning fire. Of greatest musical importance is the tiny chart
of the neumes on the first page. A note in the colophon empha-
sizes that this chart was actually contained in the probably un-
preserved original.
The colophon reads:
The chart of the five tones is said to have been in the original.
In KMan 10th year (1287), on the 18th day of the 5th month, I
copied the book which belonged to H6shimb6.'
Enju
33 Fujiwara no Takatoki. His book is not preserved.
a 4 b *Ek c *, dLtb e A
207 R6ei 25
In34 the same year and month, on the 27th and 28th day,
I added the neumes.
Enju
In the same year, in the course of the 1st and 2nd day of the 6th
month, I respectfully received the particulars of the roei performing
style at Imadegawa.1 This book is most secret.
Enju
Inr K6ka 3rd year (1846), 6th month, 4th day,
at Sh6rin-in, 6hara, I copied the book of the worthy
monk Enju.
Kakushuia
Before the last three roei there is a comment written in red ink:
I insert here three roei taken from a special bookb.
These three numbers are: "Kudoku hayashi wo nasu", "Shoden

wa kore", "Ayamatte senka ni itte''c.
The first number, "Kudoku", is to be found also in Yosho I
and in R6ei Yoshui (see below). In the two Yosho the neumes
are very similar; but there is a difference in the reading of the
last section. In Yosho I the number is annotated: "The neumes
show very slight divergencies; the number is annotated in Yoshut:
'Composed by My6-on-in'."
The second of the three appended numbers, "Shoden wa
kore", is not contained in Roei Yoshul. In Yosh6 I it is ranged,
with slightly diverging neumes, among the last six (appended)
numbers. "Ayamatte senka ni itte" is not contained in Yosho I.
34 The following is in red ink.

35 Temple in Ky6to.
36 As to Enju see oyama K6jun I4Sjg, Shomyo no rekishi oyobi
onritsu 0 T6ky6 1930, and the article in the Heibonsha
Ongaku Jiten 3%9$f, T6ky6 1954. Born in 1254, Enju received
instruction in sh6my6 in the 4th generation after Tanchi, the famous
author of the Sanjuiniso -tz,. He became a very prominent shomyo
specialist and author of theoretical works on music. He also made a
catalogue of the mss. in ohara, in which are listed Roei-fu and R6ei
Yosho (possibly Yosho II).
37 This entry is in black ink.
ttv.- t- b UM-S--7kl30* kAtte C b 7, #Tfi? WAaR
In Yoshu2 it appears with neumes diverging from those of

Yosho II.
None of the three numbers is contained in Roei Kyu2jisshusho.
Among the marginal notes in Enju's hand the first number
of the section k6ryoa (travel), in part II, zatsu (miscellanies), is
of special interest:
When Sukekata inquired about the journey home from Tosa of

the venerable former Prime Minister, My6-on-in did not answer, but
only sang the following r6ei. Sukekata shed tears. This is the story
as I heard it from my teacher, and so I write it down. Enjub.
The title of the r6ei was: "Kanko doku-6 no sumika"c.

With the exception of "Ike suzushikute wa" and "Taizan"
all r6ei of the present court repertory are contained in Y6sho II.
The omission of "Ike suzushikute wa" particularly brings up the
question, whether this collection really represented the Minamoto
tradition, as Japanese scholars always pretend. Enju copied it
from Fujiwara no Takatoki's unpreserved original collection.
Takatoki was Takamichi's son and the grandson of Moronaga. The
number "Ike suzushikute wa" has always been one of the "secret"
numbers of the Minamoto tradition. Why should it be omitted
in a representative collection of this tradition? The monk Enju,
when he got hold of Takatoki's collection was as near to the
Fujiwara tradition as his religious confreres Goyu and Fuitsu
who compiled and recopied Y6sh6 I. For lack of the original
sources we are unable to find the reasons of the seeming incon-
sistency in the choice of the repertory. All we have is a copy of
1846, a time when the kokugakud, research in the literature of
the past, was feverishly active. It is not impossible that Kaku-
shfi,38 who rediscovered a famous source, might have done some
editing of his own.
The book has no index. The first roei is "Kashin". It is
annotated with the same explanatory notes, concerning the ir-
38 Kakushfu was a leading Buddhist scholar and copied many

standard works of the earlier periods. He represents in uninterrupted
tradition the shomyo school of Tanchi and Enju. Cf. oyama op. cit.
a Ut b bA f ? fl1 I$X
~~Ax ig "97 1N J ,-iX4WU i- l z ;MR XMy-4 a E f 17 5 I t pg c oi
Stkti X z;7 d RCME
209 R6ei 27
regular entries, as Yosho I. To the right of the syllable rei stands:

shohena, beginning. To the right of kashin stands: dainihenb,
first repeat; to the right of kan: dai-sampenc, second repeat.
To the left of the first section stands:
In the first repeat one does not sing in the same tone as in the
beginning.d
To the right of the text word man stands:
The tone is the same in the beginning strain and in the second
repeat.e
We shall find much more detailed musical information in

the later source Kyu2jisshush6. But the great importance of Y6sh3
II lies in the fact that it contains neumes that had become obso-
lete when the Kyiijisshush6 was compiled. The following roei,
of which only the texts survive in the Kyu2jisshusho, are complete
with their neumes in Y6sh6 II:
"Shugun za ni ari", "Shuko ni", "Jifaku", "Mukkashi toriten",

"Kogan hito-koe (issei)", "Akatsuki chosho", "Zento hodo toshi",
"Yowai ima ganshi ni tsukeri", "Kinkoku ni hana ni", "oshishin",
"Y6gan no".f
e. The Roei Y&8kjMg
The original of this collection, a scroll of the year 1292, is

still extant. Formerly in the Miroku-in of the H6ryuji, it was
given as a present to Emperor Meiji and is now in the National
Museum, T6ky6. A free (not traced) copy of it by T6 Teikanh39
at Nara and later presented to the Wagaku K3danjoi is now in the
Cabinet Library, T6kyo. This copy is not free from omissions
and other slight errors. The mimeographed fasimile published by
Takano in 1915 was made after this copy.
I used the original. The full title is R6ei Yoshu Joi. A com-
plementary Ge-scrollk is unknown. The length of the original
39 Fujiwara Teikan iTlA3- famous scholar of the Edo period.
a ty b :=y c :=,2 d 1Z$X=ERM9tOf e 14OX

2/*Z j.?t*9 f Mr-7') OM= +I t)fijx M.t-X& NiAw
A!/ =+ffi %Yq 9 =) It:- = + g PATx4_ h ##A* i g
!jES-iRf i e- k -F
scroll (before repairs were made) was 8.14m, the height 27 cm.
The seventy numbers are arranged, as usual, according to seasons
and miscellanies; there is no index nor a chart of neumes. The
neumes have the antique square shape and no pitch indications.
Red dots are applied in the same way as in Buddhist scriptures
and other Chinese books to indicate readings, tones and endings.
The neumes are written to the right side of the text. The ending
syllables of words are occasionally written into the neumes, but
very rarely. Corrections of the neumes in red ink occur occasion-
ally.
Colophon:
The number of the written songs is 67. I teach them to Rinko Kyo-
zemb6. I insist that they must not be taught to anybody else. Our
worthy predecessors have also always handled them as secrets.
I shall teach three more of them. Sh66, 5th year (1282), 3rd month.
... day.
Sh6gen (Seigen)
(seal) a
I, Rinko, who am now in my 23rd year, completed the copy and
marked it with dots in the same year on the same day.b
On the back of the scroll is a note on repair work done:

Ky6h6, 20th year (1735), younger-brother wood, hare, on the... day
of the 1st month, this scroll was mended. It was decided that in
perpetuity it shall never be taken outside of the gate of this mo-
nastery. It is an important possession of the Miroku-in, H6ryiuji,
in the country of Yamato.
The presently ruling okura-ky6 Hoin, Dai-Osho, Gon-Dais6zu
Senkai (seal)c
Fujiwara Teikan added in his copy:
Kansei, 4th year (1792), elder-brother water, rat, on the 28th day
of the 11th month, I made this copy at the inn in Nara. The original
is in the T6-in of Horyuiji.
T6 Teikand
f. The Roei Kyijisshushoe
A very important source is also the Roei Kyu2jisshusho of
aa e et,- ?FI [
V;fj &XttEf ... Ej& (Itv) bRt_S H4 A 9
e EJtMft
t**@$l35t(n#p) d ; ---f4i-- -ff A l l b
8tli?l+:tlt?ij q* e MU;L+t-Nl>
211 RMei 29
1448. This book has its name from the roei collection of originally
90 numbers compiled by Fujiwara no Tadazanea (d. 1162 at the
age of 85) and Fujiwara no Muneyoshib (d. 1170 at the age of 87).
This original collection, sometimes also called R6ei Y6sho, is not
preserved. Preserved is a much later and amplified version which
still bears the title Kyu1jisshush6 (Collection of 90 Poems),
although it contains 125 r6ei, one waka and five imay5.40 This
collection, dated 1448 in the colophon exists only in later copies.
The oldest one is perhaps the copy in two scrolls of early Edo
times now in the Tenri Library, Tenri, Nara-ken. There is fur-
thermore a shahon of 1725 kept in the library of the University
of Arts, T6kyo (Toky6 Geijutsu Daigaku). This shahon was
copied by Takano Tatsuyuki in 1929. Takano's copy was later
acquired by the Ueno Library, where it was used and copied
by this writer. Another shahon, written in 1782 and at present
also in the library of the University of Arts, had belonged to
Matsudaira Sadanobuc of the Tokugawa family. It was evidently
copied from the shahon of 1725, but more carelessly and generally
with much more liberty than Takano felt justified to take.
Obvious writing mistakes, which Takano copies with deliberate
accuracy, are corrected in the Matsudaira shahon. The general
order of the book is somewhat reversed: for instance, the intro-
duction of the older shahon is inserted at the end in the Matsu-
daira copy. The difference of higher and lower margin, observed
purposely in the older book, is disregarded in the Matsudaira
copy, and many marks in red ink are omitted. Yet the general
arrangement is similar enough as to prove that the Matsudaira
copy was taken from the shahon of 1725 and not from a different
source. Postscript and colophon are identical in the two shahon;
the date of the Matsudaira copy is, of course, given in addition.
This writer compared the three shahon and found Takano's copv
of the shahon of 1725 almost faultless. The two books are practi-
cally identical except for the word zen", "complete", which
Takano added on the title-page, and the z6shohy5e on the back-
side of the title-page in the older book, which is lacking in
Takano's copy.
40 The word imay6 means "modern song", or "hit of the time".

As far as this writer knows, imay6 have become obsolete since the 17th
century.
a &,T.5k b W,%* c 4? JR d 9 e )#-
The size of the old shahon is slightly higher and wider; the
size of the script is identical.
Measures: "1 (in cm)

Shahon I Takano Matsudaira
Height 29 28.8 29
Width 20.5 19.7 20.5
Script, full margin 24.5 24.5 21
Script, lowered margin 21.5 21.5 20.5
The total number of leaves is 64 in all three copies.
General arrangement of the contents Shahon I Takano Matsudaira

PP. Pp. pp.
Four prefacing pages, containing
title, historical survey and table
of ornaments 1-4 1-4 60-62
(contracted)
Zoshohyo lv - -
lv -
Waka: Kimi ga yo 2r 2r 60r
Roei yurai (develooment of r6ei) 3-4r 3-4r 61-62r
Table of intervals and ornaments 4v 4v 62v
R6ei Kyuijisshusho
123 roei, texts and neumes, ar-
ranged according to seasons and
miscellanies 5-56 5-56 1-52
R6ei contained neither in Fuji-
wara nor Minamoto tradition 56r 56r 52r-v
Five Imay6 57-62 57-62 53-58

List of the seven original Mina-
moto roei 63r 63r 59r
Postscript 63v 63v 63r
Colophon 64r-v 64r-v 64r-v
The writing style is hiragana in the waka and imayo, kanji

in the r6ei. Text and neumes are written in black ink. Markings
of phrasings and ornaments, and interval indications are in red
ink. So are the occasional explanatory remarks which stand
usually in the top margin.
The shape of the neumes differs from the older sources: it
has a florid, elegant style. Omissions of neumes, which occur
not unfrequently, are explained in the marginal notes either by
extinct tradition or by the desire to keep secrecy. The pitch
indications are relative, giving the interval relations by the names
41 The three copies will be referred to as Shahon I (1725), Takano

(1929) and Matsudaira (1782).
213 R6ei 31
of the five basic intervals of the pentatonic scale. Tempo indi-

cations and ornaments are inserted frequently. They will be
dealt with in detail in their place.
Colophon (Shahon I, Takano, Matsudaira):
In the 5th year of Bun-an (1448)

Elder-brother earth, dragon
On the 19th day of the 2nd month
Elder-brother wood, boar
this book was borrowed from the priest Thin, who once had been
Lord-Keeper of the Privy Seal, and copied by the court official
Minamoto no Aritoshi
(seal)
This book was borrowed from the State Councillor Motoo
and the order to do the copying of the texts was given to a copyist,
The neumes I copied myself.
Ky6h6 10th year (1725), 2nd month, 22nd day
(no signature) a
Matsudaira colophon only:
This book was borrowed from the venerable D6kan and copied upon
order.
In the 2nd year of Temmei (1782)
Elder-brother wood, tiger
On the 16th day of the 5th month
Tachibana Keiry6b
Takano Tatsuyuki's report on Shahon I:
Viscount Kuze was formerly the owner of this book. At the present
time it is in the T6ky6 Music School. It is reprinted in Nippon Kayo-
shutsei. This copy was made in Sh6wa 4th year (1929), 2nd month,
for my private library.
Hanzan' archive, owner

(ex libris seal) c
The first four pages of the Kyu2jisshusho have been attached

to the volume later than 1448. R6ei Yuraid, the historical introduc-
42 Takano's pen-name.
a A3 ) f Z X ZiJ81JL S
Sf- ^R b 3ZNM H-*RijRf

,r> t S:<:gSAitd MFI(ftA
tion, which is dated 1451, may be considered as part of the work.

It is different with the table of ornaments inserted on the empty
back of the fourth leaf. This table is identical with the one in
the Ry6jin-hish6a, a musical diary commonly ascribed to Emperor
Go-Shirakawa. There can be no doubt that one of the copyists
of the Kyu2jisshusho was the borrower, and not vice versa: in
the Ry6jin-hisho it is an isolated insertion. This fact has not
yet been pointed out by Japanese musicologists. There is, of
course, no way of telling when, in the long interval between
1448 and 1725, this table of ornaments has been inserted in the
Kyuzjisshush6.
The waka "Kimi ga yo", leaf 2r, may very well have been
added at a much later date. The beautiful poem, contained al-
ready in the Kokinsha2b, was always much admired. Nevertheless,
it became the symbol of the Tenn6 ideology only during the
Tokugawa period and gained greatest popularity after the Meiji
restoration, when it became the national anthem. The question
of authenticity is not touched upon at all by modern Japanese
editors, who reprint the table of ornaments and the waka "Kimi
ga yo" without comment as a part of the original of 1448. This
writer believes that the anthem had been inserted by the copyist.
The heading on the right hand of the page reads:
Symbols used when singing wakac.
The song is given in two versions; the first being marked

k6d, the second otsue. In this case ko and otsu mean simply "A"
and "B", although in other musical contexts they have various
different meanings, such as otsu meaning the normal octave and
k6 meaning falsettto range.
The otsu version is provided with a variant for the second
phrase, marked:
Occasionally also sung like this: ...
The text is in hiragana and the neumes are in black ink.

The shape and reading of the neumes differ from the r6ei neumes.
The neumes bear great similarity to the notations used in the
N6. Pitch indications and phrasing are in red ink. The full
length of the two versions is two columns each.
a Vta b t ct@? d F e Z f *,PzMft;=
215 RRei 33
Both strains are completely different from the melody of

the modern national anthem, which is a mixture of Western
alnd Japanese elements, arranged in 1888 by the German Franz
Eckert. They bear the characteristics of the classical singing
style. It is of interest that until World War I the anthem was
taught in the schools in both, the modern and classical styles.
Text:
The reign of my Lord,

A thousand ages, eight thousand ages;
So long that a tiny pebble
Will grow into a rock
All covered with moss.a43
Leaf 3r-v, 4r:
Development of R6ei
In times of old"4 the Minister to the Left Ichij 64 respectfully

submitted three messages which were styled by Kan Fumitoki.
It is said that the minister was so carried away by his admiration
for the beautiful style that he raised his voice and sang these
messages. The words of 'Fushi ganran" and "Haru sugi natsu takete"'
were contained in these messages and were henceforth held as the
most precious secret pieces. From that time to the present day
more r6ei were selected continually from shih and fu and aug-
mented by numbers from hsii and piao.
Under the glorious reigns of the Emperors Daigo and Suzaku"
the path of roei was followed by many, and inside the gates of the
houses Minamoto and Fujiwara the tradition was passed on. More
and more increasing the r6ei reached the number of ninety.
Therefore the name of this scroll is Kyfujisshush6. In further
development the vocal numbers in Minamoto style became more
43 Some modern Japanese anthropologists like Origuchi Shi-

nobu i1ff advance the theory that "Kimi ga yo" is an old love song:
"Kimi"=old appellation for the beloved; "yo"="love between man and
woman", from which the meanings "happiness", "lifetime", "longevity"
and finally "reign" gradually, developed. The ancient Japanese believed
that stones could grow and that they contained magic power. The song,
therefore, worked like a magic spell: long life for the lovers.
44 In the text stands tj migi (right). The NKZ-edition suggests that
this might be an error, the symbols ' inishie "in times of old" and ;U
being easily misread.
45 Minamoto no Masanobu.
46 Emperor Daigo 898-930; Emperor Suzaku 930-955.
a !A{%. f-fllwZAfJz# tTh7) ,>?9fkrt I,C
than one hundred; those in Fujiwara style more than two hundred.
But the vicissitudes of changing times left of all the luxuriant
leaves on the mighty Fujiwara tree only the last heir, Munenobu.
During his childhood his father died. Lonely in the world be was
unable to foster the arts, and the roei tradition became extinct,
preserved uniquely in the house Minamoto.
This servant, though of limited ability, has nevertheless under-
taken to turn his fan and make the dust on the roof dance;47 awkward
and afraid of being ridiculous, he dares to pour the dew-clear
refreshments of pleasant companies. This was also strongly en-
couraged by the Commander-in-Chief of the Bodyguard of the Right.
Written during the last decade of the 1st month 1449.48a
There are some more interesting annotations. On leaf 7v

is an ink drawing of a flute (btekib) provided with the notation
symbols and absolute pitch indications of the tones. In the text
proper of the Kyu2jisshushd the famous roei "'Fushi ganran" is
annotated:
Because this is a secret piece the neumes cannot be com-

municated.c
"Haru sugi natsu takete", on the same page, has two com-
ments. The first, in black ink, reads:
This has other versions which are passed on exclusively by

oral tradition.d
The second comment, in red ink written at the margin, reads:
I fully agree with the tradition that this piece should be learned
at the very outset of roei studies.e
47 Good music in the house makes the dust on the roof dance for
joy.
48 This date refers only to the composition of the introduction.
S RQ8tAg.Sfr,o R thpfiRE b IS c fWAgA%#gt9

d ff X Jt n e -p flJ t'
217 R6ei 35
The numbers "Hachigatsu kugatsu" and "Ike suzushikute wa"

are marked:
The Fujiwara do not sing this piece.a
The last two roei ("H56" and "Yama tokushite wa") have the
heading:
The following roei are contained neither in the Fujiwara nor in

the Minamoto tradition.b
On the back of the same leaf two different persons have put
down their glosses. The first reads:
These two only.49 (Up to here 52 pages.)

There are altogether 84 numbers with
neumes. The numbers increased.
(seal) c
The second:
Are there not 107 with neumes?

There are 18 without neumes. Are there perhaps many
obsolete? Counted altogether there are positively 125 numbers.
(seal) d
The five imay6 which the collection contains cannot be

discussed. Of great interest are the seven original Minamoto
r6ei, which are specially listed:
They very first r6ei of the Minamoto.e
They are: "Gokuraku son", "Dai-ichi dai-ni", "Raki juti",

"Hachigatsu kugatsu", "Haru sugi natsu takete", "Fushi gan no
arashi", "Toku wa kore"f.
Of these numbers, the first five are contained in the Wakan-
r6ei-shui, the last two in the Shinsen-roei-shut. Only two, "Haru
sugi" and "Toku wa kore", are preserved in the repertory of
the court musicians.
49 Refers to the preceding two irregular r6ei.
a fRT;I .k b T j>jgp ? M c TN
?m2x f WF : M*X A U xm ftEUXfiM
The significant postscript of leaf 63v sheds some more light

on the historical and musical situation of the time in which the
Kyi2jisshush6 received its final form:50
(In the original it says: )

This scroll was provided with neumes because I am slow of
mind and forgetful and therefore have to disregard the scorn of
more perfectioned musicians. I wrote it for myself and not for those
who do not need it. The original counting of 90 r6ei is the orthodox
counting. (Therefore the name Kyu2jisshush6.)
Besides these 90, there are 35 other poems. These contain also
numbers which are neither of the Minamoto nor of the Fujiwara
tradition.
At the present time 125 are sung. For easier discernment the
ones not contained among the original 90 are written with a lowered
margin at the top of the page.
More important is that my descendants and pupils do not belittle
this scroll and firmly put an end to disrespect. However I do not
want them to monopolize it and to keep it secret, because of the
many insignificant chatterers and blockheads, deaf and dumb for
real beauty, who go on and on performing their r6ei caricatures;
-a thought which is really a burden to the mind.
(seal) a
g. The Eikyoku HifUb
The Eikyoku Hifu (Secret Book of Songs) is a shahon of

the year 1801, which this writer found in the Ueno Library
50 In 1948, Kond6 Yoshihiro 3E#:9 published a paper on a copy

of the Kyi2jisshush6 made in 1419. The title of the paper was "Roei Kyui-
jissush6 Seich6 no Ichi-katei - (One Step in the
Growth of the Kyf1jisshush6) in Kokugo to Kokubungaku M L SS:@ vol.
25, No. 7, p. 34. The scroll described in this paper had been written by
Go-Suk6in X1j, grandson of Emperor Suk6in and famous scholar of the
Muromachi period. It contains 111 roei, but there are no neurnes. Kondo
says that this work is in the Minamoto tradition. Go-SukMin used for his
copy an "original" (or an older copy) of 1388. The roei "Kashin reigetsu"
has the traditional indications concerning the irregular beginning and the
two repeats. "Ike suzushikute wa" and "Hachigatsu kugatsu" have the
comment: "In Fujiwara tradition these poems are not sung." The copy of
1448 contains the same remarks.
~~~~~~ ~~~~~b
219 R6ei 37
(;, 7689 ).
served and hardly damaged by the bookworm, the worst enemy
of all hand-written documents in Japan. It has altogether sixty
leaves arranged as follows:
Title leaf lr
Go-on ch6shia (table of scales) leaf 2r
The collection proper (hommon): (ten roei in five different
modes) 57 leaves
Colophon last leaf, r
The height of the volume is 26.5 cm, the width 20.3 cm. The
numbers are all provided with neumes. The writing style is kanji.
Black ink is used for the neumes and the texts, red for phrasing
dots and pitch indications. The neumes show the tendency
of a florid style. The writing of both neumes and kanji is clear,
yet unfree and pedantic. The copyist seems to have been a
subaltern person. Pedantism shows also in the meticulous, re-
petitious method of scoring, which differs widely from the
earlier methods and the method at the time of the Meiji resto-
ratioi. In all other sources the intervals are indicated in a gerneral
way, and the choice of the absolute pitch is left to the performer.
The Eikyoku Hifu gives the precise absolute pitch indications
and goes even as far as to transpose them painstakingly through
the five modes, without the slightest modifications. Perhaps this
book was used by an awkward accompanist who wanted to find
the tones on his flute or oboe in case the singers decided for
a higher or lower pitch.
The ten r6ei are all contained in the modern gagaku re-
pertory. The Eikyoku Hifu arranges them, in the first pentatonic
mode, as follows: "Kashin reigetsu", "Togan", "Shimp6 no sake",
"Sh6kon", "Ike suzushikute wa", "Jisei", "Issei no h6kan wa",
"Akatsuki", "Toku wa kore", "Kyi%ka"b.
In the other four modes, "Toku uwa kore" is placed right
behind the first number, "Kashin". In the post-Meiji partbooks
also these two numbers preceed the others; "Kashin" and "Toku"
being the most important, and as a matter of fact. the only two
roei which are still regularly performed.
The go-on-ch6shi, "table of the five scales", will be dealt with
later.
a i b 3KV, , E *A %fR* A&W ep/J --
Colophon:
The secret book of songs should not be shown to anybody;

secretly I borrowed it and ordered a copy. Not by any means must
it be shown to anybody else.
Kansei 12th year (1801)
Elder-brother fire, monkey
10th month
Superintendent in charge of the Bodyguard of the Left Koma
Chikayuki (seal) a
h. The Roei Ampub
The last pre-Meiji collection known to this writer is of the

year 1853. It is called Roei Ampu (Notation Plan of Roei) and
belonged formerly to the library of the house Hayashic, who
were Imperial court musicians stationed at the Shitenn6ji in
Osaka. The whole library of this house fortunately escaped the
bombs of 1945 and is now in the library of Ky6to University
(60 * 7). This source is the first practical score preserved, in
which the singing style of the court musicians proper, the gaku-
nin, may be studied. All former practical sources stem from
aristocratic or ecclesiastical circles. The shahon contains the same
ten roei as Eikyoku Hifu, in the following order: "Kashin", "Toku
wa kore", "Togan", "Jisei", "Shimpo no sake", "Ike suzushikute
wa", "Sh6kon", "Akatsuki", "Kyfuka", "Issei".
The arrangement and condition of this score is almost the
same as the one of the Meiji partbooks and we may take it for
certain that this source has been used in the remolding of gagaku
for the Meiji court ceremonials. The melodic lines are provided
with interval indications, as in the Kyutjisshusho and in the
modern partbooks. Only here and there the shape of the neumes
shows very slight differences from the Meiji partbooks. The
modern usage, to mark pitch alterations of the fundamental
intervals (hend and eie = lowered and sharpened) consequently
throughout the piece, is the only-though the most important-
modern addition to this score. The interval indications in Roei
Ampu are copied in the modern books with fair accuracy. Oc-
casionally Roei Ampu contains only the simple intervals, uf,
where the modern books note: "ei-u"g (sharpened sixth) etc. In
the R6ei Ampu the phrases are occasionally shorter and simpler
a g -t?.A3
fjUt$@X?bi8\i&.Z b M X c At d X e MR f :p g &
221 Roei 39
than in the modern partbooks; and consequently there is one

interval indication less.
Colophon:
The preceeding notations of roei were borrowed from Hibino

Isabur6 and copied.
Kaei, 6th year (1853)
Younger-brother water, ox
10th month, 5th day
Hibino Kamejir6
(alias) Minamoto no Masayoshi.a
i. The Riiei Kafub
This r6ei partbook was put down as standard during the

first Meiji years, when the much decayed Imperial court
music was remolded. The first copy incorporated in the library
of the Imperial music department (gakubuc) is of the 9th year
Meiji, 1876. Later copies, taken by Imperial musicians for their
personal use, do not show any divergencies from 1876 to the
end of the last war, 1945. The copy used by this writer is of
October 1916. It forms the second part of a book the full title
of which is Saibara Roei Kafud. The collection comprises sixty
leaves arranged as follows:
Title: Saibara Roei Utaa leaf lr

Index of Saibara in the ryo scale leaf 2r
Ryo-go-hy6shif (five-beat rhythm ryo scale) leaf 2r
Saibara proper in the ryo scale (texts and neumes) 21 leaves
Index of saibara in ritsu leaf 24r
Ritsu-go-hy6shih (five-beat rhythm ritsu scale) leaf 24r
Saibara proper in the ritsu scale (texts and neumes) 9 leaves
Roei y6c (intervals, pitch indications and notations for
the reed-organ sho) leaf 34r
Roei proper (texts and neumes) 25 leaves
Colophon leaf 60r
This book contains 14 roei, which proves that other sources

besides the Roei Ampu must have been used. The sequence is:
"Kashin", "Toku wa kore", ""Tgart", "Ike suzushikute wa", "Aka-
a a %-E*#t"XlEtEE-RE;iE-?S@:7XbS tE FR5
HM~f h PAff
tsuki", "Koyo mata k6yo3", "Haru sugi", "Jisei", "Shimp6 no sake",

"Shokon", "Kyftka", "Issei", "Taizan", "Hana joen".
The writing is in kanji; the ending syllables are inserted
in thinly written katakana at the proper place of the melodic
curve. The tones are given with interval indications; the symbols
hen-kyui, ei-u are frequent. Ornaments, such as kiria and tsukub,
which occur very frequently, are written also in black. Only
phrase indications are in red ink. The absolute length of the
neumes seems to be carefully measured according to the time
which the respective phrase comsumes. The transcriptions into
Western notation follow this source.
Colophon:
During the first 10 days of

the 9th month, in the 5th year of Taish6
this copy was made.
Uzumasa Hiromotoc
(To be continued.)
a -W b 7 7 c 7k;E-TiS,EZ PW-V;L ;k,-A,?M7

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Rōei.

The Medieval Court Songs of Japan

The Medieval Court Songs of Japan

By Eta Harich-Schneider, Wien

Many types of vocal music existed in medieval Japan, such

a _ b f,Z c d MXjR e M-A f +4 g r h g i %

pieces, and the traditions of their actual performance, have been

Introduction: Music at the Heian Court

Music, poetry and songs were the very breath of Heian

a Atte b V,g c 'T

Empress Sadakoa, the daughter of Fujiwara no Michitakab. After

1 Quoted from Arthur Waley's Introduction to his translation of

aiYT b:w hT,V& cltR gjl m d eo fi

Again in ch. 130 we read:

A delightful description of the charm of a wirnter night is

3 Transl. acc. to the edition by Tanaka Jfitaro EU Eth;5 in Nihon

Murasaki Shikibu was about twelve years younger than

In the chapter Suma we read of Genji's exile on the lonely

8 From the r6ei "Akatsuki".

The moon rose in extraordinary splendour. Suddenly Genji

Again the chapter Otome contains a very interesting des-

The Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal played a few pieces on

Lastly, a lovely episode reported in the chapter Koch6. When

During the fourth month the weather was rather depressing.

12 Translated from Ikeda Kikan MMIM,f Genji Monogatari Taisei

The Kokonchomonshuia by Tachibana Narisue'5 is a source

The tonsured Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal in Horikawa was

R6ei singing at times came in handy in delicate situations.

My6on-in, the minister, on a certain evening brought secretly

"The guests are drinking in the hall,

Or the following piece from ch. 25:

In the little temple of Saga people were assembled to hold a

The purpose of this short introduction was to give an idea

18 Transl. acc. to reprint in NKZ p. 209.

desirable, to improvise r6ei and to surprise the listener with

Part I: Historical Information

1. Poets and Poetic Forms

The present repertory of the Imperial court music of Japan

20 For information on Chang Tu and Hsieh Kuan the author is

biography of his grandfather, Chang Chiena, in the Chiu T'ang-

a WeXb [FIN,$ Vre c ^ d I Zgtg-e ".r f q,-,P

Minamoto no Hideakia, or Eimei (911-950), a grandson of

a Pj1 b 4* c Vfj d fijM e-J* f #j g %-A* h 0j

b. The Chinese Literary Models of the Rioei

In r6ei four Chinese literary forms are used: shihn ( J. shi),

21 For further information see Sekai Bungei Daijiten im -= *

a tA;tEfq b _:R c 49> _* d M&-L e tit f rx,b g WJi h A

characters of the second and of the fourth chi! rhyme, while in

2. Survey of Roei Collections

SlU}Jre ~~~a/l z t l '0 /ZlJ

2> '0!fi,4 ^e^ 4

-' S I J --- itt

glued together: Chinese karakamia, Japanese torinokob etc., here

afft b i ,/k T c l, d k -p e jA3 ;W

musical program and performance practices.

blue warrior festival - Emperor (and Emperor in the monastery) -

These titles are of course inherited from Chinese tradition.

The second important collection of r6ei is the Shinsen-r6ei-

of this collection are much rarer than those of the Wakan-r6ei-