Biwa lute

[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Biwa 琵琶 lute

The biwa (琵琶)
is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, often used in narrative storytelling. The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten, goddess of music, eloquence, poetry, and education in Japanese Shinto.

It arrived in Japan in two forms. Since that time, the number of biwa has more than quadrupled. Guilds supporting biwa players, particularly the biwa hoshi, helped proliferate biwa musical development for hundreds of years. Biwa hōshi performances overlapped with performances by other biwa players many years before heikyoko and continued until today. This overlap resulted in a rapid evolution of the biwa and its usage and made it one of the most popular instruments in Japan.

. . . . . By the late 1940s, the biwa, a thoroughly Japanese tradition, was nearly completely abandoned for Western instruments; however, thanks to collaborative efforts by Japanese musicians, interest in the biwa is being revived. Japanese and foreign musicians alike have begun embracing traditional Japanese instruments, particularly the biwa, in their compositions. While blind biwa singers no longer dominate the biwa, many performers continue to use the instrument in traditional and modern ways.



Gagaku-biwa (雅楽琵琶)
Gogen-biwa (五絃琵琶)
Mōsō-biwa (盲僧琵琶)
Satsuma-biwa (薩摩琵琶)

Chikuzen-biwa (筑前琵琶)
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !




source :　www.tokugawa-art-museum.jp
Uryuu mon raden biwa 雲龍文螺鈿琵琶


. Japanes Musical Instruments .
The Drum (ko 鼓)


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




biwagyo 琵琶魚（びわぎょ）"biwa fish"
because its form is like the musical instrument biwa lute.

. ankoo 鮟鱇 anglerfish, goosefish, monkfish .
Lophiomus setigerus. "frog fish"


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- - - - - H A I K U - - - - -

- - - - - Matsuo Basho - - - - -

綿弓や琵琶になぐさむ竹の奥
. watayumi ya biwa ni nagusamu take no oku .
cotton bow and biwa lute

Nozarashi kiko


雑水に琵琶聴く軒の霰かな
. zoosui ni biwa kiku noki no arare kana .

while I eat my rice porridge
hail falling on the eaves sounds
like a biwa lute . . .



琵琶行の夜や三味線の音あられ
. biwakoo no yo ya samisen no oto arare .


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::





幻の琵琶「俳人山頭火」
Biwa concert in memory of the haiku poet

LISTEN to it here :
source : www.youtube.com


. Taneda Santoka (Taneda Santooka) 種田山頭火 .
(1882-1940)


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



yuku haru ya omotaki biwa no daki kokoro

. spring is leaving -
thinking about carrying
a heavy biwa lute .

Yosa Buson
with a painting


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Daruma Pilgrims in Japan


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::