Kuroda Bushi
Kuroda Bushi(Japanese:Hắc điền tiết,literally the tune ofKuroda), also known asKuroda-bushi,is afolk songfromFukuoka City,Fukuoka Prefecture,Japan.This song, since its birth in the 1590s, has become popular across Japan, being sung now often atnomikai(drinking parties) or atkaraoke.
Words
[edit]The words of this song are in the form of a Japanesewaka poem,that consists of seven- and five-syllable lines. There are several stanzas, of which the first stanza together with an English translation, is as follows:[1]
| RomanizedJapanese | Direct English translation(GFDL) |
|---|---|
Kuroda-bushi |
Kuroda tune/ Kuroda'sbushi |
Origin
[edit]The researchers looking for the origin of the words of Kuroda-bushi have found it at the Gokō-gū Shrine (Ngự hương cung thần xã), inKyoto.The music used in this song was fromChikuzenImayō(Japanese:Trúc tiền kim dạng), a vocal genre sung by thebushiofFukuoka Domainduring theEdo period.The song then spread throughout Japan, drawing inspiration from the imperial music ofGagaku,especially the music tune calledEtenraku.
Story
[edit]One day,Nagamasa Kuroda,thedaimyoofKuroda Domain,asked Tomonobu Mori (Japanese:Mẫu lí hữu tín), one of his vassals, to visit on business another vassal,Masanori Fukushima,who was known to be analcoholic.As Mori was also a heavy drinker, Kuroda forbade him to drink during his visit, even if he were to be offered a drink, for fear that they would do something stupid under the influence of alcohol. When he arrived, Fukushima, already drunk as usual, happily welcomed a good drinking mate, and offered him a drink.
In spite of Mori's categorical refusal, Fukushima persisted in making him drink, saying "Doesn't Kuroda'sbushieven drink this little cup ofsake?If you accept my offer to drink together, I will give as a reward anything you want. "To this, Mori, made up his mind and swallowed a large cup of sake admirably to the last drop, and asked Fukushima to give himNihon-GôJapanese:Nhật bổn hào), known as one of theThree Great Spears of Japan,that theShogunToyotomi Hideyoshihad owned.
The next day, Fukushima realized what a grave error he had made, and immediately sent a vassal to Mori to get back the lance. Mori, of course, refused to return it. Later, Mori went on to fight gallantly with this lance in important battles, such the ones during theJapan's invasion of Korea,1592–1598.
It is noted in this story thatbushiis used in two ways: bushi, changed fromfushi(Japanese:Tiết), which meas a "tune", and bushi (Japanese:Võ sĩ) a "samurai",as inBushido.TheFukuoka Domain,which was ruled by the Kuroda family, was also affectionately called the Kuroda Domain.
The story is told in another similar story, which is now considered erroneous.[2]
"Kuroda Bushi"Hakata dolls,traditional Japanese clay dolls,are available in Fukuoka as souvenirs.[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Utaimono ( dao vật ): "Chikuzen Imayo" in Wikisource(in Japanese)