Tsugaru-jamisen (津軽三味線, つがるじゃみせん) or Tsugaru-shamisen (つがるしゃみせん) is a type of Japanese music played on a stringed instrument called the shamisen. This music and instrument come from the Tsugaru Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture. People in Japan play Tsugaru-jamisen music everywhere, but it is still closely connected to the Tsugaru region. This style of shamisen music is the most well-known type and has been popular in Japan during many different times.

History

The shamisen, a musical instrument, came to Japan from China through Okinawa in the 16th century. However, the people who developed the tsugaru-jamisen style are not known for sure. This is because there are no written records about its creation, and the Japanese government did not officially recognize it. Tsugaru-jamisen originated from a small peninsula called Tsugaru, which is located west of Aomori Prefecture today. Some researchers have guessed about its origins based on available evidence. Many agree that the style was created by homeless and blind individuals known as bosama.

One scholar, Daijō Kazuo, believed that a bosama named Nitabō helped create the style. He based this idea on interviews with musicians and their families. According to Kazuo’s research, Nitabō modified a shamisen in 1877. He shaped the instrument’s pick to look like a rice paddle. He also played the shamisen upright, using the area near the bridge as a playing area. Unlike other styles, he hit and slapped the strings instead of only using the pick. However, other scholars, such as Gerald Groemer, say Kazuo’s account may not be fully accurate because there is little written proof.

Nitabō taught many blind students, including Kinobo and Chōsakubo, who helped develop the style. His final student, Shirakawa Gunpachirō, performed outside the Tsugaru region with a folk group. Gunpachirō also played in professional settings, such as concert halls in Tokyo. Because of his success, tsugaru-jamisen became popular in the 1920s. However, its popularity decreased when the Second Sino-Japanese War began later that decade.

Between 1955 and 1965, many tsugaru-jamisen performers moved to cities like Tokyo. This was part of a larger trend as traditional arts in Japan grew in popularity. The style became popular again in 1959 when Gunpachirō performed with enka singer Michiya Mihashi at the Nihon Theater in Tokyo. This event introduced the genre to more people, leading to the rise of younger musicians. Takahashi Chikuzan, another bosama, was a respected performer who began touring Japan in 1964.

Composition

Tsugaru-jamisen is played on a larger shamisen called futozao (太棹), which has a thicker neck and thicker strings than those used in most other styles. Tsugaru-jamisen is easily recognized by its percussive quality (the plectrum striking the instrument's body with each stroke) and the unique rhythm patterns performed. Unlike most other Japanese music, some tsugaru-jamisen pieces are in triple time, though the three beats are not emphasized in the same way as in Western music.

Tsugaru-shamisen has a large and growing collection of musical pieces. Interviews with famous performers such as Takahashi Chikuzan and Yamada Chisato, along with recordings from past artists, help create the following list. Most of the titles listed below exist in two forms: one with singing (a vocal line accompanied by shamisen and taiko drum) and one as a solo shamisen piece (see sixth group below). Recently, younger musicians have tried blending tsugaru-shamisen styles or themes with jazz, rock, and other popular music genres. Except for arrangements labeled as shin min'yō, these pieces are generally considered traditional.

Thetsugaru-jamisenrepertoire

• A. Kudoki bushi (songs that tell a story in a special way) Suzuki Mondo (now rarely played) Jonkara kudoki (now rarely played)
• B. Tsugaru (no) mitsumono ("Three Tsugaru Songs") Tsugaru jongara bushi shin bushi ("new song") naka bushi ("middle song") kyū bushi ("old song") shin kyū bushi ("new old song") Tsugaru yosare bushi shin bushi ("new song") kyū bushi ("old song") Tsugaru ohara bushi shin bushi ("new song") kyū bushi ("old song")
• C. Tsugaru (no) itsutsumono ("Five Tsugaru Songs"—the "Three Tsugaru Songs" above, plus the following two) Tsugaru aiya bushi Tsugaru san-sagari
• D. Kyū min'yō ("old folk songs") Yasaburō bushi Tsugaru jinku Dodarebachi Ajigasawa jinku Tosa no sunayama Tsugaru ondo Torajōsama Tanto Bushi Others
• E. Shin min'yō ("new folk songs") Waiha bushi (written in 1932 by the singer Narita Unchiku (1888–1974)) Ringo bushi (written by Narita Unchiku in 1954) Others
• F. Kyokubiki (shamisen solos and improvisation): may include songs from B, C, D, and E (most often from B), along with free improvisation, which performers can name as they choose. Iwaki (Takahashi Chikuzan) Arashi (Yamada Chisato) Others, etc.
• G. Gassō (group performances with multiple shamisen, sometimes with other instruments like drums, taishō-goto, koto, etc.; also called kyoku-awase). Most often uses versions of Jonkara bushi; sometimes uses songs from groups B to E above; occasionally includes newly composed pieces or free improvisation based on standard patterns.

Playing method

The tsugaru-jamisen is known for its unique musical phrases and styles. One special technique is called kyokubiki, where players make up music as they play. They often hit the strings and drumhead quickly with the bachi. Traditionally, players use only their left index and ring fingers. The music uses a five-note scale (do, re, mi, sol, la). In recent times, a new technique in the tsugaru-jamisen style involves using the back of the bachi to create a fast, shaking sound without striking the drumhead.

Discussion of the repertoire

Group A includes songs that are rarely heard today, even though they were once the main songs performed by traveling musicians called bosama, who were often blind and relied on music for income. At the beginning of the 20th century, these musicians were gradually replaced by performers who played shorter, non-storytelling songs. Over time, the bosama and other performers focused on about five favorite songs (Group C). By the middle of the 20th century, three songs (Group B) and their shamisen versions became the central part of the Tsugaru-shamisen repertoire, a role they still hold today. For example, "Jonkara bushi"—in a version that the original bosama likely would not recognize—has become a symbol of the enduring "spirit of Tsugaru."

The songs in Group D are as traditional as those in Groups A, B, and C, but they were not widely performed by the bosama. Instead, these songs were often sung by non-professionals without shamisen accompaniment. However, they gained new attention during the Tsugaru-shamisen "boom" after World War II. Shamisen accompaniments for these songs were created by musicians like Takahashi Chikuzan (Takahashi 1976:142). Earlier, a national effort to create "new folk songs" led to the songs in Group E (see Hughes 1985:144-54, 281–309; Kojima 1970). More recently, solo shamisen versions of Group D songs have been arranged. Today, solo versions of older songs form the core of the repertoire, leading to the development of long solo improvisations (Group F) and group performances (Group G).

A key feature of the Tsugaru-shamisen repertoire is its cumulative nature. As shown by the songs in Group B, newer versions of songs often exist alongside older versions instead of replacing them. While older songs and their shamisen accompaniments or solo versions have likely changed from their original forms (and were never completely uniform to begin with), it is clear that the "old," "middle," and "new" versions differ not only in style but also in historical context. Their structural differences reflect a recorded history of the music's evolution.

Notable players

• Yoshida Brothers
• Shirakawa Gunpachirō
• Takahashi Chikuzan
• Kida Rinshōe
• Fukushi Masakatsu
• Oyama Mitsugu
• Mihashi Michiya
• Yamada Chisato
• Shibutani Kazuo
• Hiromitsu Agatsuma
• Shin'ichi Kinoshita
• Michihiro Sato
• Kevin Kmetz
• Kyle Abbott
• Masahiro Nitta
• Mike Penny
• Mitsuou Oyama
• Mitsugu Oyama
• Yutaka Oyama
• Shamimaster Shishido (Kouzan Oyama)
• Yoshikazu Oyama
• Seiyu Oyama
• Nitta Oyako
• Chie Hanawa
• Ki&Ki – Kanami and Hikari
• Beni Ninagawa (Wagakki Band)
• Shinobu Kawashima
• Noriko Tadano
• Hibiki Ichikawa

References and further reading

Daijō Kazuo has spent much of his life studying the Tsugaru-Shamisen and has met many of the old bosama. His writings, often written in a style that mixes stories with facts, say that everything began with one "Nitabō." Most scholars do not agree with this idea that the genre came from a single source.

• 1984 Genkon Tsugaru-shamisen. Published by Gōdō Shuppan.
• 1986 "Tsugaru-shamisen no rekishi: sono seishin to fūdo." In Tsugaru-shamisen taizen (6 cassettes and book). Tokyo: King Records K25H-5274-8.
• 1995 Tsugaru-shamisen no tanjo: minzoku geinō no seisei to ryūsei. Tokyo: Shin'yosha.

• 1991 The Autobiography of Takahashi Chikuzan: Adventures of a Tsugaru-jamisen musician. Warren, Michigan: Harmonie Park Press.
• 1993 "Tsugaru-jamisen ni okeru sokkyō ensōteki yōso no bunseki." Tōyō ongaku kenkyū 57:41–61.
• 1999 The Spirit of Tsugaru: Blind Musicians, Takahashi Chikuzan, and the Folk Music of Northern Japan. Warren, Michigan: Harmonie Park Press. 321 pp., illustrations, bibliography.
• 2012 The Spirit of Tsugaru: Blind Musicians, Takahashi Chikuzan, and the Folk Music of Northern Japan, 2nd revised edition. Hirosaki: Tsugaru Shobō. 369 pp., illustrations, photographs, bibliography.

The new edition includes many newly discovered historical details and updates the book. It is currently only available from amazon.co.jp and remains the most thorough study of Tsugaru-shamisen in any language. It includes a translation of Takahashi Chikuzan's autobiography (Takahashi 1976).

• 1985 The Heart's Home Town: Traditional Folk Song in Modern Japan. PhD dissertation, University of Michigan.

(introduction to Japanese folk song in general).

• 2010 The shamisen: Tradition and diversity. Leiden/Boston: Brill. ISBN 978 90 04 18137 3

• 1974 "Tsugaru-shamisen no keifu (1–24)", Tōō Nippō, Oct.16–Dec.14.
• 1970 "Shin-min'yō undō no ongakushi-teki igi." Engekigaku 11:1–29.

(Study of the "new folk song" movement)

• 1935 "Tsugaru min'yō-shi." Kyōdo-shi Mutsu 1:90–118; 3:115–157; 4:93–112.

Suda Naoyuki and Anthony Rausch

• 1998 The Birth of Tsugaru Shamisen Music. Aomori: Aomori University Press.

(Abridged translation of Daijō 1995 and includes some more general anthropological material).

• 1973 Tsugaru-shamisen Takahashi Chikuzan (liner notes). Tokyo: CBS Sony SODL 17.
• 1976 Jiden: Tsugaru-shamisen hitori tabi. Tokyo: Shinshokan.

(Autobiography of one of the Tsugaru-shamisen greats of the past. Translated in Groemer 1991, 1999, and 2012).