Chinese Herald News On October 28, the "Thirteen Nights Bongna Performance" ended successfully at Shonai Shrine in Tsuruoka City. As part of the Shonai Shrine Lyre Revival Project as part of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Sakai family's entry, Shonai Shrine and the Japan Koqin Promotion Association jointly hosted a cultural feast that expresses the sincere look back of the present day on history.
Shonai Shrine, which served as the stage for the 13 Nights Festival, has a long history with koto, and one of the most notable is the Edo period koto, which dates back more than 200 years. The name of this piano is "Miyatsuru", and it was originally given to Shonai Shrine in the Meiji era as a treasure of the shrine, and has been passed down to this day.
Shijia Tianjue (1775-1834), also known as Longxi, was an erudite and talented literati who was not only proficient in the art of the qin, but also in painting and calligraphy. He has made outstanding achievements in many fields such as literature, art, and music, and is known as a rare talent. The family lived in the era of the Shonai Domain, and it was also the prosperous period of the Guqin in the Shonai Domain. In the Shonai Domain at that time, the sound of the guqin lingered in the castle like a breeze, enriching the daily lives of the people at that time.
The koto "Miyatsuru" of the clan Tenjue has also been well preserved at Shonai Shrine as a historical treasure of this period. Although it has gone through about 2 centuries, the surface of the guqin is still as smooth as new, and the inside of the pouch preserved with the qin has the inscription poem of the family Tianjue, "A piano for the poor and old, and the life is more than ten thousand gold." Stay in the water in the illness, and wait for the bosom friend for thousands of years", it can be seen that it is deeply loved by the owner of the piano. However, time is inexorable, and after years of silence, the instrument begins to show signs of disrepair. In order to revitalize this guqin, the Japan Guqin Promotion Association, as the only legal body in Japan to promote the revitalization of the guqin, was invited by the Shonachi Shrine to renovate and rewind the guqin, so that this long-established guqin can be revived.
October 28th, the date of the 13th Night Bongna Performance, also coincided with the death of Tadashi Sakai, the first lord of the Shonai Domain. At 5 p.m., the performance was held at Shonai Shrine under the theme of "Offering the Piano in front of the Gods". The biggest highlight of this performance is the "Autumn Wind Words" played by the merry guqin artist Yuan Wujing to live with the restored guqin "Gong He". Inspired by the poems of the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, this song depicts the desolation of the autumn wind and falling leaves and the bitterness of love, and complements the delicate and graceful strings of the guqin "Gong He".
In addition, the other songs performed are also quite interesting. Performed by Mr. Takei and sheng virtuoso Ishihara Kazuko, the first performance of the guqin and the sheng, two traditional instruments with a long history, perfectly presents the melodious music under the full moon night, as if the hermit is enjoying the moon and the breeze at the moment. The shakuhachi and sheng ensemble "The Void", brought by shakuhachi virtuoso Akihiko Yamazawa and Kako Ishihara, is another charm, and this piece is one of the oldest of the shakuhachi classical repertoire, known as the "Koden Sanga", which can be accompanied by ethereal music to imagine the realm of "nothing". The "Ancient Yin", performed by Mr. Takei and singer Yoyuki Hirayama and guqin player, depicts the mountains and rivers and the bright moon and thinks about history, lamenting that human life is fleeting like a splash in the rolling torrent of history, and expresses feelings of helplessness and melancholy. In addition, Mr. Takei brought the guqin repertoire "Fishing Qiao Q&A", "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix", "Return Speech" and "Dazai Introduction" performed by Mr. Takei to the "Shengfeng Liu" disciples, and also took the audience to appreciate the elegant charm and profound historical heritage of guqin music.
The performance ended with the guqin and shakuyachi ensemble "Farewell", a reinterpretation of a piece familiar to the Chinese and Japanese people, which embodies the continuous breakthrough and rebirth of ancient musical instruments in modern times, and gives a beautiful vision that history and culture can continue to be passed on in the future. After the performance, there will also be an interactive session, where the audience can watch the guqin from zero distance, pluck the strings with their own hands, and feel the charm of the guqin.
The "13 Nights Performance" is not only a musical festival, but also a journey through time, which not only resounds the treasure guqin of Shonai Shrine, but also pays tribute to the long history and traditional culture of China and Japan. It is hoped that through such performances, guqin music can continue to be carried forward and more people can appreciate this ancient and magnificent art.