Page:Japanese Peasant Songs.djvu/30

2	Koko wa Nishimachi Koyureba Demachi Demachi Demachi to Demachi koyureba Sakura baba Yoiya sa, koi sasa![1]	Here is Nishimachi Beyond lies Demachi Demachi Demachi O! And beyond Demachi The cherry tree riding ground Yoiya sa, koi sasa!
3	Kuma to Satsuma no Sakai no sakura Sakura sakura to Eda wa Satsuma ni Ne wa Kuma ni Yoiya sa, koi sasa!	On Kuma and Satsuma’s border[2] Grows a cherry tree A cherry a cherry O! With branches in Satsuma And roots in Kuma Yoiya sa, koi sasa!

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Or: Kuma de meisho wa (Kuma’s famous place).

Beauty spot, or view is understood.

Or: Oharai san no gomon (honorable shrine gate).

Aoi Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Hitoyoshi, the old capital and castle town of Kuma. A large festival is held at the shrine every autumn to which people come from all over the county.

Instead of repeating the last word of the second line of each stanza, some singers double the first word or phrase of the third line. Thus in stanza 1 instead of tripling ‘gomon’, the next phrase ‘mae wa’ is doubled (in stanza 2 ‘Demachi’, in stanza 3 ‘Eda wa’). The first two lines and the fourth and fifth lines of these stanzas were given as single lines by Mr. Aiko in Suye—a division of songs into two parts or “hemistitches” often practiced by the Japanese in transcribing folksongs.

Or: hasyukei.

The sentiments expressed in this opening song are typical of many provincial songs, for instance, Iso bushi, a song not local to, but popular in Suye Mura, runs:

Iso de meisho wa Oharai sama yo Matsu ga miemasu Hono bono to Saishone miemasu Hono bono to

Iso’s beauty spot Is the Shinto shrine. Pine trees seen Dimly In the mist, seen Dimly.

1. ​ The recorded version sung by a Hitoyoshi geisha gives a different song as the second stanza which is:

   Koko no Hitoyoshi Yu no deru tokoro Koro Sagara otome no Yuki no hada Yoiya sa

   Here is Hitoyoshi: Place of hotsprings, Of Sagara maidens, Of snow white skin.

   Sagara is the name of the former ruling feudal lord of Kuma, and the name is, in this song, also applied to the girls of Hitoyoshi, the old castle town.

2. Satsuma is the old name for Kagoshima prefecture, immediately south of Kuma.