The hayashi of the Kitakannon-yama, The Gion festival of Kyooto
TAl Ryuuichi and MASUDA Takeshi
This is based on a fieldwork survey undertaken in 2003-2005 on the hayashi music of the Kitakannon-yama festival float of Kyooto's Gion festival. The float today is a hoko type, a large, wheeled, shrine-like structure on which gong, drum, and flute players ride, the whole structure surmounted by a mast-like decorative pole, the hoko (formerly surmounted by a mountain-like decorative one, the yama).
The structure of this report as follows: a general overview of hayashi music; the bearers of the music tradition; the repertoire and its structure; the schedule of rehearsals and performances; the instruments, the performing ensemble, and the arrangement of the instruments on the float; performance practice (performance techniques; special body movements made by the drummers; kakegoe (signaling calls) and hayashi-kotoba which function as calls of encouragement, often with rhythmic and mnemonic significance; techniques for shifting from one piece to another and stopping the performance); kuchi-shooga (mnemonic solmization) and notation; the transmission process and training; recent changes in the hayashi music; the significance of participation in performance of the hayashi music; and the special characteristics of the hayashi music of the Kitakannon-yama.
The most interesting point in the Kitakannon-yama is the choice of pieces is prescribed by streets in detail. This is unique in Kyooto's Gion festival. It is the embodiment of the epistemology of space in the people of Kyooto as it really is.
There are many similarities to be observed in the Niwatori-hoko and Kanko-boko of Kyooto's Gion festival such as a pair of pieces, the musical notation, and techniques for shifting from one piece to another and stopping the performance. The hayashi music of the Ueno Tenjin festival of Iga, Mie Prefecture, which is thought to derive from the music of the Gion festival, is worthy to note from the view point of genealogy of the hayashi music. Comparative study will provide valuable insights into the transmission of this music.
Key Words: Gion-bayashi, festival music, festival floats
