Who performed Reiwa's first "Utakai"? Jan 16 19:13

The first New Year's annual "Uta-kai" was held in the Imperial Palace on the 16th. At the beginning of the song, people who were selected for a special moderation and songs of the Emperor and Empress were performed. I wondered why I sang like this and who was responsible for it. When I started interviewing, there were figures of people who inherited the tradition. (Tetsuro Ishiyama, Photographer of the Media Center, Press Office)

Reiwa's first `` song party start ''

The first song-song in Reiwa was held at the Matsumae in the Imperial Palace and palace on the 16th, where ten winners and tanka songs featuring the Emperor and Her Majesty were performed.

The history of the beginning of the song

When did the beginning of the song start in the first place? We also participated in the beginning of the song, and interviewed Professor Takeki Sonoike of Waseda University who was familiar with the history. The first song of the year, hosted by His Majesty the Emperor, was recorded in the mid-Kamakura period literature as "Utagokai" (the beginning of the song) and has a history of more than 750 years. It is called "Utakai".

Traditional work and unique moderation

At the beginning of the song, seven people are sitting at a table located in the center between the pine trees. After this member reads the song, it sings with a special moderation. Why sing like this?

Such a series of works is called "show". The lecture has four roles.

One of them is "Dokuji". Spreading the washi on which the song was written, so to speak, the facilitator does not speak.

Next is "Lecturer (Koji)". Read the song aloud.

And "hassei" starts singing the waka read by the "lecturer" with traditional moderation.

The waka is composed of five phrases "5.7.5.7.7.7", and "koude" is sung from the second phrase following "vocalization". This series of works is a "show".

At present, there are two schools, Ayakoji style and Reisen style, and "Utakai Hajime" is performed in Ayakoji style.

And there are three types of "moderation". "Koucho" singing strictly, "Otsucho" singing brilliantly by turning the verse finely, and "Joukocho" with the sound of the tonality raised. Which "moderate" sings is determined in advance for each song.

At the beginning of the song, the song is read aloud once, followed by a section. Professor Sonoike pointed out that it was the most important that the "show" show the newly created waka on the spot and "tell" it to the gathered people.

The reason was that you could read it out, convey its contents firmly, and then add a section to watch it.

The old Chinese are responsible

Then, what kind of people are responsible for these "shows"? "Readers" change every year, but "lectures", "vocalizations", and "odes" are members of a group called "lectures". The members are 10 people from 23 to 69 years old, including Tadahiro Konoe (49), Toshiaki Bojo (48) and Takaaki Kushisu (44).

Konoe's great-grandfather was Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe, and Kushisu's great-grandfather was a member of the House of Lords. Inaugurated in the form of a “training session” in 1923, it has been replaced by the name of “training session”.

What kind of people?

The occupations of the members of the show vary. While working as a company employee, university professor, ikebana instructor and creative director, I gather every month to improve my skills. It means that some people have taken over from the family in the past and joined by invitations from acquaintances in the past.

One of the members is Takaaki Kushisu (44). At the age of 26, he started a recital with an invitation from an acquaintance, and has been involved in the song for 13 years. I usually work for a foreign consulting company.

According to Kushisu, when performing a song, be careful not to shout too much, but to `` shake your back '' instead of speaking with your mouth or throat so that the voice reaches the venue without being too loud. Means singing in a vocal manner that produces a voice throughout the body.

For this reason, Kushisu who works for a foreign-affiliated company usually speaks in English, but he must be careful about how to speak out and speak clearly and carefully in both Japanese and English at work meetings. It is said that we keep in mind.

During my spare time, I recorded the first sound of the moderation that I had blown with the whistle, and practiced speaking out in conference rooms while listening to that sound.

Infiltrate the practice

Since last year, the members of the "reform meeting" have been practicing for the "singing party start". I was able to report on the practice held in the hall in Tokyo on January 10th. The members will create a venue similar to the production and look forward to practice.

The discussion started when I was interviewing. The content is about pronunciation when performing a song. The theme of this was "Nozomi", and the song used words such as "hope" and "telescope". When singing these words, they were discussing whether to sing "Kibo" or "Kibo". When I heard the reason, it was clear which pronunciation was better.

Even though I was interviewing, I could not see a clear difference on the spot, but Mr. Kushisu said, "The image of the song transmitted with one pronunciation and one break changes greatly, so we will talk until everyone is satisfied." Was explained. The practice on this day lasted nearly two hours.

At the beginning of Reiwa's first singing party,

And the day of the "singing party". There was a member of the "lecture" in the morning. Singing one after another. During the practice, she also performed one of the songs she was discussing.

The song is "Summer's schoolyard where you can hold your breath and see the real Saturn's ring with a telescope." After singing “Hold your breath”, the second phrase sings the telescope clearly as “Bouenkyo” and “U”, and “Schoolyard” sings as “Kootei” as “O”. I was The telescope sang "U" to convey the image of "going forward and heading in the right direction" because the theme was "nostalgia".

In the singing performed in the actual performance, I felt it was transmitted more clearly than I heard during the practice.

Mr. Kushisu: "The atmosphere is different from before and I was overwhelmed but I was relieved. I want to further refine my skills in a new era and work harder."

Throughout this interview, many people continued to make efforts to support the “song festival” held in a solemn atmosphere, protecting the tradition. It was quite difficult to understand, but it was a good opportunity to try out songs and singing.

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Photographer Tetsuro Ishiyama Entered in 1999 Miyazaki bureau Wakayama bureau Matsuyama bureau and news bureau