2014-06-16

Duet

A summer kyōka by Kikuga Zanmai 菊賀三昧, found in the Toku waka go-manzaishū 徳和歌後万載集:

三下りあひの手ひいて郭公いま一声の二上りを待つ
san-sagari/ ai no te hiite/ hototogisu/ ima hitokoe no/ ni-agari wo matsu
I play the break in "lowered-three"/ then wait to hear the cuckoo sing once more in "raised-two"

"Lowered-three" and "raised-two" are shamisen tunings. The "default" tuning is hon-chōshi, literally "main/original tuning", and is a fourth plus a fifth, e.g. D-G-D. "Lowered-three" (san-sagari) has the third string lowered, so, D-G-C. "Raised-two" (ni-agari) has the second string raised, so D-A-D. "Lowered-three" is supposed to have an elegant and subdued sound, while "raised-two" is meant to be cheerful and lively, although obviously that depends on the song exactly and I don't know how relevant it is to this particular poem.

I guess this is a gentle reference to Minamoto no Kintada's famous cuckoo poem:

ゆきやらで山路くらしつほととぎす今ひと声のきかまほしさに
yukiyarade/ yamaji kurashitsu/ hototogisu/ ima hitokoe no/ kikamahoshisa ni
unable to go on, I stay on the mountain path all day/ longing to hear the cuckoo's voice one more time

... lowered to the comical level of a shamisen tunesmith, with number play added ("three", "on[c]e", "two").

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