Life
Although born in Tokyo in 1911, Yoshinori Fumon was raised in Nara, near the Kansai region metropolises of Osaka and Kyoto. During his childhood and youth, the biwa was one of the most popular forms of musical entertainment in urban areas with some performers reaching a status of fame comparable to that of popular music artists today.
The youngest member of his family, Fumon was exposed to this music from an early age. His mother taught him shigin 詩吟 [a style of recitation used in satsuma biwa with poems in the Chinese style] while his brother, the futurist painter Fumon Gyoo studied satsuma biwa kinshinryuu 薩摩琵琶錦心流 [a new style of biwa music developed by Nagata Kinshin - undoubtedly the most popular performer of this time].
At 13 Fumon formally started taking lessons - first with Fujisawa Kyukoo 藤沢九皋 a pupil of the teikoku-habiwa player Toda Rykoo 戸田流光. By the time he was 17 he was studying seiha satsuma biwa with Sugi Gakuhoo 杉岳芳 and Uchida Kojoo 内田胡城, who had studied with the renowned Yoshimura Gakujoo 吉村岳城 and the Kagoshima [Satsuma] player, Ijuuin Kakujoo 伊集院鶴城, respectively. Three years later Uchida introduced Fumon to the famous teacher Sagara Shijoo 相良司城. Sagara taught Fumon the traditional theory and the shifuu biwa 士風琵琶style of playing that had been practiced in the former feudal domain of Satsuma [present-day Kagoshima].
During this time, Fumon was very active as a performer and calligrapher. He was also a student participant in the Kasuga 春日神社Shrine's gagaku雅楽orchestra in Nara, learning both gagaku theory and ryuuteki竜笛. In order to study the relationship between satsumabiwa and its predecessor moosoo biwa 盲僧琵琶 [the biwa music practiced by blind monks mostly of Tendai sect affiliation in southern Japan] Fumon studied shoosmyoo 声明, meeting with the Tendai sect shoomyoo expert Taki Doonin 多岐道忍 at Enryakuji 延暦寺 temple on Mt. Hiezan 比延山.
From 1933-35 Fumon further studied shifuu biwa with the Kagoshima born Toogoo Shigeatsu 東郷重厚, a pupil of the 19th century master Ban Hikoshiroo 伴彦四郎.
At the age of 25, Fumon ceased performing and instead devoted himself to teaching and research into the biwa's music and history.
He entered into Kyoto’s Ritsumei University in 1935, graduating in 1940. However, while studying, he continued to meet and perform in private with leading biwa teachers of the day, including Yoshimura Gakujoo, Makino Kinkoo 牧野錦光, and others.
Upon graduating in 1940, he was immediately employed as a dockyard engineer and to the important port of Chintao, China. While there, he met the German scholar of medieval Japanese Dr. Margot Grzywacz, learning German from him. In 1944, Fumon was conscripted into the army and saw action in the Chinese interior.
He returned to Japan in early 1946. Throughout the years following the war, he continued to teach while also holding temporary positions and jobs to rear and feed his family. In 1954, he received a position with the U.S. naval base at Yokosuka, in Kanagawa prefecture to the south of Tokyo. In1972, he founded the Fumon Biwa Institute in Tokyo. He continues to give practical instruction and instruction for research students affiliated with universities in Tokyo to this day.
He has held a number of teaching positions at various institutions including the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts [1967-1971] and the Takasaki College of Fine Arts and Music [1993-1999].
In 1982, he performed abroad for the first time in China. Since then he has traveled widely to promote international relations by demonstrating the biwa and, visiting universities and music institutions in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Switzerland and the USA. His enthusiasm for presenting and teaching his art inter-culturally have enabled a number of non-Japanese student-researchers to work with him intensively since the early 1980s.
Yoshinori Fumon fell ill in February 2001. following a stroke. He passed away on the 21st of April, 2003, at 92. He is survived by his wife, three sons, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
He has published a short book about the history and scale theory of satsuma biwa- “satsuma biwa no yuurai to onchoo”薩摩琵琶の由来と音調.
The satsumabiwa
The satsumabiwa is the name given to the lute-type instrument originally played by the Shimazu clan samurai in Satsuma Province (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture and the southern part of Miyazaki Prefecture). It is a style of katarimono (sung narrative) with highly melodic interludes on the lute. The biwa player does not sing and play at the same time, but alternates between the singing and the playing. Satsumabiwa has its root in satsuma mosobiwa, the biwa and style of playing once practiced by blind priests in southern Kyushu.
The history of the satsumabiwa is traditionally believed to have started in 1526, following the Onin War, when the priest and philosopher Nisshinsai (Shimazu Tadanaga 1492-1568) asked the 31st Patriarch of the moso sect, Fuchiwaki Jucho-in, to develop an instrument and style of playing that would be suitable for the Shimazu clan samurai. Fuchiwaki adapted the mosobiwa to suit this purpose. Nisshinsai in turn composed a number of hauta (poems) on themes of morality and loyalty, which Fushiwaki then set melodies to based on the moso shomyo (buddhist chant). By Fuchiwaki's death in 1564, it is believed that the basic patterns (called the motogin) in satsumabiwa music had been developed. The 32nd patriarch, Iemura Daiko-in, lived under the four daimyos (Lords) Shimazu Takahisa, Yoshihisa, Yoshihiro. and Iehisa. It was a time of great battles and many wars. Katarimono describing these battles were written at this time for which Iemura Daiko-in is believed to have created the other three main parts of the satsumabiwa music - the kuzure (used with battle scenes), the shikagin (for Japanese (waka) and Chinese (kanshi) poems), and the gingawari (for passages of great sorrow in the katarimono).
By the late Edo period there were three different biwa styles in Kagoshima - shifu (the satsumabiwa music of the samurai), zato (that of blind professional musicians), and machifu (that of former samurai teaching merchants and skilled workers associated with the Shimazu clan).
During the Meiji period, as former Satsuma samurai took positions of power in the new capital, satsumabiwa was introduced to Tokyo and the rest of Japan. The satsumabiwa was no longer limited to the samurai class, but could be played by anybody. In 1878, the former daimyo of Satsuma, Shimazu Tadayoshi, organised a satsumabiwa performance for the Meiji Emperor. The Meiji and Taisho Emperors took a great interest in the instrument and this led to its popularity throughout the country.
The satsumabiwa fushi (melodic patterns used in recitating katarimono) were based on the Satsuma area dialect. The accent and stress points used in recitation would have sounded very foreign and exotic to the people of Tokyo. The former Satsuma samurai Yoshimizu Kinno (1844-1910) attempted to adapt the fushi to suit the taste of all Japanese people in founding the teikokubiwa kinsui-kai. This was later known as the teikokuha.
At the beginning of the 20th century a new school of satsumabiwa - satsumabiwa kinshinryu - was formed by Nagata Kinshin (1885-1927). He was a native of Tokyo. After studying with the teikokuha, he added elements of edo uta (Edo Songs) to the sung melody and shortened the interludes. This style appealed much more to the general public. He made many recordings and became extremely popular throughout Japan. This popularity brought about what is refered to as the "Golden Age of Biwa Music". Among his students there were many nagauta and shamisen players. While Nagata's style was similar to the pure satsumabiwa that had emerged from Satsuma, due to his early death his students didn't learn the art fully. As a result the style of singing changed considerably in the following years.
As a result of the emergence of the kinshinryu, the players who preserved the pure satsumabiwa style came to be known as the seiha (orthodox school). These players, mainly of the intelligentsia, emphasised theoretical study and history as well as practical study. Fumon Yoshinori was the leading exponent of this school during his lifetime.
At the beginning of the Showa period, another school called the nishikibiwa was formed by Suito Kinjo. It combined elements of shamisen, nagauta, chikuzenbiwa and satsumabiwa. Not only was the music changed, but the instrument and the way of playing was altered - one fret and one string were added.
Around 1955, a school which later became known as the Tsurutaha was formed by Tsuruta Kinshi. Who had been a pupil of Suito Kinjo, taking the biwa name Tsuruta Okyoku. In her music, she used a lot of techniques devised by Suito. She also further altered Suito's instrument. As a result of Takemitsu Toru's composition "November Steps", which Tsuruta first performed with Yokoyama Katsuya, this biwa has become the most widely known today. Due to the changes made by Suito and later Tsuruta, it is no longer possible to hear the melodic interludes that characterise pure satsumabiwa. In Tsuruta's case, the interludes often consist of many percussive sounds.
Fumon Yoshinori represented the pure satsumabiwa.
Detailed profile of Yoshinori Fumon
Date of Birth:
Fumon Yoshinori was born in Honkoku-cho 1-12, Nihombashi-ku, Tokyo on 12 April, 1911. He was raised in Nara.
Musical Training:
(1924) He started studying with a pupil of the seiha satsumabiwa player Fujisawa Kyuko - a pupil of Toda Ryuko and a member of the teikokubiwa kinsui-kai.
(1928 - 1931) He studied with Sugi Gakuho, a senior pupil of Yoshimura Gakujo, and with Uchida Kojo, a senior pupil of Ijuin Kakujo. He also studied by himself using records released by famous seiha satsumabiwa players of the time - Yoshimura Gakujo, Suda Tsunayoshi, and Imure Jucho-in among others.
(1931 - 1935) He was introduced to Sagara Shijo, a famous teacher from Kagoshima and also a pupil of Ijuin, by Uchiida Kojo. Sagara taught Fumon the traditional theory and style of playing of shifu biwa, as had been practiced in the former feudal domain of Satsuma.
(1933 - 1935) He studied shifu biwa with Togo Shigeatsu, a pupil of Ban Hikoshiro.
(1935 - 1940) He finished his formal training in 1935 upon entering Ritsumei University, Kyoto. He graduated in 1940. However, he continued to meet and play biwa with Yoshimura Gakujo, Makino Kinko and others.
(1930 - 1933) He was a member of the Kasuga Shrine gagaku orchestra in Nara learning gagaku theory and ryuteki. In order to study the relationship between satsumabiwa and mososbiwa, the biwa practiced by the blind monks usually of Tendai sect affiliation, Fumon went to the Tendai sect head temple at Hiezan - Enryakuji. He met and studied with the Tendai shomyo expert Taki Donin. He received a book about the music theory of Tendai shomyo. Later he acquired and studied a recording of Takido chanting Nehan Koshiki. He added this to his reperetory and performed it with biwa accompaniment throughout his life.
Teaching Career:
(1933 - 1938) While studying with Sagara Shijo, he taught biwa at his home in Nara.
(1933 - 1940) He taught shigin in Nara.
Between August 1940 and December 1945, he was a conscript of the Japanese Imperial Navy. He was stationed in Qingdao, China as a ship engineer.
(1946 - 1954) He taught biwa in Nara.
Since 1954 he taught biwa at his home in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture until the end of his life.
(1967 - 1971) He lectured and supervised classes on the musical structure and theory of biwa music at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music with Kindaichi Haruhiko.
(4.1972 - ) He founded the Fumon Biwa Institute in Tokyo. He continued giving practical biwa lessons whilst teaching and researching the history and theory of biwa music until the end of his life.
(1981 - 1984) He taught biwa at the Sanshu Kurabu - a club formerly made up of soldiers from Kakoshima serving in the Armed forces but now mainly consisting of Kagoshima people of the business and political community living around Tokyo.
(1987 - 1999) He taught biwa to members of the Kagoshima Prefecture Sueyoshi Town Board of Education seiha biwa Preservation Society one weekend a month.
(10.1991 - 1.1992) Under the auspices of the Japan Foundation, he taught biwa theory and gave demonstrations to Prof. Wan Fanji at the Beijing Chinese Music University.
(1993 - 1999) He was a guest professor at the Takasaki College of Arts and Music, teaching seiha biwa.
At the request of Prof Gen'ichi Tsuge, he has taught biwa history, theory, and given practical instruction to Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music graduate research students including Dr. Heinz Eberhard Schmitz (Germany) and Dr. Hugh de Ferranti (Australia).
Performing Career:
Shifu satsumabiwa is not played as a professional performing art traditionally. Rather, it is intended for one's spiritual education. For this reason, Fumon has avoided a professional performing career. However, he has performed at schools, universities, shrines and temples when invited. He has also performed internationally to promote the biwa.
(1978 - 2000) He performed every year at the Spring Festival at Meiji Jingu Shrine.
International Cultural Activities:
(3.1982 - 4.1982) China: He performed at the Beijing People's hall, Chinese Music School, Xi'an Music School and Shanghai Music School.
(5.1982 - 7.1982) West Germany and Switzerland: He performed and gave lecture- demonstrations at Hamburg Conservatory, Cologne University, Cologne Music Conservatory, Cologne Japanese Cultural Hall, Zurich National Museum. He conducted this tour following his receiving a recommendation from the Education Minister, Hikaru Matsunaga, and was awarded financial assistance by the Foreign Ministry.
(5.1986 - 7.1986) West Germany, England, Austria, Hungary: He made four appearances during the Hamburg City Japanese Music Week. He performed and gave lecture-demonstrations at the Hamburg Conservatory, Hamburg University, Cologne University, Munich Municipal Museum, Berlin Ethnomusicology Research Institute, the University of London, Sheffield University, Dartington Iniversity, Vienna University, Viena National High School, Budapest Cultural Hall, Szentendre Music School. This tour was funded by the Japanese Foundation.
(10.1988) Hong Kong and China: Performed twice at the 12th Festival of Asian Arts in Hong Kong. He also performed at the Chinese Musicians' Society Biwa Research Society's Inauguration meeting in Guangzhou.
(4.1990 - 5.1990) Austria, Germany and Hungary: Performed and gave lecture-demonstrations at Vienna University, Marburg University and the Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. He also made a recording of "Shiroyama" for broadcast on Radio Budapest. (Sponsored by the Japan Foundation)
(9.1992) China: He performed at the Chinese Musicians' Society's Biwa Research Society. He also performed and gave lecture-demonstrations at the Beijing People's Hall as well as the Beijing Central Music School.
(11.1994) Austria and Germany: He performed and gave lecture-demonstrations at Vienna University and Munich Municipal Museum. At Vienna University, he made a recording in which he explained and demonstrated the traditional theory of satsumabiwa music. In Munich, he discovered a biwa from the middle of the Edo period that was used in Joruri. There is no biwa of this kind left in Japan and it represents a very important discovery in showing the kind of musical instrument that was used by classes other than those of the samurai class. (Sponsored by the Japan Foundation)
(11.1997) Ireland and England: He performed and gave lecture-demonstrations at SOAS - University of London, Cambridge University, University College Dublin, World Music Centre University of Limerick, St. Finians College, Mullingar. (Sponsored by the Japan Foundation)
(10, 2000) United States: He performed and gave lecture demonstrations at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and Columbia University, New York. (Sponsored by the Japanese Foundation)
Presentations within Japan:
(8.9.1979) He made a presentation under the title "Satsumabiwa no ongaku kozo" (The musical Structure of satsumabiwa music) for the Toyo Bungaku Gakkai in the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
(1.4.1989) He made a presentation under the title "Satsuma biwa no senritsukei to onkai" (The melodies and scales of satsumabiwa music) for the Toyo Bungaku Gakkai. He also performed "Shiroyama".
(24.8.1999) He did a workshop titled "An introduction to the satsuma biwa and its traditional music theory" at the 35th World Conference of the International Council for Traditional Music held in Hiroshima.
He has also made a number of presentationas at the Japan Rhythm Society, and at conferences to promote Japanese music in the Ministry of Education Curriculum.
Television Appearances:
(1977) Played biwa on the NHK drama "Kashin".
(1979) Played biwa on the the NHK drama "Kaze no hayato".
(1984) Featured on the NHK traditional music programme "Hogaku hyakusen" and played "Yashima no Homare".
Recordings:
(1975) Made a recording for the book "Biwa sono ongaku to keifu" written by Tanabe Hisao and Hirano Keiji. (Columbia Records)
(1978) "Hogaku kushoka taikei" (CBS-Sony Records)
(1979) Recorded "Hashi Benkei" for "Nihon biwa gaku taikei" (Japanese-German Eastern Cultural Institute)
(1996) "Fumon Yoshinori - First Album" (S-TWO CORPORATION)
(2001) Satsumabiwa: Japan's Noble Ballads (Celestial Harmonies)
Publications:
(1979) Satsuma biwa no yurai to oncho(On the History and Music of the Satsumabiwa
|
