Tsuru no Sugomori (Renpoken)

鶴の巣籠

[ジャンル]	本曲
[流派]	Oshu Kei
[別名]	San'ya Sugomori, Kisenken Hikyoku Tsuru no Sugomori?

発祥 (神如道):

Renbo-ken / Kisen-ken: HIKYOKU (Sacred Piece) - TSURU-NO-SUGOMORI (The Nesting Crane)

1. About the title:

For general information about Tsuru-no-Sugomori consult first the section on it in "Commonly Used Titles."

In the case of this piece we may wonder whether it has been passed down with the special designation hikyoku mostly because of its extreme difficulty and great length and scale. Because it was played and taught by the renowned Jinbo Masanosuke in the period from the end of the Shogunate into the Meiji era, it is also called Jinbo Sugomori.

Jin Nyodo studied this piece with Jinbo Masanosuke's disciple Hikichi Kozan and several others, and passed it on in the tradition of Renbo-ken and Kisen-ken (ken = religious house). It is an unusual example of one piece bearing the names of two temples as its lineage, but as regards this point no reliable material has appeared as of now apart from Jin Nyodo's oral teaching. We know that Jinbo did play and teach this piece and that for a period of time he was active at Renbo-ken in Fukushima. But for more research concerning Hikyoku -- Tsuru-no-Sugomori or its original form, as well as its connection with two Fuke temples, we will still have to wait a while. So for the moment we should accept Jin Nyodo's explanation as is.

In addition please consult the article "Different Pieces with the Same Name. Identical Pieces with Different Names."

2. Structure of the piece:

This piece has a large-scale, rather complicated structure. First please consult the diagram which shows two structural patterns A and B.

TSURU-NO-SUGOMORI: Structural Patterns

Pattern A:

Shirabe Prelude/the cranes arrive flying
San'ya Searching for a place to build a nest
Takane (1) Rejoicing on finding a place to build a nest/Building the nest
Takane (2) Hatching the egg
Honte Love of parent and child. Departure of the child
Hachigaeshi Gratitude to heaven on fulfillment of their duty
O-musubi The parents' life draws to a close in peace and satisfaction.

Pattern B:

Shirabe Opening dan: possibly the original San'ya
Honte
Takane
Hachigaeshi
Honte Closing dan: possibly the original Tsuru-no-Sugomori
Hachigaeshi
Musubi

Pattern A shows the traditional structural analysis and the corresponding story of the life of the crane. This is according to the teaching of Jin Nyodo.

In contrast, pattern B is based on the theory of Tsukitani Tsuneko and analyzes the structure of the piece from a fresh viewpoint. According to Tsukitani's theory Jinbo Masanosuke probably blended: together two originally separate pieces, Tsuru-no-Sugomori and San'ya, to form this piece. For details regarding this please consult the article mentioned above.

The explanation below is based on the structural analysis of A:

Shirabe - A low-pitched prelude filled with vague emotion as if it flowed from a mist-enveloped valley. It is extremely individualistic without any comparable example in other honkyoku. The initial melody begins with the weakest of sounds and then gradually increases in volume in a gentle and finely articulated manner, until an especially intense mood is produced. This finely articulated technique is used repeatedly in various forms to give rise to the unique mood of this piece. The koro-koro and related techniques used in each section of Tsuru-no-Sugomori have an imitative effect which reminds one of the cry of the crane.

Then follows a mid-range melody taken to be the arrival of the flying crane. It is a passage which makes the listener think of a crane gently circling in the open sky.

San'ya - This is taken to be the section where the crane searches for a place to build its nest. In the middle of the opening melody, the music rises from the RO to the KO range; and then appears a melody which resembles the characteristic melody of Echigo San'ya. (Analysis B is a particularly interesting hypothesis when we consider the three facts that: 1. traditionally this section is called San'ya, 2. a distinctive melody resembling San'ya is used and 3. it is thought that Jinbo had some connection to the temple of Echigo Myoan-ji).

After this san'ya-like melody is repeated once, a rather emotional melodic passage follows and as a musubi (conclusion) the same melody as in the crane's arrival section is played an octave higher in the KO range.

Takane (l) - This section is described as the crane rejoicing on having decided where to build its nest." It begins in the Ro-no-ro tone and soars in one breath to the ha (245) tone two octaves and a half-tone above with delicate finger-work. This kind of individualistic melody which yields such brilliant effects is not to be found in other works. This high-pitched melody focusing on the enunciation of the ha (245) tone is played twice then the melody flows swiftly downward in a rapid rhythm to link with another melody that is filled with the emotion of the San'ya. After this latter melody is repeated, the tonal range descends and the feeling becomes more tranquil.

This ends the "building the nest" section. The piece proceeds with a gentle, mid-range melody.

Takane (2) - "The hatching of the egg" is the idea associated with this section. Again we find a powerful, high-pitched melody: a hachigaeshi-type melody with u (3) as its strongest and highest tone. Following the opening half which has a feeling of powerful speed and which makes great use of dexterous fingering, the second half presents a melody which is filled with gentle emotion in the mid-range expressing the rejoicing of the crane at the safe birth of its young.

Honte - The first part represents the "love of parent and child." It depicts the voices of the cranes, parent and chick blending together: voices filled with tender affection. For this blending of parent's and child's voices, a famous technique unique to this piece called taba-ne is used. It resembles tama-ne except that it revolves around a distinctly more gentle sound.

The melody for the parent cranes and the melody for their young are repeated alternately several times in the manner of gently blending voices. Gradually the intervals become closer and finally the music depicts the unison voices of parent and child. The melody in the Ro-range which sounds as horo - horo - horo, gradually shifts to koro - koro - koro in the Ko-range. Then it rises to a high pitch and abruptly shifting the music moves to the "child's departure" section.

The last half of the Honte depicts the "child's departure," i.e., leaving the nest. This section also begins with a melody for the blended voices of the adult and young cranes. However, whereas in the section for "love of parent and child" the melody possessed a gentle feeling in the mid-range as if depicting a quiet and intimate conversation, the melody in this part is extremely powerful and in the upper range.

The parents' melody comes first: the fingering moves in a rapid glissando up from ro to hi. -- ro-tsu-re-chi-hi. (The way of playing hi with the first finger is called, imitating the sound, kara-kara.) Next, the young cranes' melody imitates the previous melody but stops one note lower: ro-tsu-re-chi.

As was the case with the two melodies in the "love of parent and child" section, the two melodies here are repeated alternately, then merge into one to produce the feeling of a dan conclusion. With the lingering feeling of the blended voices of the cranes, the melody form the earlier section, "rejoicing on finding a place to build a nest," is repeated in a shortened form and the mood gradually becomes more tranquil.

This "departure of the child" depicts the young crane leaving the nest and setting out on its own, bidding farewell to its parents.

Hachigaeshi This section is said to depict a mood of gratitude to heaven: the gratitude of the parent cranes for having safely fulfilled their duty in raising their young.

The overall mood of the piece is sustained by the use at many points of delicate fingering and gently meandering melodic patterns, classical hachigaeshi melodic patterns common to honkyoku of the Tohoku tradition.

O-musubi - This closing section uses low weak tones to give a darker tone to the mood and sentiment of the piece, emphasized by a gently meandering melody in the mid-range and careful fingering. At the end, the music rises an octave from the o-meri of Ro-no-ro (lowest tone) to Ko-no-ro, then descends one note to ri where the piece concludes with a distant, remote feeling. The effect of this closing melody closely resembles that of Kyorei.

3. Special features of the piece:

This piece not only makes free use of almost all the techniques used in shakuhachi honkyoku, but also utilizes unique techniques found only in this work. Its numerous, beautiful and individualistic melodies, and its structure which displays praiseworthy development on a large scale, both make this famous piece deserving of being called the pinnacle of the musical world of classical shakuhachi honkyoku.

鶴の巣籠は下記のアルバムに収録されています

	アルバム	アーティスト
	Art of the Shakuhachi Vol I	尺八 : 三橋貴風
An early version of the piece Tsuru no sugomori (The crane settles into its nest) is recorded as having been played in Kyoto as early as the end of the seventeenth century. Pieces by this title also exist in the kokyu (a bowed spike fiddle) and koto (zither) repertory, though the relation of these pieces to the shakuhachi version is not entirely clear. The shakuhachi piece also exists in a large number of variants. These can be broadly classified as Kansai (western Japan) and northern Japanese types. Both the Renpoken and the Kizenken were komuso temples in northern Japan, in what is now Fukushima prefecture. The version of the piece recorded here was transmitted through these temples to the renowned shakuhachi player Jinbo Masanosuke (1843-1914). The crane has since ancient times been considered an auspicious bird that lives for a thousand years. Perhaps for this reason this piece is among the most popular in the repertory. Tsuru no sugomori is somewhat programmatic, depicting in musically highly abstract terms the life of a pair of cranes. The composition begins with an opening section (to 1' 24’) that allows the player and the audience to encounter the tuning and sound of the instrument. The music then quickly moves on to portray a pair of cranes arriving from the sky (to 2' 23’). They seek for a nesting place and then begin to produce their nest. A section based on a piece known as San'ya (to 5' 49’) is followed by a melody in a somewhat higher range describing the joy of nest building (to 7' 52’). The nest is actually constructed (to 10' 09’) and when the eggs hatch the cranes again experience joy (to 12' 23’). The next segment seeks to render in music the feeling of love between parent and child (to 14' 32’), but eventually the chicks seek to separate themselves from their parents (to 17' 58’). In this section a special vibrato-like technique known as tabane is used to produce a sound that resembles the cry of a crane. The piece ends with a hachi-gaeshi section (to 19' 44’) and then finally a coda (omusubi). This composition is regarded as one of the most difficult in the entire shakuhachi repertory.
	Jin Nyodo No Shakuhachi 03	尺八 : 神如道
Renbo-ken / Kisen-ken: HIKYOKU (Sacred Piece) - TSURU-NO-SUGOMORI (The Nesting Crane) 2-shaku 1-sun 16 min. 40 sec. 1. About the title: For general information about Tsuru-no-Sugomori consult first the section on it in "Commonly Used Titles." In the case of this piece we may wonder whether it has been passed down with the special designation hikyoku mostly because of its extreme difficulty and great length and scale. Because it was played and taught by the renowned Jinbo Masanosuke in the period from the end of the Shogunate into the Meiji era, it is also called Jinbo Sugomori. Jin Nyodo studied this piece with Jinbo Masanosuke's disciple Hikichi Kozan and several others, and passed it on in the tradition of Renbo-ken and Kisen-ken (ken = religious house). It is an unusual example of one piece bearing the names of two temples as its lineage, but as regards this point no reliable material has appeared as of now apart from Jin Nyodo's oral teaching. We know that Jinbo did play and teach this piece and that for a period of time he was active at Renbo-ken in Fukushima. But for more research concerning Hikyoku -- Tsuru-no-Sugomori or its original form, as well as its connection with two Fuke temples, we will still have to wait a while. So for the moment we should accept Jin Nyodo's explanation as is. In addition please consult the article "Different Pieces with the Same Name. Identical Pieces with Different Names." 2. Structure of the piece: This piece has a large-scale, rather complicated structure. First please consult the diagram which shows two structural patterns A and B. TSURU-NO-SUGOMORI: Structural Patterns Pattern A: Shirabe Prelude/the cranes arrive flying San'ya Searching for a place to build a nest Takane (1) Rejoicing on finding a place to build a nest/Building the nest Takane (2) Hatching the egg Honte Love of parent and child. Departure of the child Hachigaeshi Gratitude to heaven on fulfillment of their duty O-musubi The parents' life draws to a close in peace and satisfaction. Pattern B: Shirabe Opening dan: possibly the original San'ya Honte Takane Hachigaeshi Honte Closing dan: possibly the original Tsuru-no-Sugomori Hachigaeshi Musubi Pattern A shows the traditional structural analysis and the corresponding story of the life of the crane. This is according to the teaching of Jin Nyodo. In contrast, pattern B is based on the theory of Tsukitani Tsuneko and analyzes the structure of the piece from a fresh viewpoint. According to Tsukitani's theory Jinbo Masanosuke probably blended: together two originally separate pieces, Tsuru-no-Sugomori and San'ya, to form this piece. For details regarding this please consult the article mentioned above. The explanation below is based on the structural analysis of A: Shirabe - A low-pitched prelude filled with vague emotion as if it flowed from a mist-enveloped valley. It is extremely individualistic without any comparable example in other honkyoku. The initial melody begins with the weakest of sounds and then gradually increases in volume in a gentle and finely articulated manner, until an especially intense mood is produced. This finely articulated technique is used repeatedly in various forms to give rise to the unique mood of this piece. The koro-koro and related techniques used in each section of Tsuru-no-Sugomori have an imitative effect which reminds one of the cry of the crane. Then follows a mid-range melody taken to be the arrival of the flying crane. It is a passage which makes the listener think of a crane gently circling in the open sky. San'ya - This is taken to be the section where the crane searches for a place to build its nest. In the middle of the opening melody, the music rises from the RO to the KO range; and then appears a melody which resembles the characteristic melody of Echigo San'ya. (Analysis B is a particularly interesting hypothesis when we consider the three facts that: 1. traditionally this section is called San'ya, 2. a distinctive melody resembling San'ya is used and 3. it is thought that Jinbo had some connection to the temple of Echigo Myoan-ji). After this san'ya-like melody is repeated once, a rather emotional melodic passage follows and as a musubi (conclusion) the same melody as in the crane's arrival section is played an octave higher in the KO range. Takane (l) - This section is described as the crane rejoicing on having decided where to build its nest." It begins in the Ro-no-ro tone and soars in one breath to the ha (245) tone two octaves and a half-tone above with delicate finger-work. This kind of individualistic melody which yields such brilliant effects is not to be found in other works. This high-pitched melody focusing on the enunciation of the ha (245) tone is played twice then the melody flows swiftly downward in a rapid rhythm to link with another melody that is filled with the emotion of the San'ya. After this latter melody is repeated, the tonal range descends and the feeling becomes more tranquil. This ends the "building the nest" section. The piece proceeds with a gentle, mid-range melody. Takane (2) - "The hatching of the egg" is the idea associated with this section. Again we find a powerful, high-pitched melody: a hachigaeshi-type melody with u (3) as its strongest and highest tone. Following the opening half which has a feeling of powerful speed and which makes great use of dexterous fingering, the second half presents a melody which is filled with gentle emotion in the mid-range expressing the rejoicing of the crane at the safe birth of its young. Honte - The first part represents the "love of parent and child." It depicts the voices of the cranes, parent and chick blending together: voices filled with tender affection. For this blending of parent's and child's voices, a famous technique unique to this piece called taba-ne is used. It resembles tama-ne except that it revolves around a distinctly more gentle sound. The melody for the parent cranes and the melody for their young are repeated alternately several times in the manner of gently blending voices. Gradually the intervals become closer and finally the music depicts the unison voices of parent and child. The melody in the Ro-range which sounds as horo - horo - horo, gradually shifts to koro - koro - koro in the Ko-range. Then it rises to a high pitch and abruptly shifting the music moves to the "child's departure" section. The last half of the Honte depicts the "child's departure," i.e., leaving the nest. This section also begins with a melody for the blended voices of the adult and young cranes. However, whereas in the section for "love of parent and child" the melody possessed a gentle feeling in the mid-range as if depicting a quiet and intimate conversation, the melody in this part is extremely powerful and in the upper range. The parents' melody comes first: the fingering moves in a rapid glissando up from ro to hi. -- ro-tsu-re-chi-hi. (The way of playing hi with the first finger is called, imitating the sound, kara-kara.) Next, the young cranes' melody imitates the previous melody but stops one note lower: ro-tsu-re-chi. As was the case with the two melodies in the "love of parent and child" section, the two melodies here are repeated alternately, then merge into one to produce the feeling of a dan conclusion. With the lingering feeling of the blended voices of the cranes, the melody form the earlier section, "rejoicing on finding a place to build a nest," is repeated in a shortened form and the mood gradually becomes more tranquil. This "departure of the child" depicts the young crane leaving the nest and setting out on its own, bidding farewell to its parents. Hachigaeshi This section is said to depict a mood of gratitude to heaven: the gratitude of the parent cranes for having safely fulfilled their duty in raising their young. The overall mood of the piece is sustained by the use at many points of delicate fingering and gently meandering melodic patterns, classical hachigaeshi melodic patterns common to honkyoku of the Tohoku tradition. O-musubi - This closing section uses low weak tones to give a darker tone to the mood and sentiment of the piece, emphasized by a gently meandering melody in the mid-range and careful fingering. At the end, the music rises an octave from the o-meri of Ro-no-ro (lowest tone) to Ko-no-ro, then descends one note to ri where the piece concludes with a distant, remote feeling. The effect of this closing melody closely resembles that of Kyorei. 3. Special features of the piece: This piece not only makes free use of almost all the techniques used in shakuhachi honkyoku, but also utilizes unique techniques found only in this work. Its numerous, beautiful and individualistic melodies, and its structure which displays praiseworthy development on a large scale, both make this famous piece deserving of being called the pinnacle of the musical world of classical shakuhachi honkyoku.
	Tsuru no Sugomori - Komuso Shakuhachi	尺八 : 善養寺恵介
Jimbo Masanosuke, (1841 - 1914) was a shakuhachi master born in Oshu (Tohoku) area. This version of "Tsuru no Sugomori" was passed down from Jin Nyodo (1891- 1966) who learned from several students of Jimbo including Hikichi Kozan. Nyodo defined this piece, as Rempo-ken komuso temple tradition (Fukushima city) or Kizen-ken temple tradition (Soma city). There are many different versions of "Tsuru no Sugomori" which use Tabane technique, (Vibration of the palate - throat area, also called flutter tonguing) imitating the sound of the crane. In Jimbo's version, numerous techniques are utilized to describe not only the voice but also the cranes flapping - dancing in all over the piece. 1 from beginning This part corresponds to "Shirabe". It first describes an atmosphere before appearance of the crane and then she flies down. One breath from 2' 2" indicates the flying down until landing. 2 from 2' 51" From 2 to 5 is called "San'ya". This is the scene where the crane looks for the place of nesting. Repeat of motif expressed by two breathes indicates the careful search of the appropriate nesting place by repetitive short flights and landings. 3 from 5' 40" Repeating highest tone called "Takane" is the cry of delight by finding the nesting place. 4 from 7' 20" "Sanjuroku Yusuri" (36 times shakes), a technique of repeatedly shaking jaw represents the endless nest making operation. 5 from 8' 53" This is the scene of laying an egg and called "Hachigaeshi". The transition from a brutal high tone to peaceful low notes describes the pain of birth in erotic pleasure. 6 from 10' 49" 6 and 7 correspond to "Sugomori ". The imitative tone of crane voice "Tabane" express tender love between the parent and baby clans. 7 from 12' 19" This is a scene called "Kowakare" (Leaving child). The first breath shows the parent's flying away and the following tones (a minor 3rd below) are from the baby. The parent first shows how to fly and the baby try to imitate. The baby's awkward flying gradually turns to be firm. This is expressed by the repeat of the two notes, a minor 3rd lower. The melody including half note in the ending part, shows strong sadness of child's leaving. 8 from 13' 21" Reflection part. The slightly fast repeat of the aforementioned "Takane" and "Hachigaeshi" indicates the parent's emotion of remembering the past. 9 from 16' 7" The last part called "Oomusubi" describes aging of the parent left alone. The soundless note expressing the very end moment of sunset would be the last breath in "Oomusubi".