Thank you for sharing this video! The dance is wonderful! A pieceful town life of the Edo period flowed before my eyes: people took water from a well, travelled by some vehicle, planted some plants in their gardens, made supper and drank (miso 😊) soup. The song is so tranquil, it is in a very good balance with the dance.
いつもありがとうございます。 「梅にも春」は、端唄の中で始めのうちに作られた作品で、江戸後期のものと思われます。 仰られる様に江戸時代の街の正月風景・風物が唄われています。 「井戸」よくご存知でいらっしゃいます。 この曲では、「若水」を井戸で汲むと云っています。「若水」とは、正月元日や立春の朝に汲む水で、一年の邪気を除き、人を若返らせると云います。 「鳥追い」は、編笠を付け、三味線を弾く女芸人で、正月にはよく見られます。 「遠音神楽」は、遠くから聴こえる神楽（神楽は神様を祭る為に奏でる音楽）。 「数取り」は、数を数えるゲーム。 「待つ辻占」は、街の角々に居る占いの人。 「鼠啼き」は、遊女がお客に行う合図。 そして、酒盛り、お茶と続きます。 江戸時代の正月風景です。 Thank you as always. "Plums in Spring" was one of the first pieces of enka that was written and is thought to date to the late Edo period. As you say, it is a song about the scenery and customs of the towns of the Edo period during New Year. You are very familiar with the "well." In this song, it is said that "wakamizu" (young water) is drawn from a well. "wakamizu" is water drawn on the first day of the New Year or on the morning of the first day of spring, and is said to remove evil spirits for the year and rejuvenate people. "Torioi" is a female entertainer who wears a straw hat and plays the shamisen, and is often seen during New Year. "Toone Kagura" is kagura that can be heard from afar (kagura is music played to worship the gods), "kazutori" is a counting game, "matsutsujiuran" is fortune tellers who can be found on every corner of the town, and "nezuminaki" is a signal given by courtesans to customers, followed by a drinking party and tea reception. This is a New Year scene from the Edo period.
Sorry for the late response! Thank you very much for the explanation! I am amazed how often a plum tree appears in the songs: in "Harusame", in "Have the Plum Blossoms Bloomed?", in "Plum and Pine", and in this one. I wonder why there is such a fascination about this tree? The plum tree is very beautiful, of course, but I would compare Japanese culture with a pine: it is evergreen, long-lived, and tenacious.
ちょっとお話を足したいと思います。 梅は、冬から春になる風景を変える花で、この花が咲き初めると春が来ることを知らされます。 仰られる通り、松が日本の伝統を象徴する木の代表格と思います。日本の文化、芸能に関するところでは有形・無形、松は格調の高さを表す事で、継承されています。 一方、梅に関しては華やかで、紅梅・白梅があり、お目出度い意味も含み、人気があると思われます。 梅は品種も多く、冬の終わりから長い期間咲きます。 歴史上も梅の話は幾つもあり、日本では好まれる花と思います。 端唄・小唄などは、庶民の間で流行し始めたものなので、春を現す曲には自ずと多く登場するのではないかと思います。 Plum blossoms are flowers that change the landscape from winter to spring, and when they start to bloom, you know that spring is coming. As you say, I think the pine is the representative tree that symbolizes Japanese tradition. In Japanese culture and performing arts, pine represents tangible and intangible things, and is passed down as a symbol of elegance. On the other hand, when it comes to plum blossoms, there are gorgeous red and white plum blossoms, which are popular because they also have auspicious meanings. There are many varieties of plum blossoms, and they bloom for a long period of time from the end of winter. There are many stories about plum blossoms throughout history, and I think they are a favorite flower in Japan. Enka and kouta songs started to become popular among the common people, so I think they naturally appear a lot in songs that represent spring.
Thank you for this explanation! Now I understand that except pure aesthethics there are meanings and symbols to the pine and the plum tree. If to speak only about aesthetic part, I personally find the pine and other conifers very beautiful. But plum blossoms are beautiful too, of course, and certainly more decorative and brighter because off light colours. I was lucky to be in Tokyo in spring once and to see some parks with plum trees. My favorite place was a wonderful Kyodo-no Mori park in Fuchu City. There were long alleys of plum trees of different sorts there, and a lot of Japanese people were walking, photographing blossoms with professional cameras or standing near a tree for a long time enjoying its beauty. I noticed that people regarded the blossoms as a treasure, very carefully and attentively. If they touched a branch, they did it very softly, without touching a blossom. It was pleasant to see. If I were a dancer, I would surely choose a small branch of a plum tree as an object to dance with. It has bright and very tender colours. I think it is very appropriate for the stage.
素晴らしいコメント！ありがとうございます😀 私自身も、梅の柄の扇は確かに多く持っています。端唄・小唄に限らず、梅に纏わる曲が多い事が確認出来ます。曲はほとんどは明るい曲なので、やはり梅が本来持つイメージと云う事なのでしょう。 What a great comment! Thank you 😀 I myself have many fans with plum blossom designs. I can confirm that there are many songs related to plum blossoms, not just enka and kouta. Most of the songs are cheerful, so I guess that's the image that plum blossoms naturally have.
Thank you for sharing this video! The dance is wonderful! A pieceful town life of the Edo period flowed before my eyes: people took water from a well, travelled by some vehicle, planted some plants in their gardens, made supper and drank (miso 😊) soup. The song is so tranquil, it is in a very good balance with the dance.
いつもありがとうございます。
「梅にも春」は、端唄の中で始めのうちに作られた作品で、江戸後期のものと思われます。
仰られる様に江戸時代の街の正月風景・風物が唄われています。
「井戸」よくご存知でいらっしゃいます。
この曲では、「若水」を井戸で汲むと云っています。「若水」とは、正月元日や立春の朝に汲む水で、一年の邪気を除き、人を若返らせると云います。
「鳥追い」は、編笠を付け、三味線を弾く女芸人で、正月にはよく見られます。
「遠音神楽」は、遠くから聴こえる神楽（神楽は神様を祭る為に奏でる音楽）。
「数取り」は、数を数えるゲーム。
「待つ辻占」は、街の角々に居る占いの人。
「鼠啼き」は、遊女がお客に行う合図。
そして、酒盛り、お茶と続きます。
江戸時代の正月風景です。
Thank you as always.
"Plums in Spring" was one of the first pieces of enka that was written and is thought to date to the late Edo period. As you say, it is a song about the scenery and customs of the towns of the Edo period during New Year.
You are very familiar with the "well."
In this song, it is said that "wakamizu" (young water) is drawn from a well. "wakamizu" is water drawn on the first day of the New Year or on the morning of the first day of spring, and is said to remove evil spirits for the year and rejuvenate people.
"Torioi" is a female entertainer who wears a straw hat and plays the shamisen, and is often seen during New Year.
"Toone Kagura" is kagura that can be heard from afar (kagura is music played to worship the gods), "kazutori" is a counting game, "matsutsujiuran" is fortune tellers who can be found on every corner of the town, and "nezuminaki" is a signal given by courtesans to customers, followed by a drinking party and tea reception.
This is a New Year scene from the Edo period.
Sorry for the late response! Thank you very much for the explanation! I am amazed how often a plum tree appears in the songs: in "Harusame", in "Have the Plum Blossoms Bloomed?", in "Plum and Pine", and in this one. I wonder why there is such a fascination about this tree? The plum tree is very beautiful, of course, but I would compare Japanese culture with a pine: it is evergreen, long-lived, and tenacious.
ちょっとお話を足したいと思います。
梅は、冬から春になる風景を変える花で、この花が咲き初めると春が来ることを知らされます。
仰られる通り、松が日本の伝統を象徴する木の代表格と思います。日本の文化、芸能に関するところでは有形・無形、松は格調の高さを表す事で、継承されています。
一方、梅に関しては華やかで、紅梅・白梅があり、お目出度い意味も含み、人気があると思われます。
梅は品種も多く、冬の終わりから長い期間咲きます。
歴史上も梅の話は幾つもあり、日本では好まれる花と思います。
端唄・小唄などは、庶民の間で流行し始めたものなので、春を現す曲には自ずと多く登場するのではないかと思います。
Plum blossoms are flowers that change the landscape from winter to spring, and when they start to bloom, you know that spring is coming.
As you say, I think the pine is the representative tree that symbolizes Japanese tradition. In Japanese culture and performing arts, pine represents tangible and intangible things, and is passed down as a symbol of elegance.
On the other hand, when it comes to plum blossoms, there are gorgeous red and white plum blossoms, which are popular because they also have auspicious meanings.
There are many varieties of plum blossoms, and they bloom for a long period of time from the end of winter. There are many stories about plum blossoms throughout history, and I think they are a favorite flower in Japan. Enka and kouta songs started to become popular among the common people, so I think they naturally appear a lot in songs that represent spring.
Thank you for this explanation! Now I understand that except pure aesthethics there are meanings and symbols to the pine and the plum tree. If to speak only about aesthetic part, I personally find the pine and other conifers very beautiful. But plum blossoms are beautiful too, of course, and certainly more decorative and brighter because off light colours. I was lucky to be in Tokyo in spring once and to see some parks with plum trees. My favorite place was a wonderful Kyodo-no Mori park in Fuchu City. There were long alleys of plum trees of different sorts there, and a lot of Japanese people were walking, photographing blossoms with professional cameras or standing near a tree for a long time enjoying its beauty. I noticed that people regarded the blossoms as a treasure, very carefully and attentively. If they touched a branch, they did it very softly, without touching a blossom. It was pleasant to see.
If I were a dancer, I would surely choose a small branch of a plum tree as an object to dance with. It has bright and very tender colours. I think it is very appropriate for the stage.
素晴らしいコメント！ありがとうございます😀
私自身も、梅の柄の扇は確かに多く持っています。端唄・小唄に限らず、梅に纏わる曲が多い事が確認出来ます。曲はほとんどは明るい曲なので、やはり梅が本来持つイメージと云う事なのでしょう。
What a great comment! Thank you 😀
I myself have many fans with plum blossom designs. I can confirm that there are many songs related to plum blossoms, not just enka and kouta. Most of the songs are cheerful, so I guess that's the image that plum blossoms naturally have.