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Biwa
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The biwa is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, and a close variant of the Chinese pipa. The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten, goddess of music, eloquence, poetry, and education in Japanese Buddhism.
biwa derives from a Chinese lute called pipa, which itself derives from a Persian/Middle Eastern lute called barbat (whose modern descendant in Arabic regions is called oud).
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The biwa is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, and a close variant of the Chinese pipa. The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten, goddess of music, eloquence, poetry, and education in Japanese Buddhism.
History
The biwa derives from a Chinese lute called pipa, which itself derives from a Persian/Middle Eastern lute called barbat (whose modern descendant in Arabic regions is called oud). The biwa reached Japan from China during the Nara Period (710-759 AD), and five instruments from that time are kept in the Shosoin, the national treasure house of Japan. One of them, a rare, five-stringed gogenbiwa, is decorated with Central Asian themes, including a camel. This instrument is literally one of its kind in Asia, being the only one preserved from the period, although similar instruments are manufactured in small numbers today. Wandering biwa players, similar to minstrels, were known as biwa hoshi.
The playing of the biwa nearly became extinct during the Meiji period as Western music and instruments became popular.
Types of biwa
There are seven types of biwa, chacterized by number of strings, sounds it could produce, type of plectrum, and their use. As the biwa does not play in tempered tuning, pitches are approximated to the nearest note.
Classic biwa
- Gagaku biwa - A large and heavy biwa with four strings and four frets used exclusively for gagaku. It produces distinctive Ichikotsucho and Hyojo. Its plectrum is small and thin, often rounded, and made from a hard material such as boxwood or ivory. It is not used to accompany singing. Like the heike biwa, it is played held on its side, similar to a guitar, with the player sitting cross-legged. In gagaku, it is called gakubiwa.
- Gogenbiwa - This T'ang variant of Biwa can be seen in paintings of court orchestras and was used in the context of gagaku, however was removed with the reforms and standardisations made to the court orchestra during the late 10th Century. It is assumed that the performance traditions died out by the 10th or 11th century (William P. Malm). This is instrument also disappeared in the Chinese court orchestras. Recently, this instrument, much like the Kugo harp has been revived for historically informed performances and historical reconstructions. Not to be confused with the five-stringed variants of modern biwa, such as chikuzen biwa.
- Moso biwa - A biwa with four strings used to play Buddhist mantra and songs. It is similar in shape to the chikuzen biwa but with a much more narrow body. Its plectrum varies in both size and materials. The four fret type is tuned to E, B, E, A, and the five fret type is tuned to B, e, f-sharp, and f-sharp. The six fret type is tuned to B-flat, E-flat, B-flat, and b-flat.
Middle and Edo biwa
- Heike biwa - A biwa with four strings and five frets used to play Heike Monogatari. Its plectrum is slightly larger than that of the gagaku biwa, but the instrument itself is much smaller, comparable to a Chikuzen biwa in size. It was originally used by traveling biwa minstrels, and its small size lent it to indoor play and improved portability. Its tuning is A, c, e, a or A, c-sharp, e, a.
- Satsuma biwa - A biwa with four strings and four frets popularized during the Edo Period in Satsuma Province (present day Kagoshima) by Shimazu Nisshinsai. Modern biwas used for contemporary compositions often have five or more frets, and some have a doubled fourth string. The frets of the Satsuma biwa are raised 4 centimeters from the neck allowing notes to be bent several steps higher, each one producing the instrument's characteristic sawari, or buzzing drone. Its boxwood plectrum is much wider than others, often reaching widths of 25 centimeters or more. Media:Accordingrenz to popular belief, this was due to its popularity among samurai - the plectrum having to double as a weapon (William P. Malm, Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments), although its size and construction influences the sound of the instrument as the curved body is often struck percussively with the plectrum during play. The Satsuma biwa is traditionally made from Japanese mulberry, although other hard woods such as Japanese zelkova are sometimes used in its construction. Due to the slow growth of the Japanese mulberry, the wood must be taken from at least a 120 year old tree and dried for ten years before construction can begin. The strings are made of wound silk. Notes are adjusted to the player's voice and its tuning is A, E, A, B, for traditional biwa, G, G, c, g, or G, G, d, g for contemporary compositions, among many other tunings. The most eminent 20th century Satsuma biwa performer was Tsuruta Kinshi, who developed her own version of the instrument, which she called the Tsuruta biwa. This biwa usually has five strings and five or more frets, and the construction of the tuning head and frets vary slightly. Ueda Junko and Tanaka Yukio, two of Tsuruta's best students, continue the tradition of the modern Satsuma biwa.
Modern biwa
- Chikuzen biwa - A biwa with four strings and four frets or five strings and five frets popularized in the Meiji Period by Tachibana Satosada. Most contemporary performers use the five string version. Its plectrum is much smaller than that of the Satsuma biwa, usually about 13 centimeters in width, although its size, shape, and weight depends on the sex of the player. The plectrum is usually made from rosewood with boxwood or ivory tips for plucking the strings. The instrument itself also varies in size, depending on the player. Male players use biwas that are slightly wider and/or longer than those used by females or children. The body of the instrument is never struck with the plectrum during play, and the five string instrument is played upright, while the four string is played held on its side. The tuning of the four string version is B, e, f-sharp, b and the five string instrument is tuned C, G, C, d, g or E, B, e, f-sharp, b. Asahikai and Tachibanakai are two schools of chikuzen biwa. Popularly used by female biwa players such as Uehara Mari.
- Nishiki biwa - A modern biwa with five strings and five frets popularized by Suito Kinjo. Its plectrum is the same as that used for the Satsuma biwa. Its tuning is C, G, c, g, g.
Teachers
Use in popular music
Although the biwa has been little used in popular music, the Japanese progressive rock band Paikappu used it in the 1980s, and the Japanese American pop music group Rin' has used it since 2003.
See also
External links
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