Recording Live Performances of Heike: the Eighth Session
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage has been recording live performances of Heike (or Heike Biwa). Heike faces the crisis of not being inherited by the next generation, because of a recent absence of sufficient successors. This series of recordings has been conducted with the cooperation of the Heike Narrative Research Society, led by Dr. KOMODA Haruko, Professor emeritus of Musashino Academia Musicae, and other members of the society, including Mr. KIKUO Yuji, Mr. TANAKA Naoichi, and Mr. HIYOSHI Shogo, since 2018. The eighth recording session of “Kōyō (Colored leaves)” (the first half of the piece) and “Yokobue” (the entire piece) was held in the Tokyo Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) Performing Arts Studio on February 19, 2026.
The first half of “Kōyō” features an episode of Emperor Takakura, related to Kōyō (colored leaves), which is also the title of this piece. Emperor Takakura loved Kōyō and planted the trees, the leaves of which turn red. In the early days just after his enthronement, an official made a blazing fire with the colored leaves to warm his sake drink. Emperor Takakura did not blame him for this activity; instead, he smiled and was impressed as he considered it very artistic. It is a rare scene with humor in the tale of Heike for a chamberlain to be worried about this official’s misconduct. The last scene of this episode is slowly concluded to highlight the gentleness of Emperor Takakura, who referred to the poem by Bai Juyi: “In a forest, we burn red leaves to warm sake up.”
The theme of “Yokobue” is the sad love of Takiguchi Nyūdō and Yokobue. Takiguchi Nyūdō made up his mind and left Yokobue to become a priest as his love with her was never permitted. Though Yokobue followed him, he did not see Yokobue, as he was afraid that seeing her could weaken his resolution. Depicting Nyūdō’s emotional conflict is the highlight of this piece. In Heike, this part is narrated in a tune called “Shirakoe.” Shirakoe has a limited melody, a rather flat tone, and this scene is narrated quite apathetically. Narrating such a dramatic scene in a relatively flat tone highlights its tragedy. This technique—using emotionless sounds and intonation during highly emotional scenes—is also sometimes found in shamisen music.
Our department has been recording live performances of Heike focusing on the acquisition and restoration of pieces that have been passed down in Nagoya from the Maeda School of Heike. This project is approaching completion. In the next fiscal year, we plan to complete the Heike series with live recordings in the ninth and final session. We also plan to hold a public research seminar that will include this recording session on December 8, 2026. Please stay tuned.