Biwa - History

History

The biwa came to Japan in the 7th century and it was evolved from the instrument pipa, while the pipa itself was derived from similar instruments in Western Asia. This type of biwa is called the gaku-biwa and was used in gagaku ensembles and is the most commonly known type. While the route is unclear, another type of biwa found it's way to the Kyushu region, and this thin biwa (called mōsō-biwa or kōjin-biwa) was used in ceremonies and religious rites. Before long, as the Ritsuryō state collapsed, the court music musicians were faced with the reconstruction and sought asylum in Buddhist temples. There they assumed the role of Buddhist monks and encountered the mōsō-biwa. They incorporated the convenient aspects of mōsō-biwa, its small size and portability, into their large and heavy gaku-biwa, and created the heike-biwa, which, as indicated by its namesake, was used primarily for recitations of The Tale of the Heike.

Through the next several centuries, players of both traditions intersected frequently and developed new music styles and new instruments. By the Kamakura period (1185–1333), the heike-biwa had emerged as a popular instrument. The heike-biwa could be described as a cross between both the gaku-biwa and mōsō-biwa. It retained the rounded shape of the gaku-biwa and was played with a large plectrum like the mōsō-biwa. The heike biwa was also small, like the mōsō-biwa (actually smaller) and was used for similar purposes.

While the modern satsuma-biwa and chikuzen-biwa both find their origin with the mōsō-biwa, the Satsuma biwa was used for moral and mental training by samurai of the Satsuma Domain during the Warring States Period, and later in general performances. The Chikuzen biwa was used by Buddhist monks visiting private residences to perform memorial services, not only for Buddhist rites, but also for telling entertaining stories and news while accompanying themselves on the biwa, and this form of storytelling was thought to be spread in this way.

Not much about the biwa seems to have been written about biwas from roughly 16th century to the mid-19th century. What is known is that three main streams of biwa emerged during this time: zato (the lowest level of the state-controlled guild of blind biwa players), shifu (samurai style), and chofu (urban style). These styles emphasized 琵琶歌 (biwa-uta) — vocalization with biwa accompaniment — and formed the foundation for 江戸歌 (edo-uta) styles such as shinnai and kota . From these styles also emerged the two principal survivors of the biwa tradition: satsuma-biwa and chikuzen-biwa . From roughly the Meiji Era (1868–1912) until the Pacific War, the satsuma-biwa and chikuzen-biwa were popular across Japan, and, at the beginning of the Showa Era (1925–1989), the nishiki-biwa was created and gained popularity. Of the remaining biwa traditions, only higo-biwa remains a style almost solely performed by blind persons in the post-war era. The higo-biwa is closely related to the heike-biwa and, similarly, relies on an oral-narrative tradition focusing on wars and legends.

By the middle of the Meiji period (1868–1912) improvements had been made on the instruments and easily understandable songs were composed in quantity. In the beginning of the Taisho period (1912–1926), the Satsuma biwa was modified into the Nishiki biwa which was popular among female players at the time. With this the biwa met a great period of prosperity, and the songs themselves were not just about the Tale of the Heike but songs connected to the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War such as “Takeo Hirose”, “Hitachimaru”, “203 Hill” gained popularity. However, the playing of the biwa nearly became extinct during the Meiji period as Western music and instruments became popular, until players such as Tsuruta Kinshi and others revitalized the genre with modern playing styles and collaborations with Western composers.