"Kōjō no Tsuki" (荒城の月 lit. "The Moon over the Ruined Castle") is a Japanesesong written in the Meiji period.
Japanese pianist and composer Rentarō Taki composed the music as a music lesson song without instrumental accompaniment in 1901. The song was included in the songbook for Junior High School students. The music of the song was inspired by the ruins of Oka Castle (ja) built in 1185. The lyrics were written by Bansui Doi, who came from Sendai. The lyric of the song was inspired by the ruins of Aoba Castle and Aizuwakamatsu Castle.
Taki's original version of the song is a B minor song, but Kosaku Yamada's slow-paced nostalgic D minor version is also popular as an accompanied song. Taki's original version of the song uses E♯ on the second bar, but the modern version usually uses E probably because the original version did not fit the traditional Japanese music.
Japanese tenor singer Yoshie Fujiwara put his singing of the song on a record in 1925. He was the first Japanese singer to popularize the song throughout the world.
The song was sung and recorded live in the form of a power ballad by the German heavy metal band Scorpions, during a concert at the Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo. It was released on their 1978 live album Tokyo Tapes. The band's version was one of rare tracks following Taki's original version quite well.[2] This Song was also performed by Yngwie Malmsteen during the 1984 Alcatrazz Japan Tour. A live recording of his performance at the Sun Plaza Tokyo was released on the "Metallic Live" DVD of Alcatrazz.
Comments must be succinct & relevant to the story. Comments are checked frequently and abusive, rude or profane comments will be deleted. I’m just one of many bloggers who answer questions online and sometimes for the press. I usually handle questions about Japan, marketing or the economy, so in those areas I’m more likely to make sense and less likely to say something really stupid. If I post something here that you find helpful or interesting, that’s wonderful. This is my personal blog. If you don't like what you have read here then, just like when you go into a restaurant or bar that allows smoking, if you don't like it, there's something at the front that has hinges on it and it is called a "door."
I know the Monk version very well... great song, Mike!
ReplyDeleteI'm really amused with Japan's culture,so as the stories it tell. Very beautiful. thank you for sharing this :)
ReplyDeletehttps://musicadvisor.com/d-minor-scale/