The Moon Over the Ruined Castle - Japanese Folk Music

Following yesterday's post with what I think is the definitive Japanese folk tune, Sakura Sakura, I'd like to present to you another favorite.

Today's song is called, "The Moon over the Ruined Castle"

The Japanese name for this extremely well known song is Kojo no Tsuki. From Wikipedia:

"Kōjō no Tsuki" (荒城の月 lit. "The Moon over the Ruined Castle") is a Japanese song 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.

A jazz arrangement was recorded by Thelonious Monk under the title "Japanese Folk Song" on his 1967 album Straight, No Chaser.

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.

Sakura Sakura - Japanese Folk Music

This is part one of a series of Japanese folks music for your enjoyment. The summer Obon holiday is just about upon us so I thought it was a good time to present some of these songs to you.

Obon, which was July 15 in the old calendar, is held on August 15 (one month later or 'tsuki-okure') in most areas, and there are many companies which have set the period around this day as Summer holiday (the Obon holiday). Now people celebrate Obon as the summer holidays and with a festival.


Obon Festival (Wikipedia):

Obon (お盆) or just Bon (盆) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist-Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori.

The festival of Obon lasts for three days; however its starting date varies within different regions of Japan. When the lunar calendar was changed to theGregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, the localities in Japan reacted differently and this resulted in three different times of Obon. "Shichigatsu Bon" (Bon in July) is based on the solar calendar and is celebrated around 15 July in eastern Japan (Kantō region such as Tokyo, Yokohama and the Tohoku region), coinciding with Chūgen. "Hachigatsu Bon" (Bon in August) is based on the lunar calendar, is celebrated around the 15th of August and is the most commonly celebrated time. "Kyu Bon" (Old Bon) is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and so differs each year. "Kyu Bon" is celebrated in areas like the northern part of the Kantō region, Chūgoku region, Shikoku, and the Ryukyu Islands. These three days are not listed as public holidays but it is customary that people are given leave

And, as I said, to coincide with these holidays, he is the traditional Japanese song. "Sakura Sakura." From Wikipedia:


"Sakura Sakura" (さくら さくら^?), also known as "Sakura",(Cherry Blossoms) is a traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, the season of cherry blossoms. Contrary to popular belief, the song did not originate in ancient times; it was a popular, urban melody of the Edo period and was adopted as a piece for beginningkoto students in the Tokyo Academy of Music Collection of Japanese Koto Music issued in 1888 (in English) by the Department of Education.^[1] The song has been popular since the Meiji period, and the lyrics in their present form were attached then. It is often sung in international settings as a song representative of Japan.