Jiuta & Kotouta

Ensemble Yonin No Kaï were formed in 1957, when each of the four members was awarded a gold medal at the International Competition of Traditional Instruments in Moscow. Since then, they have specialised in both traditional and contemporary Japanese chamber music, releasing numerous recordings across several decades. Jiuta & Kotouta is a reissue of a 1979 performance, which showcases the typical sankyoku trio of koto (13-string zither), shamisen (three-string lute) and shakuhachi (bamboo flute), playing both instrumentally and accompanying voice. The four pieces on this recording were composed between the 19th and early 20th century, during a revitalisation of Japanese urban art music.

The opening piece, ‘Yaegoromo’, provides an epic vertical slice of the genre across its near 20 minutes, navigating through labyrinthine instrumental sections, punctuated by Setsuko Kakui's voice. ‘Shin-Kinuta’, a duet for koto and shamisen, derives its story from noh theatre – that of a woman awaiting the return of her long-departed husband. The koto's agonising repetition of a single note perfectly evokes her loneliness and anxiety. ‘Akikaze No Kyoku’, performed solely by Sumiko Goto on koto and voice, continues the album in austere fashion, relating the short life of a princess assassinated by her husband's adversary. The recording ends starkly, with the shakuhachi solo ‘Kogetsu Cho’, performed by Kozan Kitahara. Written to express the anguish of war, it leaves the recording on a haunting coda, evoking – as the liner notes say – ‘sentiments more somber than could be expressed in words.’