Contents
Introduction
1. Various Opinions about the Introduction of the Five-string Biwa
2. Sculptures on the Stone Fence in Amravati
3. Carbon-14 Dating Used in the Kizil Caves
4. Wall Paintings of Five-string Biwa in the Kizil Caves
5. Issues of the Introduction of Five-string Biwa
6. Conclusion (Five-string straight neck: reference to photos)
7. Between Monolithologic and Polylithologic Theories
Postscript
Introduction
A man tells a story about a monk who knows where to find red Japanese pampas grass. Toren-hoshi, another monk, overhears this tale and decides to seek out this place. He goes immediately, although it is raining. He grabs his straw raincoat and heads to the Watanabe Bridge in Osaka, to find the monk who holds the prized knowledge about the intriguing spot.
From Tsureduregusa (Chapter 188)
What Toren-hoshi experienced in this story was similar to the feeling that I had when I decided to go to the Western part of China. I remember the expression, “although it is raining, I have something to ask”so I went out searching.
It is essential to have the curiosity and initiative that Toren-hoshi had if we seek to understand the story of Biwa. Above all, when I need to talk to elderly people, I should not hesitate to hurry because of the age issue. It is urgent for both of us.
I have been playing the Biwa for many years as a hobby. When I watched the TV programme “Silk Road” which is deeply related to the origin of Japanese Biwa, I had the desire to go to Kizil to look around the inside of caves which have wall paintings of Biwa. I am quite surprised that over twenty years have passed since I felt this way. It was August 2000 when I visited Kucha.
1. Various Opinions about the Introduction of the Five-string Biwa
Before going there, I chose five major papers on the origin of the five-string Biwa and skimmed through them.
(1) Shigeo Kishibe wrote the paper, “Origin of Biwa”, which discussed studies of music and musical instruments in Asia. It was published in the Archaeology Journal in 1936. In this paper, he wrote the following:
“Origin of Biwa (vol.1)” from the Archaeology Journal (October issue)
Since there have been findings of five-string Biwa in Amravati, Ajanta and Borobdur but not in Persia or India, I think this stick-shaped lute is particular to this area. Therefore, I can observe that five-string lutes, straight and stick-shaped existed in Amravati in the second century and in Ajanta and Barobdur in the seventh or eighth. (p.625)
“Origin of Biwa (vol.2)” from the Archaeology Journal (December issue)
Let’s take a look at the origin of the five-string lutes in Kizil. As I mentioned before, among the Western lutes, the one which has the stick shape feature is from Ajanta and Borobdur. Reports show that it was made around 170 A.D. (Le Coq, first chronology). A sculpture in Amravati in mid-India looks like figure 26. The stick-shaped figure, the five strings, the position of the pegs, the way of holding the instrument, are exactly the same as the five string lutes in Kizil. Curving sticks which connect each string are similar to the one in the 21st cave in Kizil.
Furthermore, it is certain that the Chinese five-string Biwa in Kizil came from India. The emerging popularity of Western music in China brought the knowledge of the five-string Biwa from India to China. This explains why it is called Hu-biwa (Hu generally refers to nomadic tribes living in the northern part of China) or Kizil-Biwa. I have no reasons to doubt this conclusion, since it is evident in the literature and archaeological record. (p.788)
This is the first paper to mention the origin of the five-string Biwa in Japan. Furthermore, Mr. Kishibe specified Amravati, which is in south India, as the birthplace of the five-string Biwa. It is possible that he concluded circa 170 A.D. was the era of the beginning of the five-string Biwa.
(2) Shigeo Kishibe’s argument did not change in his next book titled Eastern Musical Instruments and Their History which was released in 1948. In section eight, “Western Flow of Music to the East – the spread of Biwa and Konghou (harp like instrument)”, there is an examination of the origin of three types of Biwa. “Originally, there were three kinds of Biwa and Konghou in China, namely the four-string Biwa, the five-string Biwa and the Ruan Xian”. (p.238)
As mentioned above, the five-string Biwa is represented as the main instrument in Kizil. Therefore it is called Kizil-Biwa or Hu-Biwa. Kishibe also wrote that India was the place of its origin.
The same as in his former book, the argument that the original place of the five-string Biwa being in India is consistent and I think by India he means Amravati.
(3) By the same token, Kenzo Hayashi agrees with Kishibe’s findings of the five-string Biwa in the book titled The Studies of Instruments in Shosoin. In the second chapter of the book — the instruments in Shosoin are illustrated by photos, relics, documents, and figures (No.11 the Five-string biwa) — he wrote the following:
Five-string Biwa is also simply called five-strings. Compared to the four-string Biwa, its body is thinner and the top of it looks like an extended deer’s neck, which is straight and it has one more string. This kind of Biwa is often found in wall paintings in ancient India which would also indicate its affinity and connection with its Indian origins. The way of playing the instrument is different: for the four-string Biwa, a plectrum was used, whereas for the five-string Biwa no plectrum was used.
Although he did not specify the birthplace of the five-string Biwa, Hayashi also considers that India was the birthplace, as Kishibe had mentioned before and after the war.
(4) Written by Shigeo Kishibe Eastern Music Anthology II Instruments in the Tang Dynasty (the origin of the Western Biwa – specifically, about the five-string Biwa in Shosoin). Here, we notice a similarity to his own article in the Archeology which was published in 1936, where he repeated his findings.
Since the five-string Biwa was discovered in Amravati, but not in Persia or India, I think this stick-shaped lute is particular to this area. Therefore, I can observe that five-string lutes, straight and stick-shaped existed in Amravati in the second century and in Ajanta and Barobdur in the seventh or eighth. (p.128)
Also,
Let’s take a look at the origin of the five-string lutes in Kizil. As I mentioned before, among the Western lutes, the one which has the stick shape feature is from India. Reports show that it was made around 170 A.D. (Le Coq, first chronology). A sculpture in Amravati in mid-India looks like figure 26. The stick-shaped figure, the five strings, the position of the pegs, the way of holding the instrument, are exactly the same as the five string lutes in Kizil. Curving sticks which connect each string are similar to the one in the 21st cave in Kizil. (p.144)
Furthermore, it is certain that the Chinese five-string Biwa in Kizil came from India. The emerging popularity of Western music in China brought the knowledge of the five-string Biwa from India to China. This explains why it is called Hu-Biwa (Hu generally refers to nomadic tribes living in the northern part of China) or Kizil-Biwa. I have no reasons to doubt this conclusion, since it is evident in the literature and archaeological record. (p.148)
Kishibe released his first paper in an Archaeology Journal in 1936 and he wrote it was around 170 (second century) when a stick-shape lute was made. After this, he has not reversed his opinions for thirty-two years. (Western Music Instruments and Their History was published in 1948 and Western Music Archaeology was published in 1968). That is to say his idea is that the five-string Biwa in Kizil came from India.
(5) Written by Ryuichi Taki Rediscovery of Chinese Music: The Music Volume. In chapter six of this book, “Development of the Biwa in the Orient”, I can see that he thinks that India should be thought to be the birthplace of the Biwa.
It is unnecessary to say that the culture in Kizil is related to the one in India. Therefore, I can visualize that the Biwa was also transported to Kizil from India. As the sculpture in Amravati shows, if we assume the same type of five-string Biwa on the wall painting in Kizil is also found in India, we can conclude that the five-string Biwa also came from India.
Although he did not clearly mention the era in which the five-string Biwa was made, he did mention that Amravati was the place where the five-string Biwa was made.
Common opinion among Kishibe, Hayashi and Taki is that the five-string Biwa came from India. Furthermore, both Kishibe and Taki point out that the sculpture on the stone fence in Amravati is the basis for this conclunsion.
2. Sculptures on the Stone Fence in Amravati
In this section, after affirming the various opinions above which say Amravati is the origin of the five-string Biwa, I want to mention several major papers about the time of the birth of the sculptures on the stone fence and check the chronological origin errors of the Biwa.
(1) Written by Osamu Takada Buddhism Art in India and the South. The following is an interesting description of this issue.
There are two types of fences in Amravati: one new, the other old. The old one dates to B.C., but it is not certain whether the big tower whose diameter is 50m was built at that time. Generally speaking, around the second century B.C., it is thought that both the big fence and table relief were built. This can be assumed by the inscription that Burgess excavated near the west gate, which says, dharmacakra was minted between 130 and 155 B.C. when Vasisthiputra Sri Pulumavi governed the Andhra Dynasty. Lots of time must have been spent in creating the table relief.
Based on the first chronology of Le Coq, Kishibe determined that the second century (around 170 A.D.) was the era in which the old one was built. On the other hand, Osamu Takada presumed that from 130 to 155 A.D. was the date using the dedicated name of dharmacakra excavated by Burgess. As you can see, there is a slight difference of the times.
(2) Written by Baiei Itsumi and Osamu Takada History of Arts in India. In chapter five “Arts of Amravati School”, there is nearly the same description as above:
There are two types of fences in Amravati: one new, the other old. The old one dates to B.C., but we cannot tell exactly when the big tower whose diameter is 50m was built at that time. Generally speaking, around the second century B.C., it is thought that both the big fence and table relief were built. This can be assumed by the inscription that Burgess excavated near the west gate, which says dharmacakra was minted between 130 and 155 B.C. when Vasisthiputra Sri Pulumavi governed in the Andhra Dynasty. Lots of time must have been spent in creating the table relief.
One year after Takada wrote the book Buddhism Art in India and the South, there is a nearly identical quotation here. He worked with Mr. Itsumi to write this book, who had studied the Indian history of arts for four years (1922-1926); however, nothing was changed.
Because of Takada’s saying that “It must have taken many years to complete the relief on the tower and railings” hasn’t changed, I cannot overlook his comment on the time when the fence was completed, since he wrote that it was either in the middle of the second century or later than that.
Emphasis of this fact may be found in A Record of Buddhistic Kingdom, the Article of Tagshina written by Faxian in which he said:
There is a country called Tagshina about 8 km south of this place. In this place there are samgharamas of Kasyapa, one of the seven gods. People carved stones from many big stony mountains to make them and all of them are five-storied. The first layer which is the lowest looks like an elephant and has 500 rooms made of stones. The second layer looks like a lion and has 400 rooms. The third layer looks like a horse and has 300 rooms. The fourth layer looks like a cow and has 200 rooms. The top layer looks like a pigeon and has 100 rooms. Therefore, this temple is called Paravata. In India, Paravata means pigeon. Please refer to the book A Record of Buddhistic Kingdom, travel sketch of India. (translated by Kazutoshi Nagasawa, Toyo publisher, September 1971, pp.126-127)
Although the current place of Amravati is unknown, Paravata temple, Kolasa, which appears in chapter 10 of the book Journey to the West in the Great Tang Dynasty volume 3 written by Xuanzang (page 236), Bhramara-giri in Andhra (page 246) and Dhanyakataka (page 254), let us surmise the place of Amravati in those days.
Please refer to Journey to the West in the Great Tang Dynasty translated and annotated by Shinjyo Mizutani (August 1999, Toyo publisher).
(3) According to the book Statues of Buddha in Andhra Art- its birth and evolution focusing on relief on Arts in Buddhism vol. 249, Akira Shimada wrote the following:
Studies of Buddhism Art in this region have been conducted focusing on ruins from two remains: one is the big stupa in Amravati, which is next to the capital of Satavahana, and the other is the ruins of the Buddhist temple in Nagarjunakonda.
From this quote, we can know the site of Amravati. Also, taking a look at some chronicles of relics:
As basic studies about reliefs in Amravati, there are two papers: Sivaramamurti’s paper about possession in the Madras Museum and D. Barrett’s which is mainly in the possession of the British Museum. In addition to them, there are studies of Stern and M. Benisti based on the classification of forms of motifs and studies of V. Dehejia making much of the analysis of inscriptions characters. Recently, R. Knox, who renewed the item catalogue of the British Museum, wrote a new chronicle on reliefs mentioning postwar archaeological knowledge.
Furthermore, thanks to the historical coins found and data about inscriptions in Andhra, we can assume it is the middle of the second century, during which Visisthiputra Sri Pulumavi reigned (c.130-159).
On the other hand, the rise of the Ikshuvaku Dynasty began the Satavahanas Dynasty decline. However, according to Mr. Shimada, we can easily think that the Satavahanas’ style started in the middle of the second century and continued until the middle of the third century.
Furthermore, in the book written by Kaoru Nagata A Study of Subjugating Demons Enlightenment – genealogy of Gana type Yaksa images (Buddhist images, no. 260), he wrote about the era of embossed carvings in Amravati: the second half of Amravati (around the end of second century to the middle of the third century). (p.14)
3. Carbon-14 Dating Used in the Kizil Caves
Concerning the date of the excavation of the Kizil caves, there are two books which contain very important information: one is called Kizil Caves Contents Entire Record written and edited by the Xinjiang Kizil Caves Institute, the other is The Complete Works of Chinese Arts and the Complete Works of Xinjiang Wall-paintings. In the former book, it is pointed out that the date of digging of the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves was done by A. Grunwedel, A. Le Coq, Waldschmit, Han Yue Ran, Chang Shu Hong, Yan Wen Ru, and Su Bai.
In the latter book, the result of the Carbon-14 Dating is worthy of remark. The following is the data:
(1) Peking University Historical Archaeology Institute (p.302)
The 38th Cave: rear room, corridor, inside of the south wall, lower layer, wheat straw in walls 310±80
(2) Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Archaeology Institute Laboratory (p.303)
The 8th Cave: rear room, rear walls, wheat straw in walls (AD582 – 670)
The 77th Cave: left of the outside room, right wall log (BC92 – AD130)
The 77th Cave: rear room, east wall log (AD173 – 405)
The 219th Cave: rear room, front wall of master’s room, wheat straw in walls (AD131 – 380)
Prof. Su Bai pointed out that there was one earlier stage before the first stage. The data from this analysis using Carbon-14 Dating agrees with his claim. Unless there are some micro organisms which are said to manipulate the Carbon-14 Dating, this data is reliable.
4. Wall Paintings of Five-string Biwa in the Kizil Caves
Comparing the result of carbon dating with the production date of rows of five-string railings in Amravati is not the purpose of this travel sketch. I am just a Biwa player; therefore it is not my intention to poke my nose in the area of research and scholarship. Therefore, I want to refrain from jumping to conclusions on this topic. I need to consider the valuable research which mentions the number of caves that have wall-paintings of the five-string Biwa in the Kizil caves.
In (1) Shigeo Kishibe’s former book, he wrote:
From the second culture stage in Kizil, we can see not only lutes but also five or four strings with curved backward necks. Ruan-shape lutes have examples throughout the first and second halves of the culture stage, whereas there are 19 examples of five-string. The five-string Biwa are thought to be the most popular lute in Kizil.
Since 1936, he has been insistent that there are 19 examples of the five-string lutes in Kizil. As I understand it, this theory resembles closely with the theories of the three scholars who mention the classification of origin of the Kizil caves: A. Grunwedel says: from the middle of the 4th century to the middle of the 12th century.A Le Coq says: from the 6th century to the middle of the 8th century.Waldschmit says: from the middle of the 5th century to the beginning of the 8th century.
In addition to his former book, Mr. Kishibe made the similar comments in the book called Special Exhibition Tenpyou no hibiki – getting to the root of instruments on the Silk Road.
Sujiva （蘇祗婆）was an expert on playing the five-string Biwa, so understanding the Biwa would be necessary to understand his theory. There are many Biwa illustrations on the walls in the Kizil Thousand Caves, the remains of Dunhuang and terra cotta figurines; however, we can not find them in Tian Shan South Road in Xinjiang. What we can find from the remains of Tian Shan South Road is four-string Biwa. Then I checked the ancient records of India and Iran. I found in India there was a five-string Biwa but not four-string one. Whereas in Iran, conversely, there was a four-string Biwa but not a five-string variation. As a conclusion, we can claim that the Biwa in Shosoin came from Iran and five-string Biwa came from India.
In the former book The Origin of Biwa, it is simply written there are 19 examples of the five-string Biwa. It is vague and uncertain which caves have wall paintings of the five-string Biwa. Similarly, in the book above, no specific number is mentioned for the Kizil Thousand Caves.
I have yearned to study the introduction of the five-string Biwa by visiting the actual sites in Kizil; however, if I went there just because there were 19 examples, I may well feel at a loss in front of the caves.
Comparing the old data with the new data that I used to check the number of caves, there is a discrepancy. The results are below:
Old: Edited by Kazutoshi Nagasawa The Exploration of the Silk Road by Oya Expedition (Hakushuisha, June 1978). In this book, please refer to the section by Tesshin Watanabe titled “The Record of Central Asian Expedition” (April 22, 1903).
Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves are in the area where the Ikan River bends south. Sandstones facing the south eroded by the shore and also eroded by both banks. On the east side of this gorge there are 171 to 174 caves. Details are followed:
83 caves facing the west
73 caves on the west shore
15-18 caves in a backward valley
New: Hundred Questions about Caves in Kizil written by Chiu Lee (Xinjiang Kizil Caves Institute, September 2003, p. 12)).
Please refer to “How Many Caves are in the Kizil Caves?
In 1953: 235 caves
In 1973: 1 cave
Total: 236 caves
Compare: 236 caves (in 2003) – 174 caves (in 1903) = 62
One large uncertainty lies in the number of caves: 174 or 236.
Looking back, I can say that at the time when I only had the information of “19 examples”, I was happier.
Later on I got a long-expected book which has the numbers of caves within the city boundaries of Urumchi. I bought it in the old book store called Xinjiang tennohate. It was written by Zhou Jingbao（周菁葆）; he wrote the following in the chapter of “Music and Culture on the Silk Road”:
Full name of the five-string should be five-string Biwa. I can find many kinds of this instrument on the wall paintings. For instance, cave number 8, 14, 33, 80, 98, 100, 192, and 196 in Kizil. Cave number 56 and 58 in Kumutra. Cave number 42 and 48 in Simsem.
As indicated above, it is an epoch-making thing that he wrote the numbers of eight caves in Kizil; however, it is much less than the 19 examples.
However, nine years after this book, Yao Shi-Hong（姚士宏） wrote there were 50 examples of five-string wall paintings in his book, Exploring Kizil Caves, in 1996. Moreover, in 2004, Taratt Uburi reported there were 54 examples in his book, Xinjiang Arts.
5. Issues of the Introduction of Five-string Biwa
Number of five-string wall paintings in the 77th cave (BC92-AD130), Yao Shi-Hong wrote that there was no example. Taratt Uburi wrote that there were five.
According to Xinjiang Culture Board, there used to be five, but all of them were removed and are presently in Germany.
Number of five-string wall paintings in the 219th cave (AD131-380). It is written that there is one example. Taratt mentioned that one more example was found recently, so it should be corrected as two examples.
In fact I went to these two caves on July 3, 2006 and checked them, thanks to two people from the Xinjiang Culture Board.
When the five similar pictures in the 219th cave were found in the 77th cave, it became a problem.
6. Conclusion (Five-string straight neck: reference to photos)
Scenes from the Japanese TV programme “Silk Road” and pictures that often appear in India as to the origin of the five-string Biwa usually contain the following four examples.
The sculpture on the stone fence in Amravati: from the end of the second century to the beginning of the third century, from The Collected Works of the World Arts (p.133)
A bar from Pawaya: Stone inscription of Torana (Gwalior Archaeological Museum) taken by Kyokusumi Tohnai on March 19, 2004
Kinnara which appears on a wall-painting of the first cave in Ajanta: from the latter half of the 5th century to around 600, from The Collected Works of the World Arts (p.278) taken by Kyokusumi Tohnai on March 16, 2004
In a Kizil cave, wall-painting of the 8th cave: flying celestial nymphs and five-string (7th century):
Former room: taken by Kyokusumi Tohnai on August 27, 2002
Latter room: from Chinese Music Cultural Relics: Xinjian (p.57)
A caption below a picture in Ourangenso by Asei Den (“Biwa Music” special summer issue 57 in 1991, Japan Biwa Association) simply says “Kizil Thousand Caves and Five-string Biwa”. It does not say the era of a cave, cave number, or the name of a photographer.
Sekkutsu is a shortened name for Sekkutsu-ji (temple) and its contemporary name is Senbutsudou, or Thousand Buddha Caves.
The 38th cave in Kizil: 4th century from Xinjiang Cultural Relics and Historical Sites (figure 0651, p.240). (Picture 8)
These two wall-paintings (one is in the 8th cave, the other is in the 38th) are shown in order one after the other on TV. It is misleading that these two pictures are in the same cave. Moreover, even if the order of these four paintings is different, the scenario remains the same. It seems to me that the scenario is in consonance with music history.
I would like to give my thanks to the Xinjiang Cultural Relics Bureau for these pictures: one is in the 219th cave; the other is in the 77th cave.
The 219th cave in Kizil (AD 131-380) taken by Kyokusumi Tohnai on July 3, 2006.
In the middle of the photo, a five-string which has a straight neck is drawn. We can also see the smaller straight-neck biwa in the upper left.
77th cave in Kizil (BC 92-AD 130) taken by Kyokusumi Tohnai on July 3, 2006.
We can see the marks on a wall which used to have five pictures of the five-string biwa. Since it was around 100 B.C. to the former half of the second century that the caves were built, we can assume that the birth of the five-string Biwa was contemporary with Amravati or that this 77th cave in Kizil predated it.
In regards to the wall painting of the five-string in the Kizil caves, the location of the thousand caves must be proven by extensive scholarship. Whether the caves with paintings of the instrument are in Amravati or Kizil still needs to be determined. Once this occurs Carbon-14 Dating can be carried out to determine when the instrument was first made.
Therefore, to get final proof, I encourage people to visit the sites in person. Talking to people who have actually visited the caves has given me immeasurable pleasure.
On the other hand, Zhou Jingbao in Silk Road Music Culture refers to Chang Renxia’s thesis “India and Southeast Asia Evolutionary History of Arts” regarding the five-string Biwa.
He notes the issue of the transmission of the five-string. Chang Renxia mentioned the following, when he viewed the wall paintings in caves in Ajanta:
According to Mr. Brun, the wall paintings in this cave are Chinese style. Nan Da Er Bao Si, Indian master of paintings, also wrote the following: “The most excellent pictures in both the first and the second caves are drawn by painters who are Chinese.” “When I was studying in Ajanta, a guide pointed out that the wall paintings of both caves had Western Chinese features and items from China.” Western Chinese people are often called Kizil people. It can be assumed that Kizil music influenced the Biwa.
Based on the premise that the excavation of the first cave in Ajanta began in the late fifth century to the sixth century, there was a cultural and artistic exchange between the Kizil people and the Indians at that time. These following four people who noticed this exchange: Gh. Yazdani (1930-1955), J. Griffiths (1896-1897), Chang Renxia (1980), and Zhou Jingbao (1987).
It can be noted that the blue lotus which the Bodhisattra holds in the first cave in Ajanta is said to be the pigment of lapis lazuli which was believed to be produced only in Afghanistan at that time. If this is correct, I can assume that the mutual exchange of many things occurred from somewhere far from Kizil.
Special access required to view the caves makes it difficult for researchers. The facilities, such as safe stairs for the 77th cave, maps, guideposts, and handrails for the 219th cave are not ideal. I became aware of decay in strength in my legs as a 68-year-old man.
7. Between Monolothologic and Polylithologic Theories
So far, researchers of Biwa and other instruments have paid attention to the number of strings and the shape of the neck.
I have focused on the fukujyu shape (literally meaning the hand covering) which has a very large bearing on the tone of the instrument.
I have been studying with professor Taguti of Konan University who has been specializing in acoustics for ten years. In recent years, we conducted vivro-acoustic measurement with an impact hammer. We are preparing the presentation of this technique in the Acoustical Society of Japan this December in Hawaii.
For example, among the Biwa in Japan, fukujyu of Moso, Gaku, Heike, Satsuma, Chikuzen (four and five strings) and Nishiki will be subjects of measurement.
Each fukujyu has its own personality which influences the tone of the instrument. This is the enigmatic characteristic that arouses my interest.
I am also interested in Chinese ethnic instruments, particularly those in the instruments in Illustrations of Chinese Instruments written by Liu Dong Sheng, Hu Chuan Fan and Hu Yan Jiu.
I am interested in the koma of shamisen and fukujyu of Biwa in Japan, Qin Ma (bridges) of string instruments, and the fukujyu of Biwa in China.
(1) Material of fukujyu: Panel is made of paulownia. (6 examples)
(2) Material of bridge: Panel is made of skin:
Python and snake skin (6 examples)
Sheep, cattle, horse and donkey skin (4 examples)
(3) Material of bridge: Panel is made of wood:
Paulownia, pine, mulberry, red, and willow wood (11 examples)
The following phrase from a book titled Course in the History of East Asia written by Hisao Tanabe aroused my interests in the ethnic instruments.
The first: Prehistorically, there were so many people who migrated in and out of the East, whereas most other countries became independent in modern times.
The second: Each country in the East has a different climate, way of living and way of being.
Tomoaki Fujii noted this part in the book My View of Western and Eastern Music Exchange – focusing on Afghanistan (p.422). The same sentiment of this was written about by Prince Mikasa (Takahito) of Japan in 1971:
The ancient Orient developed civilization from around 5000 years ago. There were three centers: Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus valley. These three civilizations have had cultural exchanges since that time and have carried on trade and commerce with its neighboring countries. However, since 3000 years ago, each civilization started to develop independently of one another. (From Jet Travel , February issue, 1972)
Also, Gyouki Maeda commented about seals in the Indus valley in the book titled Seals in Silk Road written by Gyokuei Oda in 1999.
The shapes of the stamp seals are square and circular and there is a string for sealing the seals. This gives us strong evidence to conclude that there was a direct contact between ancient China, central Asia, and Middle East.
While I am thinking of the theory that these three ancient civilizations were interrelated, I remembered a passage of Masakazu Tamori. In the article called “Fascination for Raga – Trip to the classical music in northern India” published in March 1988, he wrote the following:
The common characteristic of rabab and sarangi is that they are covered with skin. They are believed to have come from West Asia (particularly Persia). These two instruments did not originally come from India. This is because animal skin was thought to be unclean in Brahmana and Hindu cultures.
As Mr. Tamori mentioned, it cannot be denied that there is a rule of ahimsa in Buddhism. Therefore, musical instruments found in Western China that are covered with skin could not have come from India. Consequently, the choice of material is important.
Furthermore, I also noticed the following comments from The Introduction to Ethnic Music supervised by Tomoaki Fujii:
Various kinds of stringed instruments are used in Shinjang Uyghur, Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran. Even if they are lute-related instruments, their resonator is generally small. The resonator of bigger instruments such as the ‘ud is made of parquet since there are not so many big trees in dry areas. It is quite rare to see the instruments like biwa that can be found in Eastern Asia, which are hollowed out of big trees.
I promise that I will talk about the resonator made of parquet in the next section. At present, I would rather think about the two theories: “Theory of the Culture Originated Central Asia” and “Theory from West to East”. I would rather accept a polylithologic origin than a single origin as Kinshi Imanishi wrote in the book titled “Idea” regarding the instruments.
Also, Xi Zhen Guan pointed out that Yasushi Inoue had the idea of cultural exchanges between East and West in his book titled Several Issues in the Studies of Silk Road Music Culture from The Old Silk Road Music and Studies of Dunhuang Dancing Score.
According to this book, an eastward advance theory is as follows:
The theory is that the Silk Road music culture “spreading from the West to the East” is authoritative and accepted in the world of academia. It was propounded by Hisao Tanabe, a well-known researcher in Japan, in 1992 and developed and organized by Shigeo Kishibe. The research was started 70 years ago in which Mr. Tanabe clearly pointed out that the konghou coming from China in Shoshoin is similar to the relief of harps in Assyria in the report of Shoshoin instruments.
After that, Mr. Kishibe wrote the following in his graduation thesis in 1936, “Prof. Tanabe has not had enough archaeological data if the Silk Road theory is to be relied upon completely.”
Then Mr. Kishibe mentioned the exchange theory:
On the other hand, Yasushi Inoue, an authority in the literature world, watched the TV programme Silk Road and commented that “The Silk Road was functioning as a connection of cultural exchange between East and West at that time.” This way of thinking deserves our attention.
Postscript
There are two groups which address the (Biwa) issue. One group, composed of Mr. Fujii, Prince Mikasa, Mr. Maeda and Mr. Imanishi, favours the polylithologic theory while the other group favours the monolithologic theory. Being a Biwa player myself, I should have a query for both theories. My research shows that when the structure of an instrument is changed, its sound is also affected. With modern technology, we can actually see the sound waves an instrument makes. In my future research, I want to study the various sounds created by playing the fukuyju, and focus on the hertz and decibel aspects.
Translated by KUMAI Hideyuki