On 1 (Sat) February, the 'Niigata Gakusyo (Niigata Gakusyo)', which performs gagaku in the Kurotori area of Niigata City's Nishi Ward, gave a concert at Tsuruha Sibux in front of Uchino Station on the JR Echigo Line.

I found out about this concert because a farmer I used to interview for Farmer Monthly belonged to the orchestra, but this was the first time I had heard Gagaku live. I was hooked on Hideki Togi (gagaku master) when I was in high school. I had mixed feelings of anticipation and anxiety. I waited for the moment to arrive with mixed feelings of anticipation and anxiety.

This was a bonanza. The three instruments used in the performance were the Hichiriki, representing the sound of the earth and man, the Shou, representing the sound of light from the heavens, and the Ryuteki, representing the dragon that moves freely between the earth and the heavens. This feeling of being bound by a moderate gravity and yet feeling light in my body. It was very comfortable.

Hichiriki (small double-reed wind instrument used in gagaku)

free-reed instrument used in Japanese court music

Dragon flute

The people who gave the concert this time were of the same age as myself (around 30s). It was very divine to see them taking Gagaku, one of the traditional performing arts, into themselves. At the same time, I feel that they brought Gagaku and myself closer together.

As mentioned above, Gagaku is a music that compares heaven, earth and people to sound. It is a music that is originally very close to us, but in the course of time it has become a very distant music. But by having someone close to me perform it like this, I was able to feel the scene of the origins of Japanese people's life with the earth. I am really glad that I went to listen to it.

Niigata Gakusho will give a concert on Fri 7 Mar at the Noh Theatre in Lutopia. Please come and listen to their sound.

Niigata Rakusho website: http://www.niigatagakuso.org/#id1