
	Where results make sense

Topic: Biwa hoshi

Related Topics

Irish traditional music

Music of Japan

Rakugo

Kita

Ichi the Killer

Aire urbaine

In the News (Sat 26 Dec 09)

Northern Trust

Marvin Harrison

Peter Chernin

Gary Locke

Match Play

Penelope Cruz

Mickey Rourke

AR Rahman

Danny Boyle

Hugh Jackman

	Biwa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		A biwa (琵琶) is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, and a close variant of the Chinese pipa.
		The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten, the White Snake Goddess of Japan's Shinto religion.
		The biwa reached Japan from China during the Nara Period (710-759 AD), and five instruments from that time are kept in the Shōsōin, the national treasure house of Japan.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Biwa (505 words)

	Biwa - Open Encyclopedia (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Playing of biwa almost became extinct during the Meiji period as Western musics and instruments became popular.
		Chikuzen biwa (筑前琵琶) - A biwa with four strings and four bridges or five strings and five bridges popularaized in Meiji period by Tachibana Satosada.
		A plectrum is same as that of Satsuma biwa.
	open-encyclopedia.com /Biwa (365 words)

	Upto11.net - Wikipedia Article for Biwa
		A biwa (and#29749;and#29750;) is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, and a close variant of the Chinese pipa.
		Chikuzen biwa (and#31569;and#21069;and#29749;and#29750;) - A biwa with four strings and four bridges or five strings and five bridges popularaized in Meiji period by Tachibana Satosada.
		Wandering biwa players, similar to minstrels, were known as biwa hoshi (and#29749;and#29750;and#27861;and#24107;).
	www.upto11.net /generic_wiki.php?q=biwa (367 words)

	jpop (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		By the 7th century, the shakuhachi (an end-blown flute,different from modern type of shakuhachi), the koto (a zither) and the biwa (a short-necked lute) had been introduced in Japan from China.
		Noh was developed in the 14th century, and soon evolved into bunraku and, eventually, the lively and popular kabuki; kabuki, in turn, helped invent the popular nagauta style of playing th shamisen.
		The biwa, a form of short-necked lute, was played by a group of intinerant performers (biwa hoshi) who used it to accompany stories.
	www.yourencyclopedia.net /JPop.html (1601 words)

	Music of Japan - ArtPolitic Encyclopedia of Politics : Information Portal
		By the 7th century, the shakuhachi (an end-blown flute), the koto (a zither) and the biwa[?] (a short-necked lute) had been introduced in Japan from China; these three instruments were the earliest used to play gagaku.
		By this time, the traditional instruments, the biwa, koto and shakuhachi had been supplemented by various drums, shamisen[?] (a three-stringed lute, modified from a native Okinawan instrument) and shinobue[?] (a transverse flute).
		The biwa[?], a form of short-necked lute, was played by a group of intinerant performers (biwa hoshi[?]) who used it to accompany stories, most famous The Tale of the Heike[?], a 13th century history of the triumph of the Minamoto clan over the Taira.
	www.artpolitic.org /infopedia/j-/J-POP.html (631 words)

	Read about Biwa at WorldVillage Encyclopedia. Research Biwa and learn about Biwa here! (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		A biwa (琵琶) is a Japanese short-necked fretted
		The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten, the White Snake Goddess.
		There are six types of biwa, chacterized by number of strings, sounds it could produce, type of
	encyclopedia.worldvillage.com /s/b/Biwa (382 words)

	Biwa hoshi - TheBestLinks.com - Buddhist, Japan, TheBestLinks.com:Find or fix a stub, TheBestLinks.com:Stub, ... (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Biwa hoshi - TheBestLinks.com - Buddhist, Japan, TheBestLinks.com:Find or fix a stub, TheBestLinks.com:Stub,...
		Biwa hoshi, Buddhist, Japan, TheBestLinks.com:Find or fix a stub...
		Biwa hoshi, also known as "lute priests" were travelling performers, who, in the era of Japanese history preceding the Meiji period, earned their income by reciting vocal literature to the accompaniment of biwa music.
	www.thebestlinks.com /Biwa_hoshi.html (142 words)

	Culture of Japan: biwa (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Biwa is a kind of lute of chinese origin
		The practice of biwa declined at the beginning of Heian era (794 - 1185) before being brought up to date by monks (biwa hoshi) of the buddhist Tendai sect.
		Thus one distinguishes biwa with four strings and four bridges (Heike biwa, very popular among the samurai' class during the medieval era), the one with four strings and three bridges (bugaku biwa) and also the shigen biwa (with four strings and nine bridges).
	japan.chez-alice.fr /Culture/Japan/Biwa.htm (164 words)

	Music in Japan
		The short-necked lute (biwa), the zither (koto), and the end-blown flute (shakuhachi) were all introduced from China as early as the 7th century, and were among the instruments used to play gagaku.
		Although the biwa never came to be used in solo instrumental performances, there is a record of its use by itinerant lay-priest entertainers (biwa hoshi) who used it to accompany their recitations of stories.
		The biwa is a four-stringed lute that is plucked with a large plectrum.
	www.sg.emb-japan.go.jp /JapanAccess/music.htm (1936 words)

	Masaki Kobayashi \| Kwaidan \| "Hoichi The Earless" (1965)
		At last, as they were returning to the temple by way of the shore, they were startled by the sound of a biwa, furiously played, in the cemetery of the Amidaji.
		Strenuously he made his biwa to rattle and ring and clang;—more and more wildly he chanted the chant of the battle of Dan-no-ura.
		He laid his biwa on the planking beside him, and, assuming the attitude of meditation, remained quite still,—taking care not to cough, or to breathe audibly.
	www.people.virginia.edu /~jmc3qm/enlt255/kwaidan-3.html (3359 words)

	Heikyoku
		The approximately two hundred 'episodes' or chapters (ku) of the Tale had origin as oral literature, and are thought to have been performed with biwa accompaniment by professional singer-storytellers since the early thirteenth century.
		The biwa used in heikyoku (called the heikebiwa) probably developed from that played in gagaku, court ensemble music of continental Asian origin.
		From well before the advent of heikyoku, blind musicians called biwa hôshi are recorded as having played biwa in accompaniment to oral narrative performance, and in documents of the Todoza it is claimed that biwa hoshi devised the instrumental melodies of biwa from solo compositions for the courtly biwa.
	www.glopac.org /Jparc/HEIKYOKU/tale-of-heike.html (495 words)

	Biwa (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		after a large number of Lake Biwa ayu were believed to have...
		Fry from Lake Biwa, because they have strong...
		Aths: Troop seventh as Kosgei wins Lake Biwa marathon Australia's LEE TROOP has finished seventh in the Lake Biwa men' s marathon, won by Kenya's JAPHET...
	hallencyclopedia.com /Biwa (618 words)

	Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn eBook by BookRags
		[3] The biwa, a kind of four-stringed lute, is chiefly used in musical recitative.
		Formerly the professional minstrels who recited the Heike-Monogatari, and other tragical histories, were called biwa-hoshi, or “lute-priests.” The origin of this appellation is not clear; but it is possible that it may have been suggested by the fact that “lute-priests” as well as blind shampooers, had their heads shaven, like Buddhist priests.
		The biwa is played with a kind of plectrum, called bachi, usually made of horn.
	www.bookrags.com /ebooks/1210/70.html (394 words)

	Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture - Bunzo Torigoe Lecture Transcription (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		These "Jôruri Hime Monogatari" or "Tales of Princess Jôruri" were spread by biwa hôshi, musician-story tellers who played the lute and recited tales, which were until then mostly from the Tales of Heike.
		The biwa hôshi expanded their repertoire and started telling various other tales as well, but the genre itself came to be known as "jôruri" even when the tales had nothing to do with Princess Jôruri.
		As the accompanying instrument, the "biwa" was replaced by "shamisen," a three-stringed instrument that was introduced from the islands now known as Okinawa and altered to match the sensibilities of the Japanese people.
	www.columbia.edu /cu/ealac/dkc/sen/bunzo_torigoe_text.html (3159 words)

	Biwa - Unipedia (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		The Physical Processes of Lake Biwa, Japan (Coastal and Estuarine Sciences)
		Studies of Permian fusilinids in the east of Lake Biwa, central Japan (Report - Geological Survey of Japan)
		Satsuma biwa no shinzui: Nishi Sensei no hiroku to sono kaidai
	www.unipedia.info /Biwa.html (486 words)

	kamakura keywords (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Biwa hôshi—blind minstrels—associated with Buddhist temples and dressed like monks—who were responsible for singing the ballads related to the wars.
		Their songs (like the earlier poems by Hitomaro in the Man’yôshû) were most likely meant to assuage the bitter spirits of the vanquished.
		Because the biwa hôshi were blind, they developed oral formulas to help them remember the tales.
	www.artsci.wustl.edu /~copeland/kamakura.html (359 words)

	[No title]
		According to historical documents from at least the 10th century, the blind traveled throughout the country to give biwa performances, and because of their information networks, feudal lords used them as secret messengers.
		Besides the biwa, blind people acquired other musical instruments, including koto and shamisen, as well as the technical skills of massage and acupuncture as new occupations.
		From there, you can hear many voices of people from both the bottom and the top.” These are, I think, the words of a person who has attained a kind of enlightenment.
	www.umich.edu /~iinet/journal/vol10no3/hirose.htm (2671 words)

	The Man Who Sang to Ghosts (Heike Tale, Japanese Ghost Story, Epic Heroes)
		In the tones of his biwa were the roar of the sea, the whistling of arrows, the crashing of boats, the clanking of armor, the clanging of swords, the cries of fierce warriors.
		For a century after that, biwa hoshi recital of The Tale of the Heike was considered the highest of all Japanese performing arts.
		Additional background information on the biwa hoshi is found in The Legend of Semiramu, Blind Musician of Japan, by Susan Matisoff, Columbia University Press, Ithaca, New York, 1978; and Literary and Art Theories in Japan, by Makoto Ueda, Western Reserve University Press, Cleveland, Ohio, 1967, chapter 8.
	www.aaronshep.com /stories/049.html (3278 words)

	Biwa hoshi -- Facts, Info, and Encyclopedia article (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		Biwa hoshi -- Facts, Info, and Encyclopedia article
		Often blind, they would adopt the shaved heads and robes common to (One who follows the teachings of Buddha) Buddhist (A male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work) monks.
		This occupation likely has its origin in China and India, where blind Buddhist lay-priest performers were once common.
	www.absoluteastronomy.com /encyclopedia/b/bi/biwa_hoshi.htm (63 words)

	Kwaidan: The story of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi (1904) by Lafcadio Hearn
		Hôïchi donned his sandals, took his biwa, and went away with the stranger, who guided him deftly, but obliged him to walk very fast.
		Strenuously he made his biwa to rattle and ring and clang;--more and more wildly he chanted the chant of the battle of Dan-no-ura.
		He laid his biwa on the planking beside him, and, assuming the attitude of meditation, remained quite still,--taking care not to cough, or to breathe audibly.
	gaslight.mtroyal.ca /kwaidanB.htm (3205 words)

	Kwaidan - Story I (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		But the men at once hastened to the cemetery; and there, by the help of their lanterns, they discovered Hoichi,-- sitting alone in the rain before the memorial tomb of Antoku Tenno, making his biwa resound, and loudly chanting the chant of the battle of Dan-no-ura.
		Strenuously he made his biwa to rattle and ring and clang; -- more and more wildly he chanted the chant of the battle of Dan-no-ura.
		He laid his biwa on the planking beside him, and, assuming the attitude of meditation, remained quite still,-- taking care not to cough, or to breathe audibly.
	www.worldwideschool.org /library/books/socl/customsetiquettefolklore/Kwaidan/chap3.html (3317 words)

	AAS Abstracts: Japan Session 189 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		The discussion includes the theoretical implications of the current findings, the limitations of the research, and further research directions.
		The latter group's identity is constructed largely by means of reference to a figure of great importance in medieval performing arts history, namely, the biwa hôshi, blind itinerant singers who are said to have shaped and disseminated representative medieval narratives such as the Heike Monogatari.
		While there is some historical evidence for relations between the musicians of Kyushu and the biwa professionals of central Japan, representation of the former in terms of the biwa hôshi trope privileges an established construction of national musical and literary history at the expense of salient localized perceptions of the music and its practitioners.
	www.aasianst.org /absts/1997abst/japan/j189.htm (892 words)

	The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi, by Lafcadio Hearn, 1904
		"Although we had been assured that you were a very skillful player upon the biwa, and without an equal in recitative, we did not know that any one could be so skillful as you have proved yourself tonight.
		After dark the priest and the acolyte went away; and Hôïchi seated himself on the verandah, according to the instructions given him.
		Formerly the professional minstrels who recited the "Heiké-Monogatari," and other tragical histories, were called biwa-hôshi, or "lute-priests." The origin of this appellation is not clear; but it is possible that it may have been suggested by the fact that "lute-priests," as well as blind shampooers, had their heads shaven, like Buddhist priests.
	www.ibiblio.org /eldritch/lh/mimi.html (3190 words)

	1996 AAS Abstracts: Japan Session 31 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)
		The oral narratives that became the Heike Monogatari were originally chanted by biwa hoshi, blind jongleurs, before being set down in writing.
		It was the biwa hoshi who gave expression to the resentment and transformed the eastern, Genji text into tales for the Kyoto region to pacify the spirits of the Heike.
		Originally recited by blind priests accompanying themselves on the biwa (lute), the content of the Heike was constantly recycled in new context: no, kowaka mai, kabuki, bunraku, and television.
	www.aasianst.org /absts/1996abst/japan/j31.htm (976 words)

	Welcome to The Tale of Heike (Heike monogatari)
		Go here to see and hear the musical instrument, the biwa, that was used to provide the accomanying music when the story was performed.
		Examples of performers (biwa hôshi), score sheets (heikyoku) and a passage chanted are also on this page.
		On the chapter pages are summaries of the events of that chapter, descriptions of major characters involved in that chapter, notes that augment those given by Helen McCullough in her translation, various multimedia that support the concrete visualization and understanding of elements of that chapter, etc. The warring parties are color-coded.
	www.sonic.net /~tabine/Heike/Heike_mainpage.html (384 words)

	Performing the Tale of Heike (Heike monogatari)--About the biwa, biwa hôshi and Heikyoku
		An additional site regarding the biwa and performing Heike, with a limited section in English is maintained by Madoka Suzuki: Suzuki's Heike Biwa website.
		Another good single webpage in English discussing the biwa in some detail is by Ooijen: Comments by David van Ooijen.
		There is a considerable amount of information on the web in English about the type of biwa used to perform the Heike and the performances themselves.
	www.sonic.net /~tabine/Heike/Heike_performing.html (578 words)

	Japanese Culture - Entertainment - Musical Instruments
		The biwa is a short-necked lute, used from the 7th century in gagaku, to accompany early puppet plays and also by blind monk entertainers, the Japanese equivalent of travelling minstrels.
		The main character in one of Japan's most famous legends, The Story of Earless Hoichi was one of these biwa hoshi (lute priests).
		The biwa is held almost vertical and played with a large bachi (plectrum).
	www.japan-zone.com /culture/instrument.shtml (902 words)

	The Story Of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi
		From childhood he had been trained to recite and to play; and while yet a lad he had surpassed his teachers.
		After having taken his place upon it, and tuned his instrument, the voice of a woman--whom he divined to be the Rojo, or matron in charge of the female service--addressed him, saying,--
		But the men at once hastened to the cemetery; and there, by the help of their lanterns, they discovered Hoichi,--sitting alone in the rain before the memorial tomb of Antoku Tenno, making his biwa resound, and loudly chanting the chant of the battle of Dan-no-ura.
	www.sacred-texts.com /shi/kwaidan/kwai03.htm (2913 words)

	Article - Bunraku - presented by ©NewsFinder.Org - All Rights Reserved
		It was around this time that puppetry was combined with the art of joruri.
		A precursor of joruri can be found in the blind itinerant performers, called biwa hoshi, who chanted The Tale of the Heike, a military epic depicting the Taira-Minamoto War, while accompanying themselves on the biwa, a kind of lute.
		In the sixteenth century, the shamisen replaced the biwa as the instrument of choice, and the joruri style developed.
	www.newsfinder.org /comments.php?id=793_0_1_0_M (1129 words)

Try your search on: Qwika (all wikis)