Recommended Shimabai

shimabai

(shimabai / shimabai) refers to the folk song of the Amami Islands (now part of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan). In the Ryukyuan Amami dialect, "shima" (shima) not only means "island", but also means "hometown"; "呗" (うた/uta) means "folk song". Therefore, the word "shimabai" originally meant "folk songs of hometown", and precisely because of the special meaning of the word "シマ", many Amami people do not write this kind of ballad as "shimabai", but write it as "シマbai" ". People who sing island bei are called "bei people". Since the pronunciation of the word "Bai" is the same as the pronunciation of the word "歌" in Japanese, some Chinese media also write "shima bei" as "岛歌".

History

Shimabai originated from the Ryukyu Islands, and was the earliest collective name for the folk songs of the Ryukyu Islands. Later, it specifically referred to the folk songs of the Amami Islands. In the early days, Daobei was used as a song dedicated to gods and used in sacrifices. Its content is also related to praising the gods and expressing the wishes of the prayers. Later, there were also contents such as labor chants, educating future generations and expressing love. After the invasion of the Satsuma clan in 1609, the Satsuma clan used the Amami Islands as the main location for the production of brown sugar. Under the rule of the Satsuma Domain, the Amami people had to engage in mass production of brown sugar. Shimabai of this period also expresses the miserable life of the Amami people under the rule of Satsuma Domain. In October 1961, Hei Takeshita, an Amami native living in the Kansai region, sang Shimabai at the "Art and Folk Performance Festival" in Japan, which caused great repercussions in the Japanese music industry. Since then, Shimabai has become popular in the Japanese music industry. The more famous chanters include Yutaka Tsuboyama, Toshizo Tsukiji, Mito Tohara, Ikue Asaki, RIKKI, Chitose Moto, Kousuke Naka, etc.

Japanese: Daobai Chinese: Daoge is a popular song in Japan. One day in the early 1990s, a Japanese young man who had just graduated from Meiji University went to Okinawa to collect folk songs, perhaps Amami folk songs. The unique rhythm inspired his creative inspiration, and he wrote a song "Dao Bai" in one breath, which even he himself did not expect would be such a sensation. Once his band The Boom sang, it immediately spread throughout Japan, and this young man also became famous - he was Kazushi Miyazawa. Miyazawa Kazushi specially used the shamisen, the most popular national instrument in Okinawa, as the prelude to this song. The accompaniment also used ancient taiko drums. Just listening to it, you may mistakenly think that this is an old song that has been passed down for hundreds of years. Sing. The lingering sense of nostalgia can especially arouse the homesickness of people who are drifting away. Soon, "Island Bay" was selected by the people as one of the 100 songs that most moved Japanese people. Interestingly, because of this song, Okinawa has become a tourist attraction. The islanders have even opened a Shimabai Izakaya, where drinkers can enjoy the shamisen song. Naturally, "Shimabai" has become iconic song. I heard that business is booming. Not only was the tune of this song written by Miyazawa Kazushi, but the lyrics were also written by him. The general idea is as follows: Erythrina flowers are in bloom, the wind is blowing, and a storm is coming; Erythium flowers are blooming, the wind is blowing, and a storm is coming. Desire is coming; the sorrow that keeps emerging, like the waves crossing the island, meets you in the sugar cane forest, and leaves you forever under the sugar cane forest... Obviously walking on the suffering land of Okinawa, Miyazawa Kazushi must I was thinking about it, and many war stories I heard came to mind. The "Battle of Okinawa" between the United States and Japan during World War II was one of the most tragic battles. The military government required all Okinawa people to join the army and hold on to Okinawa. If they could not hold it, they would be killed. "Collective self-determination." According to statistics, more than 200,000 people in Okinawa lost their lives in that battle. Many families were separated and their families were destroyed. To this day, many locals prefer to say that they are Okinawans rather than Japanese. Miyazawa Kazushi poured these dripping feelings into each note stroke by stroke.