One day one O-ne-san, geisha sister, asked me to play the shamisen at her "Ozashiki", party, to entertain her regular customer.
She wanted to entertain her customer with her dance and my shamisen playing.
She requested me to play one song which is very popular and used at many parties.
My Oka-san, geisha mother, asked me to practice that song before the day, so I sometimes played it.
I thought that I could memorize that song before playing with my O-ne-san, but I didn't have confidence to play it well. Therefore I consulted Oka-san about my lack of a confidence.
She told me that she wanted to assess my performance level before the party.
So I did my best before the day on which my Oka-san would assess that song.
But in the end, I decided not to perform the song and I told my Oka-san that I would practice much more before performing it at a party.
Finally at the party with my O-ne-san, she didn't dance, she played the shamisen instead of me.
After the party, my Oka-san told me that she still wanted to assess my performance level not only for that song but also for other songs, so we set another day for the assessment.
I really did my best before the appointed assessment day with my Oka-san.
On the day, I felt nervous, so in the early morning I went to Okiya, and practiced for several hours.
My Oka-san sat in front of me, and I started playing the shamisen.
As soon as I started playing, she stopped me to play, because my playing speed was too fast.
She said to me that I was not a solo player, but a "Zikata", who is an accompanist for the dancers.
She started dancing in front of me while I was playing so that I could understand a suitable playing speed.
In addition, she pointed out my second fault.
She said to me that I should sing with my mouth open wider, since the form in which geisha sing is important.
After her assessment, I checked the YouTube pages on which my Oka-san and I played the shamisen at the Hachioji festival, and compared her playing form to mine.
I soon realized what she had made me understand.
After the assessment, one O-ne-san called us, so the Oka-san and I followed her to the kitchen.
I was very surprised that a birthday cake for me had been prepared and all of the O-ne-san sung happy birthday to me.
I hadn't expected such a surprise.
On my birthday party day, some O-ne-sans didn't have any parties, but they still came to the Okiya to celebrate my birthday together.
On that day, the Oka-san said to me that I could perform the song which my O-ne-san had asked me to play in front of her customer.
I was very happy and decided that I would do my best even more from now on.
2010年8月24日火曜日
The Hachioji festival
I didn't know that there was a big festival in Hachioji which had such a long history.
The Hachioji festival is held from the first Friday in August to Sunday, over 3 days.
Please check this link for a video of the festival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ECr9LtPM0&feature=player_embedded
The first day of the festival on Friday is called "Yoimiya", when the geisha perform dances in front of the audience. On Yoimiya day, everyone can enjoy seeing professional geisha's performance free of charge.
On the Saturday and Sunday, many floats parade through the central area of Hachioji city. The geisha play the shamisen, drums and flute on a float.
Before the festival I heard from my geisha sister that we must play the shamisen for about 4 hours, in Seiza, Japanese sitting style.
In addition, I had to memorize all of the songs which I had to play, so I had been practicing very hard every day before the festival.
Unfortunately I couldn't participate in the final day of the festival, because I had to attend a group shamisen practice session with my shamisen teacher and other pupils in Asakusa.
So I did my best to really enjoy the 2 days.
On the Friday, Yoimiya, my geisha mother, geisha sister and I played the shamisen together.
It was my first time to play the shamisen as a geisha in front of a large audience.
I felt very nervous, because we used microphones, so if I made any mistakes, they would be amplified.
I had tried to learn all songs by heart, but in the end I used my music scores without making any mistakes.
At the rehearsal for Yoimiya, my geisha mother told me that I should play the shamisen in perfect synchronization with her.
If I followed my music score, it might be difficult play as she expected me to.
I couldn't decide whether to use my music scores or not, but in the end I uesed 2 music scores.
Here are 2 Youtube pages of Yoimiya.
http://
http://
After Yoimiya, all geishas entertained customers at some parties.
On the second day, before playing the shamisen on the float, the geisha and the local people gathered at the shrine to pray.
After praying, all people pulled the ropes of our float and paraded it around Hachioji city.
I want to explain about the float.
There are many kinds of floats which are different in each town.
The following PDF files show some images of various floats.
http://www.hachiojimatsuri.jp/pamphlet/pamphlet2010_kami.pdf
http://www.hachiojimatsuri.jp/pamphlet/pamphlet2010_shimo.pdf
The Hachioji festival was originally separately held in the Kami-area and the Shimo-area, however 50 years ago, these festivals united into one big festival and subsequently became a tourist attraction.
Back to the second day of the festival, it was a very hot and sunny day, so it was very tough for everyone to pull the float, however all people seemed to enjoy the festival.
On the float, "Ohayashi" was performed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jelDIfBx7Gc&feature=related
The above URL is a scene of "Buttsuke".
People who perform Ohayashi compete with other performances on the nearby float.
The following URL is our geisha's "Niwaka-dashi"(Improvised float).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcAFeab8-3I&feature=related
The time passed very quickly. I really enjoyed the festival.
I hope I can participate in all days next year.
From participating in the Hachioji Festival, I realized that the geisha are an important cultural element in the town.
The Hachioji festival is held from the first Friday in August to Sunday, over 3 days.
Please check this link for a video of the festival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ECr9LtPM0&feature=player_embedded
The first day of the festival on Friday is called "Yoimiya", when the geisha perform dances in front of the audience. On Yoimiya day, everyone can enjoy seeing professional geisha's performance free of charge.
On the Saturday and Sunday, many floats parade through the central area of Hachioji city. The geisha play the shamisen, drums and flute on a float.
Before the festival I heard from my geisha sister that we must play the shamisen for about 4 hours, in Seiza, Japanese sitting style.
In addition, I had to memorize all of the songs which I had to play, so I had been practicing very hard every day before the festival.
Unfortunately I couldn't participate in the final day of the festival, because I had to attend a group shamisen practice session with my shamisen teacher and other pupils in Asakusa.
So I did my best to really enjoy the 2 days.
On the Friday, Yoimiya, my geisha mother, geisha sister and I played the shamisen together.
It was my first time to play the shamisen as a geisha in front of a large audience.
I felt very nervous, because we used microphones, so if I made any mistakes, they would be amplified.
I had tried to learn all songs by heart, but in the end I used my music scores without making any mistakes.
At the rehearsal for Yoimiya, my geisha mother told me that I should play the shamisen in perfect synchronization with her.
If I followed my music score, it might be difficult play as she expected me to.
I couldn't decide whether to use my music scores or not, but in the end I uesed 2 music scores.
Here are 2 Youtube pages of Yoimiya.
http://
http://
After Yoimiya, all geishas entertained customers at some parties.
On the second day, before playing the shamisen on the float, the geisha and the local people gathered at the shrine to pray.
After praying, all people pulled the ropes of our float and paraded it around Hachioji city.
I want to explain about the float.
There are many kinds of floats which are different in each town.
The following PDF files show some images of various floats.
http://www.hachiojimatsuri.jp/pamphlet/pamphlet2010_kami.pdf
http://www.hachiojimatsuri.jp/pamphlet/pamphlet2010_shimo.pdf
The Hachioji festival was originally separately held in the Kami-area and the Shimo-area, however 50 years ago, these festivals united into one big festival and subsequently became a tourist attraction.
Back to the second day of the festival, it was a very hot and sunny day, so it was very tough for everyone to pull the float, however all people seemed to enjoy the festival.
On the float, "Ohayashi" was performed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jelDIfBx7Gc&feature=related
The above URL is a scene of "Buttsuke".
People who perform Ohayashi compete with other performances on the nearby float.
The following URL is our geisha's "Niwaka-dashi"(Improvised float).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcAFeab8-3I&feature=related
The time passed very quickly. I really enjoyed the festival.
I hope I can participate in all days next year.
From participating in the Hachioji Festival, I realized that the geisha are an important cultural element in the town.
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