, also known as ''kuichaa-aagu'' is a genre of songs from the

Miyako Islands The (also Miyako Jima group) are a group of islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, belonging to the Ryukyu Islands. They are situated between the Okinawa Island and Yaeyama Islands. In the early 1870s, the population of the islands was estim ...

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

of southwestern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. They are performed by a group of young men and women and usually accompany dancing. Like other songs from the Miyako Islands, they have relatively free verse forms. Although Miyako culture is known for epic songs called '' aagu'', ''kuichaa'' lean toward lyric songs.

Songs and dance

Hokama Shuzen hypothesized that the etymology of ''kuichaa'' was ''kui'' (voice,

Standard Japanese is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been m ...

''koe'') and ''ʧaːsu̥'' (to combine, Standard Japanese ''uchi-awasu''). As the etymology suggests, ''kuichaa'' is characterized by group singing. A group of young men and women forms a circle. The dance is a rhythmical and vigorous one, with arms shaking to and fro and left and right, legs stamping on the ground, dancing high and with hands clapping. The themes of song vary. For example, a song titled ''mami ga pana'' features an ordinary Miyako woman who suffered from the

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...

under the

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in the ...

Parumizu nu kuichaa

The kuichaa commemorating the abolition of the poll tax. *Pyarumizunu Funatsukinu Sunan Nagunuyo, Yaiyanu Yoima- Nuyuu Sunan Nagunuyo Hinoyoisassai **(meaning) The representatives of farmers reached the port of Pyarumizu with the news of the abolition of Nintōzei taxation. The sand of the seashore is *Awannanari Kuminnanari Agari Kubayo Yaiyanu YohiMah NuYu Agari Kubayo Hinoyoisassai **The sand became millet and rice and men of 30 villages now need not work under the heavy Nintōzei taxation system. *Ugangusu Fujinarabi Burinangamayo Yaiyanu Yoimah Nuyu Burinan Gamanuyoh Hinoyoi Sassai **The waves near Ōgami Island became the threads of Miyako Ori, and therefore, women now need not to weave the Miyako Ori under the heavy Nintōzei taxation system.

Hōnen (Good harvest year) no Kuichaa

*Kutushikara Pazumyasiyo Saa Saa Mirukuyunu Nauraba Yoya Naore Saa Saa *Yoh-iti-ba Yoidakiyo Saa Saa Suruido Kagisanu Yoya Naore **Let' begin from this year, If we begin the year of Miroku (Maitreya), the world will change. **We hope the world will change. It is the good world if we will do anything in accord.

References

Dances of Japan Miyako culture {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuicha