Yatsuhashi Kengyo

Yatsuhashi Kengyō ( 八橋 検校; 1614–1685) was a Japanese musician and composer from Kyoto. The name kengyō is an honorary title given to highly skilled blind musicians.

Yatsuhashi, who was born and died in Japan, was originally a player of the shamisen, but later learned the koto from a musician of the Japanese court. While the instrument was originally restricted to the court, Yatsuhashi is credited as the first musician to introduce and teach the koto to general audiences. He is thus known as the "Father of Modern Koto."

He changed the limited selection of six pieces to a brand new style of koto music which he called '' kumi uta''. Yatsuhashi changed the '' Tsukushi goto'' tunings, which were based on tunings used in gagaku, and with this change a new style of koto was born. He adapted the Hirajoshi scale and the Insen scale for the koto, from the shamisen repertoire.

Yatsuhashi is also credited as the composer of the important koto solo piece '' Rokudan-no-shirabe'' (六段の調, Music of Six Steps), although he may not actually have composed it himsel

References

Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments'' by William P. MalmYatsuhashi page
(Japanese)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kengyo, Yatsuhashi
1614 births
1685 deaths
17th-century Japanese composers
17th-century Japanese musicians
17th-century Japanese people
17th-century male musicians
Blind musicians
Japanese blind people
Japanese composers
Japanese male composers
Japanese male musicians
Koto players
Musicians from Kyoto