is a Japanese

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

written in the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

. Japanese pianist and composer

Rentarō Taki was a Japanese pianist and composer of the Meiji era. Taki was born in Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 m ...

composed the music as a

music lesson Music lessons are a type of formal instruction in playing a musical instrument or singing. Typically, a student taking music lessons meets a music teacher for one-to-one training sessions ranging from 30 minutes to one hour in length over a pe ...

song without instrumental accompaniment in 1901. The song was included in the songbook for Junior High School students. The music of the song was inspired by the ruins of Oka Castle whereas the lyrics, written by , were inspired by the ruins of Aoba Castle and Aizuwakamatsu Castle. AizuCastle

Old Oote-mon of Sendai Castle in 1938 cropped

Taki's original version of the song is a

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: Changes need ...

song, but Kosaku Yamada's slow-paced nostalgic

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...

version is also popular as an accompanied song. Taki's original version of the song uses E♯ on the second bar, but the modern version usually uses E probably because the original version did not fit the

traditional Japanese music Traditional Japanese music is the folk or traditional music of Japan. Japan's Ministry of Education classifies as a category separate from other traditional forms of music, such as (court music) or (Buddhist chanting), but most ethnomusic ...

. Japanese

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

singer Yoshie Fujiwara put his singing of the song on a record in 1925. He was the first Japanese singer to popularize the song throughout the world. A jazz arrangement was recorded by

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

under the title "Japanese Folk Song" on his 1967 album '' Straight, No Chaser''. This version can be heard in the 2016 American movie ''

La La Land ''La La Land'' is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing ...

'', as one of the main characters tries to memorize and play it. The song was sung and recorded live in the form of a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

by the German heavy metal band

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

, during a concert at the Nakano Sun Plaza in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. It was released on their 1978 live album '' Tokyo Tapes''. The band's version was one of the rare renditions following Taki's original version quite well. This song was also performed as an instrumental by

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...

during the 1984 Alcatrazz Japan Tour. A live recording of his performance at the Sun Plaza Tokyo was released on the "Metallic Live" DVD of Alcatrazz. Takeshi Terauchi & Blue Jeans, a Japanese band, recorded an

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically every subgenre of the style. Instrumental rock was most popular f ...

cover of "Kōjō no Tsuki" on their album ''Let's Go Blue Jeans''. New Age pianist George Winston arranged and included this piece in his 2004 album '' Montana: A Love Story''. The song was also sung live by Japanese enka singer

Kiyoshi Hikawa is a Japanese enka singer who was born on September 6, 1977, in Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.Hikawa Kiyoshi: Pr ...

in 2008. In August 2012,

Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American singer who gained wide recognition at an early age, singing primarily crossover music#Classical crossover, classical crossover covers. Since 2009, she has issued nine albums, a pla ...

recorded the song in Japanese as a bonus track to the Japanese release of the album '' Songs from the Silver Screen''."SONGS ～銀幕を彩る名曲たち : Jackie Evancho , HMV&BOOKS online - SICP-3588"
/ref> The 2020 video game ''

Cyberpunk 2077 ''Cyberpunk 2077'' is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. Based on Mike Pondsmith's ''Cyberpunk (role-playing game), Cyberpunk'' tabletop game series, the plot is set in the fictional metrop ...

'' features the character Hanako Arasaka singing a version of "Kōjō no Tsuki" whilst on a parade float. The player is afforded an opportunity to pause the mission and listen.

Legacy

In 1998 the asteroid 8957 Koujounotsuki was named after the song.

References

External links

* * – ''Kojo no Tsuki'' * – ''Kojo no Tsuki (with lyrics)'' * – ''Takeshi Terauchi & Blue Jeans – Kojo no Tsuki'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kojo no tsuki 1901 songs Scorpions (band) songs Songs in Japanese