History (Tsuge Gen'ichi):

Poem (translated by Tsuge Gen'ichi)

Godan Ginuta appears on the following albums

	Album	Artist
	All the Best from Japan
	Art of the Koto - Volume I	Koto : Fukami Satomi Koto : Yoshimura Nanae
	Ensemble Nipponia - Japan Traditional Vocal and Instrumental Music
A frequently performed koto duet from the mid-19th century, this formally constructed work features angular rhythms that derive from the sound of the kinuta (a set of wooden blocks for beating silk). "Godan" means "five variations." The Japanese variation technique was developed in the 17th century, originating With the famous piece Rokudan no Shirabe; it includes not only modifications and decorations of the basic theme, but also compression and expansion of thematic materials. The last variation of Godan ginuta betrays its debt to the earlier Rokudan by including the entire first section of Rokudan in the second koto part, not unlike a cantus firmus in a Renaissance choral work.
	Fukami Satomi - Sokyoku Jiuta Shu - 1	Koto : Nosaka Keiko Voice : Fukami Satomi Koto : Fukami Satomi
	Hōgaku Taikei Vol. 4 - Sōkyoku - Shakuhachi 2 (LP 1)	Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko I Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko II
	Ikuta Ryu Sokyoku Senshu Volume 03 （下）	Koto : Kobashi Mikiko Voice : Miyagi Kazue Koto : Miyagi Kazue
	Ikuta-Ryū Sōkyoku Senshū - volume 5	Voice : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Matsuo Kazuko
	Japan - Splendour of the Koto
	Koto - Keiko Nosaka	Koto : Nosaka Keiko
	Koto Music of Japan, The	Koto : Hagiwara Seigin Koto : Mineuchi Ginshō
The Kinuta is primitive machinery for refining cloth materials. Though this machine no longer exists, the sound of the kinuta has often been described in poetry and music and suggests the sad monotones of the fall season. The rustling leaves and the voices of insects always accompanied the sound of the kinuta when autumn arrived. Godan-Kinuta (kinuta in five steps) is regarded as the unequalled music of autumn. A number of works which simulate the kinuta have been composed, but none of these are comparable to this piece by Mitsuzaki Kengyo.
	Koto no Miryoku - Disk 1	Koto : Yamauchi Kimiko
	Kou	Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
	Melody of Japan - Pathos of Autumn	Koto : Hanabusa Harue Koto : Miyakoshi Keiko Koto : Yui Ensemble
	Midare - Kazue Sawai Plays Koto Classics	Koto : Kuribayashi Hideaki Koto : Sawai Kazue
	Music of Japan, The - Vol I
	Musical Atlas - Japan	Koto : Ueno Kazuko Koto : Matsuo Keiko
The Koto is a long zither made of paulonia wood. The back of the upper board is hallowed out to provide a thin and long soundboard. Thirteen silk strings are strung between the two ends of the body. Each string passes over a movable ivory bridge which determines the length of the sounding part. The player plucks the strings with three ivory picks attached by leather bands to the thumb, the index and middle finger of the right hand. The instrument was introduced from China in the 8th century and used in the orchestra of the ancient court music, the Gagaku. In the 17th century a blind musician, Yatsuhashi, created a new genre of music using the Koto as a solo instrument and for the accompaniment of songs. This type of music was developed by his successors, mainly blind professional musicians. It became fashionable among the common people, especially among women. Koto music was combined with a genre of Shamisen song called Jiuta, also created by blind musicians, giving birth to the Koto and Shamisen ensemble. This kind of ensemble allowed the development of increasingly sophisticated styles of polyphony, and so did the Koto ensembles. The piece chosen here, a Koto duet, is a representative masterpiece of the polyphonic Koto ensemble. It was composed by Mitsuzaki, a musician who died in 1853. Two kotos are tuned at different pitches; the main Koto (an the left) is tuned a fifth lower than the second one (on the right). The title of this piece comes from the form of the composition, which is in five sections (go-dan). The term Kinuta means a fulling block, since the piece reminds one of the sound of someone making felt. The third, fourth and fifth sections of the piece are recorded here.
	Rokudan	Koto : Miyagi Kiyoko Koto : Miyagi Michio
	Rokudan Koto no Meikyoku	Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko II
	Sankyoku - Hagi no Tsuyu / Sōkyoku - Godan Kinuta	Voice : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Matsuo Kazuko
	Sankyoku Ensembles For The Shakuhachi Of The Kinko-School Vol II	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū (zoku) vol. 16 (続三曲合奏大全集16)	Voice : Sunazaki Tomoko Koto : Sunazaki Tomoko Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
	Seiha Hogakkai Play Favorites 04 - Mitsuzaki Kengyo	Koto : Yuize Shin'ichi Koto : Nakashima Yasuko
	So - Japanese Traditional Music	Voice : Yonekawa Toshiko Koto : Yonekawa Toshiko Koto : Satō Chikaki
	Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 10	Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko I Koto : Yonekawa Fumiko II
	Tomiyama Seikin - So	Koto : Tomiyama Seikin I
	Zoku Sō-Sangen-Shakuhachi ni yoru Mei Senshū - volume 5	Koto : Matsuo Keiko Koto : Matsuo Kazuko