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The Port at Habu (Habu no minato)


Folksongs by Nakayama Shinpei (Nakayama Shinpei min'yōkyoku) No.4
中山晋平民謡曲 第四編 波浮の港
Designer: Takehisa Yumeji (Japanese, 1884–1934)
Composer: Nakayama Shinpei (Japanese, 1887 – 1952)
Lyricist: Noguchi Ujô (Japanese, 1882 – 1945)
Publisher: Yamano gakkiten (Japanese)
Japanese
Shôwa era
1928 (Shôwa 3), December 30

Medium/Technique Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions Height x width: 26 × 35.9 cm (10 1/4 × 14 1/8 in.)
Height x width: 26 × 17.9 cm (10 1/4 × 7 1/16 in.)
Credit Line Gift of Mary and Robert Levenson
Accession Number2023.1124.1-2
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsMusical scores

DescriptionTranslation of lyrics from Japanese, by Kuniko and Kendall Brown:
“Cormorants on the beach, return at dusk
In Habu port, the sky glows at sunset
Tomorrow’s weather, tra la la, will it be fair?
The boats in a rush, preparing to depart
Girls of the island, live under sacred fire
In their heart, tra la la, what is their care?
Life on the island, it is wearisome
From Itō in Izu, tidings by mail
From Shimoda port, tra la la, tidings by wind
The wind’s a sea breeze, blown from sacred fire
The island maidens, when the boats depart
Loosen the moorings, tra la la, with their tears.
Cormorants on the beach, from sea to shore
Tears at farewell, dampen those departing
Tomorrow’s weather, tra la la, will it be fair?"
ProvenanceBy 2019, Mary and Robert Levenson, Belleair, FL; 2023, gift of Mary and Robert Levenson to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 13, 2023)