Advanced Search 
Sinfonie Edition, Music Sheet of Violin, Mandolin, Famous Songs of Japan (Nihon meikyoku no bu) No. 26
長唄 多摩川
Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Long Song: Tama River (Nagauta: Tamagawa)
Sinfonie Edition, Music Sheet of Violin, Mandolin, Famous Songs of Japan (Nihon meikyoku no bu) No. 26
長唄 多摩川
Japanese
Taishô era
1926 (Taishô 15), August 3
Medium/Technique
Color lithograph; ink on paper
Dimensions
Height x width: 30.2 × 22.7 cm (11 7/8 × 8 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mary and Robert Levenson
Accession Number2023.1136.1-2
ClassificationsMusical scores
DescriptionTranslation of lyrics from Japanese, by Kuniko and Kendall Brown:
"For this imperial capitol of two million,
The source of the water
Originates in far Tamba, where
‘A gown of blue moss hangs over rocky shoulders,
A sash of white clouds circles the mountain’s waist.’*
Darkened by shadowy Hibara at noon
The water’s roar is tremendous.
From the high base of Mt. Mitake
Through Izumi Nakashima to become the Tama.
Translation of lyrics from Japanese, by Kuniko and Kendall Brown:
“As the rain at the ferry crossing clears
Cormorant fishers call customers for sweetfish,
How interestingly they handle their cormorants.
Sleeves wet yesterday don’t dry,
And get wetter in the dew,
The waves lapping in the light.
Old familiar hand-woven cloth,
Crafted by outcasts is timeless.
The white snow on the riverbank,
Cloth-bleaching maidens singing.
There are various Rokusho festivals yet
I prefer the linen kimono market,
The absolute start of woven linen.
For whom is the linen cloth tax paid?
For whom do you spin the yarn?
Now now, bleach the cloth, bleach the cloth,
Bleaching hemp cloth, rustle, rustle
Bleaching hemp cloth, rustle, rustle
Endlessly flows the village by the Tama River.
*From a poem by Tang poet Bai Juyi used in the Noh play Hakurakuten."
"For this imperial capitol of two million,
The source of the water
Originates in far Tamba, where
‘A gown of blue moss hangs over rocky shoulders,
A sash of white clouds circles the mountain’s waist.’*
Darkened by shadowy Hibara at noon
The water’s roar is tremendous.
From the high base of Mt. Mitake
Through Izumi Nakashima to become the Tama.
Translation of lyrics from Japanese, by Kuniko and Kendall Brown:
“As the rain at the ferry crossing clears
Cormorant fishers call customers for sweetfish,
How interestingly they handle their cormorants.
Sleeves wet yesterday don’t dry,
And get wetter in the dew,
The waves lapping in the light.
Old familiar hand-woven cloth,
Crafted by outcasts is timeless.
The white snow on the riverbank,
Cloth-bleaching maidens singing.
There are various Rokusho festivals yet
I prefer the linen kimono market,
The absolute start of woven linen.
For whom is the linen cloth tax paid?
For whom do you spin the yarn?
Now now, bleach the cloth, bleach the cloth,
Bleaching hemp cloth, rustle, rustle
Bleaching hemp cloth, rustle, rustle
Endlessly flows the village by the Tama River.
*From a poem by Tang poet Bai Juyi used in the Noh play Hakurakuten."
ProvenanceBy 2019, Mary and Robert Levenson, Belleair, FL; 2023, gift of Mary and Robert Levenson to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 13, 2023)