Haru no Umi is a Meiji shinkyoku piece for koto

Koto (musical instrument)

The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...

 and shakuhachi

Shakuhachi

The is a Japanese end-blown flute. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods. It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of...

 composed in 1929

1929 in music

-Events:*January 1 – Pianist and composer Abram Chasins makes his professional debut playing his own piano concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra.*January 11 – Karol Szymanowski's Stabat Mater is premiered....

 by Michio Miyagi

Michio Miyagi

was a Japanese musician, famous for his koto playing.He was born in Kobe. He lost his sight in 1902, when he was 8 years old, and started his study in koto under the guidance of Nakajima Kengyo II, dedicating the rest of his life to the instrument. In 1907 he moved with his family to Incheon, in...

. It is Miyagi's best known piece and one of the most famous for the koto and shakuhachi instruments.

Miyagi composed the music from his childhood image of the sea of Tomonoura

Tomonoura

, formerly known as , is a port in Ichichi ward of Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It is located on the southern point of the Numakuma Peninsula, and has been a prosperous port and bay area since ancient times. Its unique circular harbor shape was preserved even when modern port facilities...

 that he saw before he lost his eyesight.

At one stage the accompaniment has a repeated rhythmic motif (♬|♪♬♪♬|♪♪-) that bears some resemblance to a part of Septet en mi bémol majeur by Saint-Saëns

Camille Saint-Saëns

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...

(1881), but it is not known if Saint-Saëns influenced Miyagi.

External links

• Audio performance clip at www.echo.ucla.edu/...