Sakura Sakura
"Sakura Sakura" (さくら さくら, "Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms"), also known as "Sakura", is a traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, the season of cherry blossoms. It is often sung in international settings as a song representative of Japan.[1]
Contrary to popular belief, the song did not originate in ancient times; it was a popular, urban melody of the Edo period.
Melody
The "Sakura Sakura" melody has been popular since the
Expressed as diatonic notes in the
Because the melody spans a modest range, it is ideally suited to instruments that have a limited pitch range, such as the Native American flute (similar to the shakuhachi).[3] The melody arranged by Ongaku Torishirabe-gakari was included in Collection of Japanese Koto Music issued in 1888, for beginning
Lyrics
The original lyrics[5] are listed as the second verse in the table below. In 1941, the Ministry of Education published a new verse in Uta no hon (うたのほん 教師用 下) which was listed first, with the original verse listed second.[6] However, there are various theories about the original lyrics. According to one theory, it is said that "Sakura Sakura" is a parody of "Saita sakura".[7] "Saita sakura" is thought to have been made as a Japanese koto song in during the Edo period. (Lyrics: さいた桜 花見て戻る 吉野は桜 龍田は紅葉 唐崎の松 常盤常盤 深みどり)[8][9]
Standard | Hiragana | Romaji | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
桜 桜 桜 桜 |
さくら さくら さくら さくら |
sakura sakura sakura sakura |
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, |
In popular culture
- The first lines of the original verse ('sakura sakura yayoi no sora wa mi-watasu kagiri') serve as a prelude to Bon Jovi's song "Tokyo Road" from their second album 7800° Fahrenheit (released in 1985).[citation needed]
- In the Punch-Out!! games, an instrumental rendition is used for Piston Hondo's opening theme.[10][11]
- Japanese band BUCK-TICK used this melody in live versions of their "Victims of Love" song in the early 1990s.[citation needed]
- Alfred Reed's Fifth Symphony "Sakura" (1994) is based on this folk song.[citation needed]
- British cellist Sakura at the Kobe earthquake charity event in 1995 and for Emperor Akihito at London's Victoria and Albert Museum in 1998.[citation needed]
- In 2003, Ōta Jun'ya composed "Sakura, Sakura ~ Japanize Dream" as part of the credits theme for the video game Perfect Cherry Blossom.[12]
- Dream of the Cherry Blossoms by Keiko Abe, a virtuoso percussionist, is a five-minute piece for marimba that is based on "Sakura Sakura" that has become popular in the marimba repertoire.[citation needed]
- In 2007, it was selected for Nihon no Uta Hyakusen, a collection of songs and nursery rhymes widely beloved in Japan.[citation needed]
- In the early 2010s, Japanese singer Kiyoshi Hikawa performed the second of the two verses of "Sakura Sakura" - the first and (so far) only Enka singer to do so.[citation needed]
- Yukihiro Yoko, a koto.[citation needed]
- Babymetal used this melody in their song "Megitsune" (2013).[citation needed]
- In 2013, Marc Edwards recorded an album featuring three 20-minute versions of "Sakura Sakura", in a free jazz electric guitar style.[13][14][15]
- Many electronic crosswalks in Japan play the melody as "guidance music".[citation needed]
- Headhunterz sampled part of this song for his song "Path of the Hunter" (2017).[citation needed]
- In Kara, a short film/tech demo created by David Cage and his company Quantic Dream about a robot who is built to serve humanity, the robot is asked to "sing something in Japanese", after which she sings this song.[16] Eventually, this short film was adapted into a video game, Detroit: Become Human. In the game, one of the main characters, Markus - an android, is trying to put himself together in a junkyard. This references the short film when Markus stumbles upon a dying Kara model, the one from the film, that is still singing the song.[17]
- The song appears in the soundtrack of the video game Total War: Shogun 2, playing during the game's campaign map mode.[citation needed]
- Flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal and harpist Lily Laskine recorded a version for their album Japanese Melodies for Flute and Harp.[citation needed]
- Sakura-Variationen (Sakura Variations) is a 2000 trio composition scored for saxophone, piano, and percussion by Helmut Lachenmann.[citation needed]
- "Sakura Sakura" appeared on Wii Music as one of the song selections in the Jam Mode.[citation needed]
- In the Tokyo area, each train station has its own distinctive jingle used to signal train departures. The jingles for the Komagome and Musashi-Koganei stations are both based on "Sakura Sakura".[citation needed]
- Hololive Production virtual youtuber Akai Haato used this melody in a scary version of the song, jokingly talking about herself.[citation needed]
- In the video game Genshin Impact, the background song of the Archon of Inazuma (a region inspired by Japan) uses a musical arrangement inspired by this song.[citation needed]
- Canis Canem Edit uses a melody based on Sakura Sakura for the ConSumo minigame.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Pikachus perform classical Japanese dance routine for Japan's most famous cherry blossom song【Vid】". SoraNews24 -Japan News-. 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- Helmholtz notation.
- ^ Clint Goss (2011). "Sakura Sakura". Flutopedia.com. Sheet music for the Native American Flute. Archived from the original on 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ Tsuge Gen'ichi (2016). "Sakura". komuso.com. International Shakuhachi Society. Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2011-12-27. who cites
Ongaku Torishirabe-gakari (arr.) (1888). "桜 Sakura". In 東京音楽学校編 Tōkyō ongaku gakkō hen [Tokyo Academy of Music] (ed.). 「箏曲集」 Sōkyokushū [Collection of Koto Music]. Vol. 1. Tokyo, Japan.{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c 東京音楽学校編 Tōkyō ongaku gakkō hen [Tokyo Academy of Music], ed. (1888). 「箏曲集」 Sōkyokushū [Collection of Koto Music]. Tokyo, Japan.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c 東京音楽学校編 Tōkyō ongaku gakkō hen [Tokyo Academy of Music], ed. (1941). 「うたのほん 教師用 下」 Uta no hon, kyōiku-yō, ge [Book of Songs for Educational Use]. Vol. 2. Tokyo, Japan: 文部省 Monbushō.
- ^ 藤田圭雄 Fujita tamao (1997). 「日本童謡唱歌大系1」 Nihon dōyō shōka taikei 1 [Compendium of Japanese nursery rhymes 1]. 東京書籍 Tōkyō syoseki.
- ^ 「山田流琴のかがみ」 Yamadaryū kotonokagami [Model of The Yamada school of Koto]. 博信堂出版部 Hakushindō shuppanbu. 1948.
- .
- ^ "Sakura - Traditional Japanese Song on Koto". LedgerNote. 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ Alexander, Kevin (18 June 2013). "8 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!-themed boozy punch recipes, knocked out by the country's top mixologists". Thrillist. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ ScarletFlameFlandre (2012-06-27), PCB Staff Roll Theme: Sakura, Sakura ~ Japanize Dream (Re-Extended), archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2017-05-03
- ^ "Sakura Sakura (3 variations) | Marc Edwards". Marcedwards.bandcamp.com. 2013-10-22. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
- ^ Applegate, Grego (2014-04-17). "Gapplegate Guitar and Bass Blog: avant free psychedelic metal jazz rock". Gapplegateguitar.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-18. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
- ^ "DogAndPanda Records". Dogandpanda.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
- ^ GameSpot (2012-03-13), Kara - Heavy Rain/Quantic Dream Tech Demo, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2018-06-26
- ^ MooniGaming (2018-06-03), Detroit: Become Human Kara Tech Demo Sakura Easter Egg, retrieved 2018-06-26[dead YouTube link]
External links
- [1] Sakura Sakura played in 1959 by three artists from Tokyo's University of Art on three different Koto's (17 string, 13 string and 9 string)
- Link to mp3 recording of Sakura, Sakura, the Japanese lyrics with another verse, an English translation and sheet music
- Sakura Sakura: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project