Simple Sanshin Source

Aha Bushi （安波節）

This one is another common starting song for begging sanshin players because of its easy to remember rhythm. The lyrics are also slow, and paced very closely to the strumming of the sanshin, so new singers should also be able to pick it up fairly quickly.

If you haven’t noticed, this song is sung with two breathes per line!
The first line of the song goes:

[breathe] kariyushi nu ashibi [breathe] hari uchi haritikaraya
(Basically, you only break once, and right before “hari.”)

Give the song a listen and you’ll notice the breathes.


Lyrics:
一、かりゆしぬ遊び ハリ うち晴りてぃからや
　（かりゆしぬあしび はり うちはりてぃからや）

二、夜ぬ明あきてぃ太てぃ陽だぬ ハリ 上がる迄までぃん
　（ゆぬあきてぃてぃだぬ はり あがるまでぃまでぃん）

三、夜ぬ明あきてぃ太てぃ陽だや ハリ 上がらわんゆたさ
（ゆぬあきてぃてぃだや はり あがらわんゆたさ）

四、乙午時までぃん ハリ 御祝さびさびら
（みんまどぅちまでぃん はり うゆうえさびさびら）

五、安波ぬ真はんたや ハリ 肝むすがりどぅくる
（あはぬまはんたや　はり　ちむすがりどぅくる）

六、奥くぬ松下や ハリ 寝になし所どぅくる
（うくぬまちしちゃや はり になしどぅくどぅくる）


Romanji Version:
kariyushi nu ashibi hari uchihari tikaraya

yu nu aki ti ti da nu hari agaruma di madin

yu nu aki ti ti da ya hari agarawan yutasa

minmaduchi madin hari uyuesa sabi sabira

aha nu ma hantaya hari chimusu gari dukuru

uku nu machi shicha ya hari ni nashi duku dukuru

Request: Send me your kunkunshi scans!

Hey guys,

I’m currently without a scanner, which makes it super difficult to post kunkunshi. If you would like to contribute to the site, please e-mail me your scanned 工工四. I’ll select the ones I find to be most accurate to what I’ve heard in Okinawa, and will post them up here with a romanji translation and a small description of what the song is about.

Thanks :)

-Kenji

Waido Bushi （ワイド節）

(Donated kunkunshi and lyrics. Thanks to Martin in Argentina!)

Kanikubata （かにくばた）

(Donated kunkunshi and lyrics. Thank you!)

The song is about a girl (Kanikubata) who is forced to immigrate somewhere else, in search of work and has to leave her place of birth. The song are wishes for her happiness later in the future.


Lyrics:
1、かにくばたよ　抱きみぶすぶなりゃがま
ユイサースウーリーヌ(←ハヤシ１）、ブナリャガマ
サーハラユイサークラユイサッサ
ウッショーシショウノニングルマトマトヨォ（←ハヤシ２）

2、あらすぬ麦だきよ　むとぅいかぎぶなりゃがま
(ハヤシ１）ブナリャガマ（ハヤシ２）

3、野原地ぬ豆抱きよ　やつかふぬ莢(さや)ぬにゃん
(ハヤシ１）莢(さや)ぬにゃん（ハヤシ２）

4、あとゆかずよ　すうらゆかずばんたがむてぃ
（ハヤシ１）ばんたがむてぃ（ハヤシ２）

5、女子（ぶなりょぉ）ばよ　かぐんな乗し大浦（ウプラ）んかい


Romanji Version:
1) Kanikubata yo dakimi busu bun narya gama
yoisaa, souri-nu (***HAYASHI 1) bun narya gama,
sa hara yoisa-a kura yoi sassa
usshou shi shou no nin guru mato mato yo (***HAYASHI 2)

2) Ara su nu mugi daki-yo mutui kagi bun narya gama
(HAYASHI 1) bun narya gama (HAYASHI 2)

3) subarisu nu mami daki-yo yakka funu saya nu nyan
(HAYASHI 1) saya nu nyan (HAYASHI 2)

4) ato yu kazu-yo sura yu kazu banta gamuti
(HAYASHI 1) banta gamuti (HAYASHI 2)

5) bunaryo bayo kagun-na nushi ubura nkai

Mensoure （めんそーれ）

(I dictated the notes and a friend wrote it down for me, so sorry for the messy handwriting.)

This song was composed by one of the National Living Treasures of the sanshin—master Choichi Terukina. It came into my possession in a rather interesting way. A student of Terukina sensei was a classmate of mine at RyuDai, and he was more than willing to teach me to sing and play the sanshin after class. Mensoure was one of the first ones he taught me, and since he never learned to read kunkunshi—he always learned songs by eye and ear—the only way he could teach me was by getting me watch and listen. Kinda like the old Ryukyu days, no? Anyways, since then I’ve gone on to teach the song in the same way, but for some, kunkunshi was just easier. (Hence, the piece of music you see before you.)

Also, being a nikkeijin, he able to speak Japanese, but not write it so well. He ended up writing down the lyrics for me in romanji. Good luck for us I suppose. =D

For those who don’t know, “mensoure” is Uchinaguchi for “welcome,” and that’s pretty much what the song is. A welcoming song.

めんそーれ

Shima Uta (島唄)

Shima Uta is actually a Japanese pop song associated with Okinawa, and well known throughout the world. The “island song” has garnered popularity from China to Argentina, and versions of this song can be found in languages from Okinawan to Spanish.


Lyrics:
でいごの花が咲き　風を呼び嵐がきた

でいごが咲き乱れ　風を呼び嵐がきた
繰り返す悲しみは　島渡る波の様
ウージの森で　あなたと出逢い　　　　（※ウージはさとうきび）
ウージの下で　千代(ﾁﾖ)にさよなら
島唄よ風に乗り　鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り　届けておくれ
私の涙

でいごの花も散り　さざ波がゆれるだけ
ささやかな幸せは　うたかたの波の花
ウージの森で　歌った友よ
ウージの下で　八千代(ﾔﾁﾖ)の別れ
島唄よ風に乗り　鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り　届けておくれ
私の愛を

海よ宇宙よ　神よ命よ
このまま永久(ﾄﾜ)に　夕凪を

島唄よ風に乗り　鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り　届けておくれ
私の涙
島唄よ風に乗り　鳥とともに海を渡れ
島唄よ風に乗り　届けておくれ
私の愛を
ララ　ララララ　ラララララ　・・・・・



Romanji version:
Deigo no hana ga saki kaze wo yobi arashi ga kita
Deigo ga sakimidare kaze wo yobi arashi ga kita
Kurikaesu kanashimi wa shima wataru nami no you

Uuji no mori de anata to deai
Uuji no shita de chiyo ni sayonara

Shima uta yo kaze ni nori tori to tomo ni umi wo watare
Shima uta yo kaze ni nori todokete okure watashi no namida

Deigo no hana mo chiri saza nami ga yureru dake
Sasayakana shiawase wa utakata no nami no hana

Uuji no mori de utatta tomo yo
Uuji no shita de yachiyo no wakare

Shimau uta yo kaze ni nori tori to tomo ni umi wo watare
Shima uta yo kaze ni nori todokete okure watashi no ai wo

Umi yo uchuu yo kami yo inochi yo kono mama towa ni yuunagi wo

Shima uta yo kaze ni nori tori to tomo ni umi wo watare
Shima uta yo kaze ni nori todokete okure watashi no namida
Shima uta yo kaze ni nori tori to tomo ni umi wo watare
Shima uta yo kaze ni nori todokete okure watashi no ai wo

Toushindooi （唐船ドーイ）

Toushindooi is a fast paced celebration song where people dance kachashi (カチャーシー). “Toushindooi” during the Ryukyu Kingdom era meant “a (trade) ship is coming!” The song is played nowadays for to end parties, gatherings, or events.


Lyrics:
唐船（とうしん）ドーイさんてーまん
いっさん走（は）えならんしや
若狭（わかさ）町村（まちむら）ぬ　さー瀬名波（しなふぁ）ぬ　タンメー
ハイヤ　センスル　ユイヤナ



Romanji version:
Toushindooi santeeman
Issan haenaranshiya yuiyana
Wakasa machimura nu saashinafa nu tanmee
Haiya sensuru yuiyana

Reading kunkunshi

Question: Hey I was wondering what the circle’s mean in the kukunshi, and they’re corresponding arrows?

That’s a good question that I should have addressed much sooner. Originally, I was just going to describe the symbols and their meanings, but I thought adding visual aids would help people better understand what I’m describing. I also thought I’d touch down on how to read kunkunshi altogether.

The format

In Japanese, traditional sentences are written vertically from right to left; kunkunshi are also written in that order. So when you read a kunkunshi, you want start at the top right and work your way down, and then move from right to left.

You should also notice that the kunkunshi is made up of squares, and for your basic songs, one note will take up one square. One square equals one beat, so remember to play the notes at a faster beat whenever you see two notes in one square, or three notes across two squares.


The symbols

	The circle means to “rest,” usually for one beat.
	This marks the start of a repeated section. (Repeat starting here.)
	This marks the end of a repeated section. (Return to the down-pointing arrow after this note.)
*note: Similar to the arrows, there are sometimes extending circle markers to show where to start and stop playing from.
	This apostrophe-like mark above a note means to press down on a note w/o strumming. Sort of like hammering a note on a guitar.
	Usually notes are played by striking the bachi down on the string, but for these notes you play striking up.
	These small circles mark where the singing begins.
	The squares mark where the singing ends.
*note: The circle and square are used in two different ways. Sometimes they only mark where the singing starts and ends, and other times they mark each phrase of the song.

Bashoufu

Bashoufu, a song about Okinawa, is one of the first songs I learned because it’s fairly easy to sing along with.


Lyrics:
海の青さに　空の青
南の風に　緑葉の
芭蕉は情けに　手を招く
常夏の国　我した島沖縄（うちなー）

首里の古城の　石だたみ
昔を偲ぶ　かたほとり
実れる芭蕉　熟れていた
緑葉の下　我した島沖縄（うちなー）

今は昔の　首里天加那志（しゅいてぃんじゃなし）
唐ヲゥーつむぎ　はたを織り
上納ささげた　芭蕉布
浅地（あさじ）紺地（くんぢ）の　我した島沖縄（うちなー）



Romanji version:
Umi no aosa ni sora no ao
Minami no kaze ni midoriba no
Bashou wa nasake ni te wo maneku
Tokonatsu no kuni washita shima Uchinaa

Shuri no kojou no ishi da tami
Mukashi wo shinobu katahotori
Minoreru bashou ureteita
Midoriba no shita washita shima Uchinaa

Ima wa mukashi no shuitinjanashi
Tou uu tsumugi hata wo ori
Jounou sasageta bashoufu
Asajikunji no washita shima Uchinaa washita shima Uchinaa

Tinsagu nu Hana　（てぃんさぐぬ花）

Tinsagu nu Hana, or Chinsagu nu Hana, is another supremely well known Okinawan folk song heard throughout the island. It’s a beautiful song about our relationships with our parents and life.

While the first three verses are about the guidance received from parents, the last three versus are about life goals.


Lyrics:
てぃんさぐぬ花や　爪先（ちみさち）に染（す）みてぃ
親（うや）のゆし事（ぐとぅ）や　肝（ちむ）に染（す）みり

天（てぃん）ぬ群星（むりぶし）や　ゆみばゆまりしが
親（うや）のゆし事（ぐとぅ）や　ゆみやならん

夜走（ゆるは）らす船（ふに）や　子（に）ぬ方星（ふぁぶし）目当（みあ）てぃ
我（わ）ん産（な）ちぇる親（うや）や　我（わ）んどぅ目当（みあ）てぃ

宝玉（たからだま）やてぃん　磨（みが）かにば錆（さび）す
朝夕肝（あさゆちむ）磨（みが）ち　浮世（うちゆ）渡（わた）ら

誠（まくとぅ）する人（ひとぅ）や　後（あとぅ）や何時（いち）迄（までぃ）ん
思（う）む事（ごとぅ）ん叶（かな）てぃ　千代（ちゆ）ぬ栄（さか）い

なしば何事（なにぐとぅ）ん　なゆる事（ぐとぅ）やしが
なさぬ故（ゆい）からどぅ　ならぬ定（さだ）み



Romanji version:
Tinsagu nu hana ya chimi sachi ni sumiti
Uya nu yushi gutu ya chimu ni sumiri

Tin nu muri bushi ya yumiba yumarishiga
Uya nu yushi gutu ya yumiyanaran

Yuruharasu funi ya ni nu fuabushi miati
Wan na cheru uya ya wandu miati

Takaradama yatin migaka niba sabisu
Asayu chimu migachi uchiyu watara

Makutu suru hitu ya atu ya ichi madin
Umukutun kanati chiyunu sakai

Nashiba nani gutun nayuru gutu yashiga
Nasanu yui karadu naranu sadami

Update: rewriting kunkunshi

I’ve been making regular updates to the site, but the kunkunshi section is one that hasn’t seen much action. The last edit I made was this:

*edit: 08/11/22 I’ve decided to only upload kunkunshi I’ve personally redrawn/rewrote to avoid possible trouble with copyrights. Although I don’t imagine there to be many problems because most Okinawan songs are shared folk songs, I figure that I should choose to err on the safe side.

I got an e-mail from someone saying they’d like to share their kunkunshi with me, but they were worried about possible copyright repercussions. At first I didn’t really care, or didn’t want to care because of a belief that no one should be able to “own” kunkunshi, but I decided it best not to take my chances. Anyways, I was finally able to make this update to the lonely kunkunshi section:

*edit: 08/12/04 It’s been some time, but I’ve managed to finish one piece of music! It took a while because I had to redraw/rewrite it—see the above note for why—onto my computer using Photoshop. Anyways, now that I’ve got the basic layers and such down in Photoshop, I’ll be able to upload more kunkunshi more easily. (I think.)

Asadoya Yunta　（安里屋ユンタ）

Asadoya Yunta—a love song I suppose you could genre it—is a great song for beginners because it’s easy to play and sing along with. It’s also one of the most easily recognized songs in Okinawa, and I don’t think I can name a person around me who hasn’t heard it. So if you don’t know it already, then this is definitely a song you put in your practice queue.

(I’ve gone ahead and posted the lyrics in both Japanese and romanji.)


Lyrics:
サー君は野中のいばらの花か（サーユイユイ）
暮れて帰ればやれほにひきとめる
マタハーリヌツィンダラカヌシャマヨ

サー嬉し恥ずかし浮き名を立てて（サーユイユイ）
主は白百合やれほにままならぬ
マタハーリヌツィンダラカヌシャマヨ

サー田草とるなら十六夜月夜（サーユイユイ）
二人で気がねもやれほに水入らず
マタハーリヌツィンダラカヌシャマヨ

サー染めてあげましょ紺地の小袖（サーユイユイ）
かけておくれよ情けのたすき
マタハーリヌツィンダラカヌシャマヨ

サー沖縄よいとこ一度はメンソーレ（サーユイユイ）
春夏秋冬緑の島よ
マタハーリヌツィンダラカヌシャマヨ



Romanji version:
Saa kimi wa nonaka no ibara no hana ka (saa yui yui)
Kurete kaereba yarehoni hiki tomeru
(Mata haari nu chindara kanushama yo)

Saa ureshi hazukashi ukina o tatete (saa yui yui)
nushi wa shirayuri yarehoni mama naranu
(Mata haari nu chindara kanushama yo)

Saa tagusa toru nara izayoi tsuki yo (saa yui yui)
Futari de kigane mo yarehoni mizu irazu
(Mata haari nu chindara kanushama yo)

Saa somete agemasho konji no kosode (saa yui yui)
Kakete okureyo nasake no tasuki
(Mata haari nu chindara kanushama yo)

Saa Okinawa yoi toko ichido wa mensoure (saa yui yui)
Haru natsu aki fuyu midori no shima yo
(Mata haari nu chindara kanushama yo)

Collected 工工四 (kunkunshi)

I’ll be posting various pieces of kunkunshi in this section. Some of the documents are in PDF format, so you’ll need a reader like Adobe or Foxit. (I recommend Foxit Reader because it’s smaller and faster than Adobe. Plus, it’s free.)

Asadoya Yunta　（安里屋ユンタ）
Aha Bushi　（安波節）
Bashoufu　（芭蕉布）
Tinsagu nu Hana　（てぃんさぐぬ花）
Mensoure (めんそーれ)

Donated pieces:
Bangamuri　（ばんがむり）
Hounennuuta　（豊年ぬ歌）
Kanikubata　（かにくばた）
Shima Uta （島唄）
Toushindooi （唐船ドーイ）
Asadoya Yunta - Classic Version (安里屋ゆんたー）
Waido Bushi （ワイド節）

I’ll be continuously writing up kunkunshi to upload here, but in the meanwhile, you can find a good collection of kunkunshi on these sites:
工工四集 (Collection of Kunkunshi)
沖縄三線楽譜一覧 (List of Sanshin Music)

For you curious minds:
- I use Adobe Photoshop to draw the kunkunshi, using an “EPSON-KYOKASHO” font.
- If you would like to help me redraw kunkunshi, you can find the PSD file here.
- The package of fonts can be downloaded off this website. (Running the executable will only unpack the contents into the same directory. To install the fonts you have to drag the .ttf files into your font folder.)