Little Songs of the Geisha: Traditional Japanese Ko-Uta

by Liza Dalby (Editor)

A fascinating look into the world of the Geisha through the 400-year-old art of Ko-Uta, the traditional song form sung to three-stringed shamisen music. A vivid evocation of the romanticism of feudal Japan.

Genres: Poetry, Japan, Music

6 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

With its fascinating story of characters caught up in a world they themselves don't understand, Hidden Buddhas may well be Liza Dalby's best work yet. Besides taking us on a journey through little-known corners of Japan, it offers us an engaging and believable portrait of people driven to do things they may not have imagined." --Arthur Golden, author of Memoirs of a Geisha

According to esoteric Buddhist theology, the world is suffering through a final corrupt era. Many in Japan believe that after the world ends, the Buddha of the Future will appear and bring about a new age of enlightenment. Hundreds of temples in Japan are known to keep mysterious hidden buddhas secreted away except on rare designated viewing days. Are they being protected, or are they protecting the world?

From these ancient notions of doom and rebirth comes a startling new novel by the acclaimed author of Geisha and The Tale of Murasaki. Hidden Buddhas: A Novel of Karma and Chaos explores the karmic connections between Japanese fashion, pilgrimage, dying honeybees, bad girls with cell phones, murder by blowfish, and the Buddhist apocalypse. Something of a Buddhist Da Vinci Code, Hidden Buddhas travels through time to expose a mystery you will never forget."

Reviews

[Books on Asia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book when searching for information on "hauta," which are similar to "kouta." The introduction is very helpful and the examples include the original Japanese, the roman alphabetized version and Dalby's English interpretation. There is one musical score in the back of the book given as an example, as these songs are usually sung with accompaniment of the shamisen.

[Galatea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of Ko-uta (小唄), a genre of traditional Japanese folksong usually sung by geisha. The collection here carries 25 songs, with the translation and romaji of the piece accompanied with a calligraphic rendering of the original Japanese lyrics, along with the author's explanation or commentary of the piece.

As someone currently learning Japanese, I really wish that they included typed renderings of the Japanese lyrics since the calligraphy is rather free-flowing and hard to make out at first glance. Regardless, the calligraphy is done beautifully and greatly adds to the book as a whole.

Looking at the general themes of the stories, the intertwining of emotions with nature, of love with the various metaphors used to describe it, and the tiny glimpses into traditional life that these stories offer, give a lovely record of the culture of the time that I'll hopefully get to re-read with more depth once I immerse myself more into the language.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting read showing a form of poetry I wasn't familiar with. The author does a good job of explaining the multiple meanings and interpretations, as well as the subtle details and double meanings that are missed by translating the work into English.

[Andrew Temerarious · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped to, mostly through my own fault: the book focuses on the lyrics and poetry of the 小歌 rather than the music.

While it provides tablature and a Western-notated interpretation of one of the book's twenty-five songs, it can be frustrating reading descriptions of how musical moods and motifs fit into the other twenty-four without having a way to directly check it against notation. However, it is understandable that the notation was kept to one song - it is implied that it was difficult enough to make the one Westernized transcription, which differs in some ways from the corresponding tablature as it is.

In terms of the poetry itself, some of the translations feel a little odd, but the context has been given a great deal of attention, and the book is overall an enjoyable thing to read. The calligraphy and illustrations are delightful, and the author at one point describes one of the song texts as a 'misogynist diatribe', which was rather refreshing.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the author's position as a non-Japanese person who has become seen as an authority on a traditional aspect of Japanese culture. If I were aware that that was the context in which this book was written, I might not have chosen to buy it.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think my only complaint about this one is that it was so short. I appreciated the analysis of each song, as well as the inclusion of the original Japanese. Just wish there had been a little more.