Tamamo Ryūgū Amagoi Odori (Tamamo Dragon Palace Rain Dance)（2025）

When I looked out from the water gate of Tamamo Park toward the ruins of the castle tower across the water, the reflection of the pine trees shimmering on the surface gave the whole area the illusion of a dragon’s palace. When I shared this impression with my guide, he said, ＂Akiko Yosano felt the same way.”

　Watatsumi no
　Tamamo no Ura wo
　Mae ni shinu
　Takamatsu no Shiro
　Ryūgū no goto
　— Akiko Yosano
　(Facing the sea inlet of Tamamo,
　 Takamatsu Castle looks like a dragon’s palace.)

　Akiko Yosano also once stood there, deeply moved by the same view, and composed a poem about it. The vibrations of her heart still ripple outward, and mine seemed to resonate with them. In moments like this, we are allowed to reach across time and touch the lives of those who came before us. In a way, it is through these connections that we ourselves are kept alive.
　All around us, in everyday life, there are traces—pathways—through which we can connect with people of the past. Tradition and culture are such things. The same is true of rain dances and classical music. Living signs of those who once lived await us, eager to be found. If the act of creating—be it composing or otherwise—is fundamentally about revealing and making things visible, then what I needed to write was music that bridges the present and the past of Kagawa.

　Beneath the waters of Takamatsu Castle lies the Dragon Palace, ruled by the Dragon King. From across Sanuki, processions of rain dancers journey there one after another, offering their songs and dances before returning to their homes. If the Dragon King delights in their offerings, his joy spreads across the sea, enriching the waters and bringing rain to Sanuki. But poor performances leave the palace, the sea, and the land parched. The ＂Tamamo Ryūgū Amagoi Odori” expresses a fantastical world inspired by a legend of my own invention.

　The composition is based on a collage and the development of songs from the rain dances still preserved in various regions of Kagawa Prefecture. The dances referenced include: Yayona Odori, Wada Amagoi Odori, Ayako Odori, Saisai Odori, Tanono Amagoi Odori, Sakamoto Nembutsu Odori, Hōjō Nembutsu Odori, and Takinomiya Nembutsu Odori. The score indicates where each quotation appears. When we look closely at these melodies and compare them, we find shared gestures and phrases. It is exciting to imagine that all these songs may have originated from a single ancestral melody. Particularly in the Nembutsu Odori lineage, it is fascinating to see how short verses are sung with slight, iterative variations. This piece traces the relationships, similarities, and affinities among such variations and between different songs.

　The performance of this work focuses on two aspects:
　(1) how to express Japanese song within the piano medium
　(2) how to understand this piece in the broader context of
　　 classical piano music
　For point (1), I hope performers will discover and express a quality that differs from the melodic elegance typically associated with Western music—perhaps something simpler, more earthy, or rooted in oral tradition. For point (2), this work may be positioned as a Japanese counterpart to the tradition exemplified by Kodály and Bartók, who collected folk music and transformed it into concert works. I invite you to explore the liminal space between Japanese melodic inflection and Western pianistic polyphony, while honoring the unique color of each rain dance melody.