(b Kobe, 7 April 1894; d Kariya, 25 June 1956). Japanese player of the zoku-sō (the 13-string koto) and composer. A son of Kunijirō Wakabe, he was given the family name of Suga as an infant. By the age of seven he was totally blind. He became in 1902 a disciple of Nakajima Kengyō II, a koto master of the Ikuta School; in 1903 he made his début as a solo performer, and in 1905 he received a certificate of highest proficiency in koto playing, earning the professional name of Nakasuga. Two years later he went to Korea, where he taught the koto and shakuhachi in Jinsen (Inch'ŏn) and then in Keijō (Seoul). In 1909 he wrote his first composition, Mizu no hentai, a song with koto solo which won considerable fame. He received the professional title of Kengyō in 1912; and in 1913, when he married Nakako Kita, he assumed the surname Miyagi, after which he became best known as Michio Miyagi. In 1914 he met Seifū Yoshida, who became a lifelong friend and with whom he began in 1920 the Shin Nihon Ongaku (New Japanese Music Movement), aimed at adapting elements of European music to composition for Japanese instruments. Meanwhile he had returned to Japan in 1917 and settled in Tokyo. The first concert devoted to his music was given successfully on 16 May 1919 and was followed by more in 1920 and 1921.
Although Miyagi sometimes composed in a purely traditional style, as in Yosamu no kyoku (‘Music on a cold night’, 1920) or Tsuki no kagami, his works more often incorporate European features in harmony, form or instrumental combination (he occasionally used mixed ensembles of Western and Japanese instruments); the influence of French impressionism is particularly prominent. In 1921 he introduced the newly invented jūshichigen (a 17-string variant of the koto), used for the first time in his Ochiba no odori. His less important innovations include the hachijūgen (an 80-string koto) and the bass kokyū (a large bowed instrument), while he also experimented in other directions: Kairo-chō (1923) was written for a group of seven Japanese instruments in emulation of European chamber music; Sakura hensōkyoku (1923) adapts a Western form to Japanese instruments; and Etenraku hensōkyoku (1928) is virtually a concerto for koto and Western orchestra.
In 1929 Miyagi composed his most celebrated work, Haru no umi for koto and shakuhachi; the piece was later arranged for koto and violin, and in this version became an extraordinary international success through performances by Stern and others. Miyagi took appointments as lecturer (1930) and professor (1937) at the Tokyo Music School. His activities were interrupted by the war, but in 1946 he resumed teaching and in 1950 was appointed lecturer at the National University of Fine Arts and Music. In 1948 he was made a member of the Japan Art Academy, in 1950 he received the Broadcasting Cultural Prize sponsored by Japanese radio, and in 1951 the Miyagi Kai, an association of his supporters, was formed. He visited Europe in 1953 to take part in the International Festival of Folk Music at Biarritz and Pamplona.
Miyagi was a prolific composer as well as a gifted essayist. His compositions are in the main for koto or for an ensemble including the koto, and most of them follow Japanese custom in having a text, even where the instrumental parts are primary. He also left solely instrumental pieces and made numerous arrangements of pieces from the traditional koto repertory. In 1978 the Miyagi Michio Memorial Hall was founded; it houses manuscripts, recordings, and documents about him and about koto music.
(selective list)
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Op: Kariteibo, 1924 |
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Incid music: Takiguchi Nyūdō, 1946; Genji monogatari [Tale of Genji], 1951–4 |
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Cant.: Nichiren, 1953; Matsu [Pine], 1955 |
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Choral: Tennyo bukyoku [Heavenly Maiden’s Dance], vv, wind, str, 1927; Aki no hibiki [Sounds of Autumn], vv, 5 Jap. insts, perc, 1931; Sakura ni yoseru iwai [Celebration with Cherry Blossom], vv, wind, str, 1940 |
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Mizu no hentai [Metamorphosis of Water], 1v, koto, 1909; Haru no yo [Spring Night], 1v, 2 koto, 3 shakuhachi, 1913; Hatsu uguisu, 1v, 2 koto, 3 shakuhachi, 1914; Aki no shirabe [Autumn Music], 1v, koto, shakuhachi, 1919; Aki no yo [Autumn Night], 1v, koto, 1919; Benisōbi, 1v, koto, 1920; Cosmos, Tsuki no kagami [The Moon Mirror], Sekirei [Wagtail], 1v, koto, 1921; Hira, 1v, Jap. ens, 1923; Noki no shizuku [Raindrops on Eaves], 1v, Jap. ens, 1926; Hana momizi, 1v, Jap. ens, 1927 |
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Tō-ginuta, 1v, Jap. ens, 1929; Mushi no Musashino [The Musashino with its Insects], 1932; Ochiba [Falling Leaves], 1v, koto, 1933; Shun'yōraku, 1v, wind, str, 1933; Miyo no iwai [Celebration of the Generation], 1v, koto, 1934; Uteya tsuzumi [Play the Hand Drum], 1v, koto, 1935; Dōkan, 1v, koto, wind, str, 1936 |
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Yamato no haru [Spring in Yamato], 1v, koto, ens, 1940; Yumedono, 1v, ens, 1940; Shiki no yanagi [Willows in 4 Seasons], 1v, Jap. ens, 1954; Nara no shiki [4 Seasons in Nara], 1v, 2 koto, 1955; Hamayū, 1956 |
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For koto/zoku-sō, orch: Etenraku hensōkyoku [Variations on ‘Etenraku’], 1928; Shinsen-chō kyōsōkyoku [Conc. in shinsen mode], 1933; Hyōjō kyōsōkyoku, 1936; Ichikotsu-chō kyōsōkyoku, 1937; Shukuten sō kyōsōkyoku [Festival conc.], 1940; Banshiki-chō kyōsōkyoku, 1953, collab. Y. Matsudaira |
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For ens: Kara-ginuta, 2 koto, 2 shamisen, 1914; Fubuki no hana [Flower Drift], 4 koto, 1919; Higurashi, koto, shakuhachi, kokyū, 1920; Hanamibune, ens, 1921; Ochiba no odori [Dance of Falling Leaves], koto, shamisen, jūshichigen, 1921; Kairo-chō, ens, 1923; Sakura hensōkyoku [Variations on ‘Sakura’], 3 koto, 1923; Seoto, koto, jūshichigen, 1923;Tanima no suisha [Watermill in a Valley], koto, shakuhachi, 1923; Haru no otozure [Arrival of Spring], koto, shakuhachi, 1924; Kohen no yūbe [An Evening by a Lake], koto, shakuhachi, kokyū, 1925; Seisui-raku, koto, shakuhachi, 1925; Wafū-raku, ens, 1926; Kimigayo hensōkyoku [Variations on the Jap. National Anthem], 3 koto, 1927; Suzumushi, koto, shakuhachi, 1927; Kinuta, 2 koto, 1928; Kotori no uta [Song of Birds], koto, shakuhachi, 1928; Haru no umi [The Sea in Spring], koto, shakuhachi/vn, 1929; Kōrogi, koto, shakuhachi, 1930; Shin-en no asa [Morning in the Holy Ground], ens, 1937; Uguisu, koto, shakuhachi, 1939; Mura no haru [Spring in Villages], ens, 1941; Gyōshun [Arrival of Spring], koto, shakuhachi, 1950; Sarashi-fū tegoto, 2 koto, 1952; Izumi [Fountain], koto, shakuhachi, 1954; Kiku no sakae [Prosperity for Chrysanthemum], ens, 1956 |
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For koto: Kazoe-uta hensōkyoku [Variations on ‘Kazoe-uta’], 1934; Isuzu-gawa [Isuzu River], 1947; Rondon no yoru no ame [Evening Rain in London], 1953 |
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Principal publisher: Hōgaku Sha |
The Complete Works of Michio Miyagi (Tokyo, 1957–8, rev. 2/1972) [collected essays with list of compositions, vol.iii, pp.390ff]
E. Kikkawa: Miyagi Michio den [The life of Miyagi] (Tokyo, 1962/R)
E. Kikkawa and S. Kamisango: Miyagi Michio sakuhin kaisetsu zensho [Complete commentary book on Miyagi’s works] (Tokyo, 1979) [incl. chronology and list of compositions]
J. and Y. Chiba: Oto ni ikiru: Miyagi Michio den [Live in sound: Miyagi’s life] (Tokyo, 1992) [incl. list of compositions]
MASAKATA KANAZAWA