AKchoir perform Kiyari

World Choir Games 2024 ニュージーランド・オークランド
2024年7月17日
会場：Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre
演奏曲：1,木遣り-手古-、2,ソーラン節、3,ひふみうた、4,ダイナミック琉球
演奏AKchoir
出場種目： Folklore and indigenous Music with accompaniment


About “Kiyari songs”

Kiyari, also known as “Kiyari-uta (song)”or “Kiyari-bushi(tune)”, represents a category of labor songs in Japan. Originally serving as labor chants, Kiyari songs have been preserved and passed down as folk songs and festival music all over Japan.

*History*

The origin of Kiyari lies in its function as a labor chant, sung to reduce the efforts of multiple laborers to unify and shared rhythm and signal. One theory suggests that the practice began in 1202 when the monk Eisai founded Kennin-ji temple and had the laborers sing during construction, as documented in Kikuo Chōryō's "Modern Affairs Discussed."

Kiyari encompasses different types based on the nature of the work: "Kibiki Kiyari" sung while moving timber, and "Jikei Kiyari" performed when compacting the ground,and so on.
As time progressed, Kiyari evolved from a mere labor chant into a performance for audience, ritualized and popularized as secular songs.

The repertoire includes eight categories and 110 songs, such as "Manazuru," "Ji," "Kusari-mono," "Oikake-mono," "Te-yasume-mono," "Nagare-mono," "Hashi-mono," and "Ōma."

Kiyari has been designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property and Intangible Cultural Property in various regions. It has been showcased twice at the Olympics, at the opening ceremonies of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, highlighting it as a representative traditional chant of Japanese culture.