著者

竹内 道敬

出版者

社団法人 東洋音楽学会

雑誌

東洋音楽研究 (ISSN:00393851)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.1984, no.49, pp.139-142,L7, 1984

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Historical source material of good quality, valuable as it as an endless source of stimulation for researchers, is almost invariably high in price and difficult to obtain. For that reason, we must turn most often to the facilities offered by libraries, but in the case of important primary material, the rarer it is the more likely it is to be available for use only under strict regulations, and it is often impossible for younger researchers to actually touch and inspect at close range. In many cases, there is often no alternative to using typographical reprints of certain sources, an alternative that of course involves a number of other difficult problems. It is most important, however, that basic primary sources should be viewed in their original forms whenever possible.<br>Accordingly, the publication of this ten-volume series of basic source material in photographic reproduction, which makes possible an appreciation of the sources in the closest form to the actual object itself, should be highly welcomed. The contents of each volume in the series are as follows:<br>(Translator's note: It should be noted that there are certain problems associated with reading the names of these sources, some of which will be outlined below, and that not all possibilities have been included here; in most cases, the generally-accepted reading of the name in modern Japanese has been adopted.)<br>In all a total of 39 items are reproduced in full photographic facsimile, with commentary on the sources included at the end of each volume. The collection of such an amount of material was obviously quite a difficult task, and gratitude should be expressed towards those involved with publication, as well as the four supervisors of the series, Asano Kenji, Shida Nobuyoshi, Hirano Kenji and Yokoyama Shigeru.<br>A quick glance at the contents of the volumes reveals firstly that these source materials are all from the Edo period (<i>Kinsei</i>), and that the collection is therefore a collection of vocal sources of the Edo period. The first problem with the collection is, then, that its name is too wide, since there are of course a large number of source materials for vocal genres from earlier periods. A table of contents of the series given at the back of each volume (except for some reason Vols. 7, 9 and 10) includes the information that this is a collection of Edo-period sources, although this is not stated on the cover-box or spine of each volume.<br>There is a problem too with the range of material included in the publication. It would seem clear from earlier research in the field and from the title of the publication that more source material dealing with <i>shamisen</i> music should be included. It would be helpful if there was some sort of explanation for the reasons behind the choice of the 39 items, but unfortunately no such text can be found. Without such an explanation it is hard to evaluate the choice of materials and the editorial policy behind the publication. It would be helpful to have this included if there is any possibility for publication of a second edition.<br>Below is a short listing in no special order of a number of other problems associated with the publication, although it should be noted that these do not effect the value of the series as a whole; indeed they are likely to be problems that the supervisors and other contributors to the series have already noticed.