I’ve written about the Koto and a little about the Shamisen, but one instrument I don’t know much about is the Biwa.

This photograph on the left shows a modern Gagaku (traditional shinto court music) musician playing a “Gaku-biwa” which is only used in court music.  This is probably the most basic and oldest shape of the instrument.

The biwa came directly to Japan from China.

Check out this painting on the left China, probably Turfan, Tang dynasty, 8th century and the wood carving from Japan on the right.

The lineage of the instrument is traceable across asia to the middle east.

You can see the biwa shaped instrument in the bottom left corner of this painting from Persia.

The instrument was played by musicians who were known as Biwa-Hoshi.  They were traveling musicians who earned income by reciting  vocal literature to the accompaniment of biwa music. Often blind, they adopted the shaved heads and robes common to Buddhist monks. This occupation likely had its origin in China and India, where blind Buddhist lay-priest performers were once common.  These musicians would spread the buddhist precepts while singing and performing:

1.As the Buddha refrained from killing until the end of his life, so I too will refrain from killing until the end of my life.

2. As the Buddha refrained from stealing until the end of his life, so I too will refrain from stealing until the end of my life.

3. As the Buddha refrained from sexual misconduct until the end of his life, so I too will refrain from sexual misconduct until the end of my life.

5. As the Buddha refrained from alcohol until the end of his life, so I too will refrain from alcohol till the end.

In Japan, the biwa musicians started to tell the tale of Heike around 1220.   It details battles between two powerful clans, the Genji and the Taira around the 12th century. The Taira were eventually annihilated by the Genji, who systematically killed every male descendant of the Taira.  The Taira spirits then began disrupting the peace. The Great Earthquake around 1185 C.E. contributed to this sentiment. Since their rituals included placating spirits and preventing plagues, Heike story telling through song became a vehicle for containing lingering, resentful Heike spirits. Heikyoku and biwa musicians became immensely popular for the next several hundred years.

One thing that I noticed in reading about the Biwa’s history, they seemed to belong to something like a union called the Tōdōza. A Japanese guild for blind men, established in the 14th century by the biwa performer Akashi Kakuichi. Members performed a variety of roles, as itinerant musicians, masseurs, and acupuncturists. It seems the government supported the guild and made sure they were performing and working.

She is performing a Satsuma biwa.  There are a variety of different biwa available.   The main instruments now are Satsuma (on the right) and Chikuzen(on the left).

There are a number of foreign musicians playing chikuzen biwa nowadays.  Wonderful to hear!

Enjoy!