The World of Japanese Film and Television Scores: Akira Ifukube Stage Music Complete Works Fourth Collection

© VAP
© Shochiku Co., Ltd.
© Show Biz Studio Co., Ltd.

Description:

This is the fourth and final volume in a four volume series titled Akira Ifukube Stage Music Complete Works, which features scores from New Kabuki theater productions composed by Akira Ifukube. This volume features the scores from "The Tale of Zatoichi" (09/02/1972 - 09/25/1972) and "Yanagi" (04/02/1968 - 04/29/1968).

"The Tale of Zatoichi" starred Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi and was produced by Kiyokata Saruwaka and Toshio Okumura (Shintaro Katsu). The production was held at the Meiji-za in Tokyo, Japan.

"Yanagi" starred Minosuke Bando (Mitsugoro Bando IX) as Yanagi and was produced by Daisuke Ito. The production was held at the Shin Kabuki-za in Osaka, Japan.

Music by Akira Ifukube. All music is in mono.

Album Information:

Label: VAP
Album Title & Catalogue Number: Akira Ifukube Stage Music Complete Works Fourth Collection - The Tale of Zatoichi/Yanagi (VPCD-81156)
Music by: Akira Ifukube
Number of Discs: 1
Number of Tracks: 26
Run Time: 55:44
Release Date: June 1, 1996
Retail Price: ¥2,621 (Approximately $24.35 [as of 09/23/19])

Track List:

The following are the Japanese and English translated track lists.

Track List (Japanese)

【座頭市物語】('72年)
01. M1 第一幕/第一場・飯岡に近い村境の茶店
02. M2 第一場終了
03. M3 第二場・飯岡助五郎の家の雑魚部屋
04. M4 第三場・助五郎の家の離れ (同日の夜)
05. M5 第二幕/第二場・竹薮の道
06. M6B 第三幕/第一場・飯岡助五郎の家
07. M6C 仕込枕の閃光
08. M7 第一場終了
09. M8 第二場・街道 (夜)
10. M9 大詰～終曲

【柳<三十三間堂棟の由来より>】('68年)
11. M1 第一場・川辺の王子附近
12. M2 平太郎の一念
13. M3A 柳との別離
14. M3B 第一場終了
15. M4 第二場・平太郎住居
16. M5A 七夜の名付けの祝唄
17. M5B 緑丸
18. M6 第二場終了
19. M7 第三場・平太郎住居
20. M8 一字一石の祈願
21. M9 平太郎との別離
22. M10 化身
23. M11 お柳の嘆き
24. M11A 消えていくお柳
25. 義太夫 (M12) 第三場終了
26. 義太夫コーラス (M13) 第四場・川辺の王子附近～終曲

Track List (English)

"The Tale of Zatoichi" ('72)

01. M1 Act One/Scene One · Teahouse at the Village Limits near Iioka

02. M2 End Scene One

03. M3 Scene Two · Small Fish Room at Sukegoro Iioka's House

04. M4 Scene Three · Away From Sukegoro's House (Same Night)

05. M5 Act Two/Scene Two · Road at the Bamboo Grove

06. M6B Act Three/Scene One · Sukegoro Iioka's House

07. M6C Flash of the Hidden Blade

08. M7 End Scene One

09. M8 Scene Two · Highway (Night)

10. M9 Conclusion ~ Finale

"Yanagi (From 'Origin of the Sanjūsangen-dō Building')" ('68)

11. M1 Scene One · Near Kawanabe-oji

12. M2 Heitaro's Determined Purpose

13. M3A Separation From Yanagi

14. M3B End Scene One

15. M4 Scene Two · Heitaro Residence

16. M5A Seven-Night Naming Celebration

17. M5B Midorimaru

18. M6 End Scene Two

19. M7 Scene Three · Heitaro Residence

20. M8 Prayer of One Character-One Stone

21. M9 Separation From Heitaro

22. M10 Incarnation

23. M11 Oyanagi's Grief

24. M11A Oyanagi Disappears

25. Gidayu (M12) End Scene Three

26. Gidayu Chorus (M13) Scene Four · Near Kawanabe-oji ~ Finale

Additional Notes:

I had some difficulties translating tracks 3 and 7. While I left the translation for track 3 as is, the translation for track 7 made no sense. It translates to "Flash of the Prepared Pillows". I more or less ended up using the translation at Godzilla Monster Music, "Flash of the Hidden Blade".

For "The Tale of Zatoichi", cue M6A is missing. Cue M4 is repeated between cues M8 and M9, with its cue number being notated as "NEXT".
For "Yanagi", the script indicates that there is an additional cue, M5C, but the corresponding cue is not found on the master tapes. Cue M13 is combination of M13A and M13B according to the script.

The album booklet also lists another Zatoichi stage production that was running concurrently with "The Tale of Zatoichi". The production, based on the 1964 Daiei film "Fight, Zatoichi, Fight", was titled "Zatoichi kenka bayashi". I couldn't get a good translation of the title, but it loosely translates to "Zatoichi's Fighting Companions". Like with "The Tale of Zatoichi", it ran from September 2, 1972 to September 25, 1972. It starred Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi and was produced by Kiyokata Saruwaka and Toshio Okumura (Shintaro Katsu). The production was held at the Meiji-za in Tokyo, Japan.

According to the booklet, the score, or at least some of it, was pieced together using music from Ifukube's score to the film "Fight, Zatoichi, Fight" and the stage production of "The Tale of Zatoichi". It's unclear if any original music was composed specifically for the production. Five cues are listed in the booklet and are included below. For reference, "Zatoichi's Bloody Journey" refers to "Fight, Zatoichi, Fight" and "The Tale of Zatoichi" refers to the 1972 stage production. The following are the cues used for "Zatoichi's Fighting Companions":

01. M1 ("Zatoichi's Bloody Journey" DB2) Act One/Scene One · Off of Amida Highway
02. M2 ("The Tale of Zatoichi" M4) End Scene One
03. M3 ("The Tale of Zatoichi" M5) End Scene Three
04. NEXT ("The Tale of Zatoichi" M4) End Act Three/Scene One
05. M Ending ("The Tale of Zatoichi" M9) Finale

While it's stated that M1 is a cue from "Fight, Zatoichi, Fight", it's not clear as to what specific cue was used. Since it's the opening cue, I assume that Main Title (DB2*) from "Fight, Zatoichi, Fight" was used. Also, the booklet states that it's unclear as to what was used for the ending cue. It was either the ending cue (DB number unknown) from "Fight, Zatoichi, Fight" or M9 from "The Tale of Zatoichi" (still referring to the stage production). I went ahead and gone with the latter.

*The DB (Dubbing) number for this cue is unknown, and what's given is only an estimate I made.

Photo Gallery:

Here is a photo gallery of my copy of Akira Ifukube Stage Music Complete Works Fourth Collection - The Tale of Zatoichi/Yanagi (VPCD-81156). I was tired and in a bit of a hurry, so I forgot to take photos of the front (page 1) and back (page 20) of the booklet. The photos were taken on September 16, 2019.