Osharaku is a traditional Japanese form of musical entertainment, featuring mainly voice, shamisen and percussion, with a repertoire of folk and popular songs, performed by farmers and fishermen for local audiences. This compilation, 28 tracks compiled by Riyo Mountains, is the fourth release in the EM Records/Riyo Mountains Japanese folk series. These recordings feature legendary osharaku masters, recorded in their homes, brilliantly capturing the casual warmth of vitality characteristic of the style. Osharaku is unique in its use of shamisen, originally an “uptown” urban instrument, in a “downtown” non-urban setting. These joyous tracks, all recorded in the 1960s and 70s, are available as a 2-CD set or a single 12” vinyl LP, with English translations and rare photos. (Cover art: Shinsuke Takagi/Soi48)

Direction and liner notes: Riyo Mountains
Cover art: Shinsuke Takagi/Soi48
A/D transferring from original analog tapes: SUGAI KEN
Mastering: Takuto Kuratai (Ruv Bytes)

TRACKS:

=Disc 1: Osharaku=

01. "Takasago (Soudai Bushi)" - Vocal: Masagorō Yoshino
02. "Kisarazu (Soudai Bushi)" - Vocal: Hachigorō Takahashi
03. "Shiramasu Konaya" - Vocal: Yonekichi Hasegawa
04. "Shinkawa Jibiki" - Vocal: Yonekichi Hasegawa
05. "Hosoda no Kawa" - Vocal: Eikichi Iwata
06. "Shigedaimoku" - Vocal: Kin Suzuki
07. "Nichirenki" - Vocal: Sakichi Minezaki
08. "Miyazaku-zaka" - Vocal: Masao Misaki
09. "Yonaoshi" - Vocal: Kinzō Ogawa
10. "Tekka Bushi" - Vocal: Denpachi Fujishiro
11. "Nen-nen Komori" - Vocal: Kinzō Ogawa
12. "Yokayoka Ameya（Mondo Suzuki）" - Vocal: Hachigorō Takahashi

=Disc 2: Folk Songs of Kasai and Urayasu=

01. "Nenbutsu ~ Shinkawa Jibiki" - Vocal: The Harue-chō Nenbutsu Kōchū
02. "Bō-sama" - Performance: The Kasai Osharaku Preservation Society
03. "Tsuketa" - Vocal: Toshi Enomoto, Yasutarō Koizumi
04. "Dondon" - Performance: Shichi Yamaoka and others
05. "Bon wa Ureshii" - Vocal: Masu Yoshida
06. "Genpōji" - Vocal: Toshi Enomoto, Yasutarō Koizumi
07. "Koresama" - Vocal: Shichi Yamaoka and others
08. "Taue-uta" - Vocal: Kane Suga
09. "Jigyō-uta (Hitotsu-uchi & Futatsu-uchi)" - Vocal: Kasai Local People
10. "Kioroshi" - Performance: Tōdaijima People
11. "Tōdaijima no Funa-uta" - Vocal: Kinzō Ogawa
12. "Asa no Degake" - Performance: Toshi Enomoto
13. "Ni-agari Jinku" - Performance: Masu Yoshida
14. "Sōma-nakamura" - Performance: Tōdaijima People
15. "Choina Bushi" - Performance: Tōdaijima People
16. "Itchasa Bushi" - Vocal: Toshi Enomoto, Yasutarō Koizumi

Riyo Mountains:
Japanese folk song research team formed by Mood Yama and Takumi Saito. They are resident DJs at the renowned party "Soi48" at Be-Wave, Tokyo, featuring music from all over the world. They produce the Japanese folk song mix-CD series entitled "Riyo Mountains Mix" and also direct the reissue series of Japanese folk music on EM Records, including the releases "Yumi-kagura", "Sakai Ishinage Odori”, and "Kizaki Ondo”. Riyo Mountains have appeared as DJs at many events/programs including NTS (London) and Japanese Bon-Odori traditional dance festivals. Their articles about Japanese folk music are now published serially in the Japanese web magazine “boid".