This article is a translation of the front page of Historical Recordings Collection in the NDL digitized contents.

The Historical Recordings Collection consists of about 50,000 sound recordings of music, lectures, etc. on 78rpm records and metal discs used to press commercial releases from the beginning of 1900 to 1950. The Historical Records Archive Promotion Conference (HiRAC) has been promoting the digitization of early Japanese recordings since 2009. The NDL provides sound recordings digitized by the HiRAC within the premises of the library and a part of the collection with expired copyright on the Internet. The collection contains sound from a wide variety of genres such as rakugo (traditional Japanese comic story-telling), nagauta (ballads sung to shamisen accompaniment), orchestral music, opera, kiyomoto (a type of jōruri recitation in which voices are pitched higher than usual), naniwa-bushi (a genre of Japanese narrative singing), popular music, lectures, etc.

Haru no umi (lit. Spring Sea) (1) played by MIYAGI Michio

Duet of Japanese traditional instruments koto (strings) and shakuhachi (woodwind). MIYAGI Michio (1894-1956), koto musician and composer, wrote in tribute to Umibe no iwao (Seaside Rocks), the theme of a poetry party at the Imperial Court in 1930.

Ume wa saita ka (Have Japanese apricots blossomed already?) by FUJIMOTO Fumikichi

Ume wa saita ka is a famous Hauta song. Hauta is a popular shamisen kouta music coupling nagauta from the late to the end of the Edo Period.It was widely enjoyed among ordinary people of the day thanks to its simple rhythm and melody. Hauta is a short musical piece of about three minutes and is said to be the origin of kouta.

Kanchirorin played by TACHIBANAYA Kitsunosuke

TACHIBANAYA Kitsunosuke was known as a super performer of shamisen, playing kiyomoto, hauta and zokkyoku (a generic term for music accompanied by shamisen). In 1912, she started her school of Ukiyo-bushi, and she was active in Yose, comedy theaters. She often gave a performance at the end of a show, which only the most popular performers were allowed to do as an honor.

Oborozukiyo (Moonlight night in spring) played by SHOJI Taro

SHOJI Taro was born in 1898. He was a major singer with the characteristic appearance of standing completely still with Harold-Lloyd glasses in a tail coat of the prewar era. Akagi no Komoriuta (Berceuse of Akagi) in 1934 became a huge hit and he went on to sing many hit songs such as Kokkyou no machi (Frontier town), Nozaki kouta and Mugi to Heitai (Wheat and the Soldier).

Lecture: the influence of public opinions on Modern Japanese Politics (1) by Marquess ŌKUMA Shigenobu

Marquess OKUMA Shigenobu (1838-1922) was known as a statesman in the Empire of Japan actively using media such as newspapers and records. This record, originally released in 1915, was reissued in 1922, when he passed away.

Related article CDNLAO Newsletter no.73

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