Catalog of Shōdan: Entrance music

Shidai-music

Standard entrance music for the waki. Yet, in some plays, such as in Atsumori, the Shidai-music is used to introduce the shite. It is usually followed by a chant also called Shidai, therefore we refer to it as Shidai-chant. The pair usually leads to a Nanori or a Sashi.

The percussion part of the Shidai-music is flexible, whereas it is strict in the Shidai-chant. It is the function of the uchikiri pattern to conclude the Shidai-music and initiate a move from flexible to strict setting.

There is no Shidai in the two plays featured on this website, so we are using version of Atsumori’s Shidai to illustrate the concept. The nohkan player opens the shōdan with the hishigi pattern. At the fourth honji, as the percussionists are moving from mitsuji to tsuzuke patterns, the nohkan player introduces the takane mi kusari pattern. After a second round round of mitusji patterns moving to tsuzuke, he introduces a sequence of unnamed patterns, concluding with the takane-roku no ge, a pattern exclusive to the Shidai.