Catalog of Shōdan: Introduction Chants

Shidai-chant

The introductory Shidai-chant is usually sung by the waki. It is often followed by a Nanori or a Sashi. Entrance music, also called Shidai usually precedes it, so we refer to it as Shidai-music to avoid confusion. In contrast with the congruent Shidai-chant, the Shidai-music is non-congruent.

Its regular poetic text is composed of three lines, the second one being a repetition of the first. The syllable pattern is 7-5, 7-5, 7-4, or occasionally, 7-5, 7-5, 7-5. The first two lines are sung on high pitch, the third start on the medium and concludes on the low pitch.

There is no Shidai in the two plays featured on this website, so we represent it with a concert version of Atsumori’s Shidai. Sung by the shite, the Shidai closes with a jitori performed by the jiutai. When included, a jitori concludes the Shidai, repeating its second and third lines on a very low, quiet tone in a non-congruent fashion.