History:
India - legends dating back to the Buddha
China - Japanese biwa is ancestor of the Chinese pipa
Nara period (8th cent.): first imported into Japan
Gakubiwa (gagaku biwa) - favorite of the nobility; solo repertoire (defunct)
Heian: Moso-biwa (blind priest biwa) develops in Kyushu; singing of sutras
Enryaku Temple in Kyoto: moso-biwa drives away snakes.
Biwa traditions of wandering priests develop in Kyoto and Kyushu.
Chikuzen school; Satsuma school.
Tales of the Heike (late 12th century):
Fujiwara Yukinaga (court official) retired to monastery to write Tales.
 Fujiwara taught a blind priest biwa player who traveled the country.
Influence of gagaku, Buddhist chant and blind-priest biwa.
Became popular with nobility and warriors; source of income for priests.
Association of blind performers organized; different styles developed.
Tokugawa (1615-1868): shamisen enters Japan; eclipses biwa in popularity.
 Shimazu clan in Kyushu patronize Satsuma biwa: war stories.
 Satsuma style becomes popular with common people in Edo (Tokyo).
Meiji Restoration (1868): govt. abolished exclusivity of blind biwa performers.
 Biwa could now be practiced by anyone; Emperor Meiji.
 New styles: Chikuzen (mix of biwa and shamisen styles)

Types of Biwa: 4 or 5 strings; high frets allow for flexible pitch
Gakubiwa: played directly on frets (fixed pitch).
Heike biwa:
Played between frets (flexible pitch); buzzing sound (sawari)
Verses of story divided into phrases; named melodic patterns between verses.
Form: one note played to set the pitch, vocal line sung;
 biwa re-enters with new pitch or melodic pattern that suits text.
Influence of Buddhist chant: narration based on notes a fourth apart;
Flexible tones similar to Buddhist chant and noh flute.
Effects: percussive sounds, arpeggios and drones.
Satsuma biwa:
Large plectrum used; percussive effects (striking against wooden body);
backstroke on string, twangy sound.
Wide vibrato (probably due to wide gap of first fret).
Shimazu favored stately style, but flashy style prevails today.
Shamisen techniques incorporated into this style.
Modern biwa schools:
Voice and biwa sound simultaneously; sometimes separate roles.
More highly developed vocal, biwa lines.
Effects: Kuzure (fast alternation between low and high string)
Chikuzen biwa: lyrical style; influence of gidayubushi (puppet theater).