Commissioned by Mr. Kazuhiko Tsuchiya of Tamagawa Academy (Lower Secondary Division) in 2014 and premiered at the 38th Tokyo Ensemble Contest by the school's octet ensemble.
RAKUICHI-RAKUZA is an economic policy conducted by famous warlords such as Nobunaga Oda and Hideyoshi Toyotomi in their castle towns during the Warring States period in Japan. This policy relaxed regulations and revitalized town markets. The "(RAKU)" from the title originally means "relaxed or simple". Another meaning for RAKU is fun or lively. I became fond of the term and its pronunciation and imagined a more animated market atmosphere as a result of the policy. The subtitle "(SHO)" means "extract or selection". I selected SAKURA as the associated entity. SAKURA is the well-known cherry blossom, a symbol of Japan. However, I would like for the performers to be imaginative. Create your own SAKURA image. It can be a specific season, scenery, or even a name. Have fun coming up with your original associations.
We cannot directly see or experience what it was like living in those time periods. We can only imagine their lifestyles. We have some ideas through archaeology and picture scrolls. Perhaps life back then was more "fun" than today. I hope this work will inspire different emotional expressions of this specific time in Japanese.

(Shuhei Tamura)