This work can be performed by a wide variety of ensemble sizes, ranging from a minimum of three players to a small wind band. Its instrumentation is nearly identical to that of my previous works Three Folk Songs and Three Ryukyu Folk Songs. This time, the piece is built around the theme of "folk songs from the Tohoku region", structured in three movements.

I. "Saitara Bushi"
One of the folk songs of Miyagi Prefecture, this is a traditional fishermen's song handed down along the Oshika Peninsula coast and throughout the Matsushima Bay area. It is characterized by lively calls and refrain phrases such as "Enya-totto..," and was sung both as a rowing song and as a celebratory song for successful bonito fishing catches. The folk music researcher Tosui Goto introduced it nationwide as one of the Tairyo Utaikomi ("great catch songs"), through which it became widely known across Japan.

II. "Hanagasa Ondo"
A folk song of Yamagata Prefecture. The Hanagasa Dance performed to this song is now enjoyed both within and outside of Yamagata, especially during the annual Yamagata Hanagasa Festival held every August, where large numbers of dancers participate. The song originated during the embankment construction work for Lake Tokura. Upon the lake's completion, people celebrated grandly by dancing while twirling hats decorated with bright red paper ornaments.

III. "Donpan Bushi"
One of the folk songs of Akita Prefecture. It is said to have evolved from an older song known as Dodosai Bushi. During the mid-Meiji era, a temple carpenter named Emazo Tachibana is believed to have begun singing it during work breaks, adding the rhythmic refrain "don-don-pan-pan." Its cheerful and lively rhythm soon gained widespread popularity.

(Hiroki Takahashi)