The Musical Modes of Middle-Length Pieces as Seen in the Rishukyō (“The Perfection of Wisdom in 150 Lines”) and Gokai (“Fivefold Repentance”) in the Classical Chanting of the Chisan School of Shingon Buddhism

Abstract

　In this discussion, I consider the musical modes of middle-length pieces (chūshoku) as seen in Rishukyō (“The Perfection of Wisdom in 150 Lines”; Skt. Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā) and Gokai (“Fivefold Repentance”) from the repertoire of classical shōmyō chanting of the Chizan school of esoteric Buddhism. The musical modes of middle-length pieces include flat-tone (heichō) and Oshiki-tone modes. The flat-tone middle-length mode is composed solely of contratonal tunings, while the Oshiki-tone middle-length mode (named after one of the 12 tones of the Chinese octave) consists of both contratonal tunings and a simple ryosen tuning from the seven-tone gagaku scale. The flat-tone middle-length mode consists of the alternation of articulation between flat-tone tunings, while the Oshiki-tone middle-length mode consists of the alternation of articulation between Oshiki-tone tunings and a simple Ichikotsu tuning. I believe the flat-tone middle-length mode is called “flat-tone contratonal music” (heichō han’onkyoku) while the Oshiki-tone middle-length mode is called “Oshiki middle-length music” (ōshiki chūkyoku). I believe that the Oshiki-tone middle-length mode, in terms of contratonal music, is Ichikotsu contratonal music. Below, I undertake a detailed discussion of middle-length modes.