{{Short description|Music notation system in Japan's Ryukyu Islands}} [[File:Kunkunshi for Tinsagu nu Hana.png|thumb|350px|Kunkunshi for the first verse of the Okinawan folk song<br/>てぃんさぐぬ花 (Tinsagu nu Hana)]]
'''Kunkunshi''' ({{langx|ryu|工工四}} {{IPA|ryu|kuŋkunɕiː|}}) is the traditional notation system by which music is recorded in the Ryukyu Islands. The term ''kunkunshi'' originally referred to the first three notes of a widely known Chinese melody, although today it is used almost exclusively in reference to the sheet music.{{sfn|Garfias|1993|p=117}}
Kunkunshi is believed to have been first developed by Mongaku Terukina or by his student {{ill|Choki Yakabi|ja|屋嘉比朝寄}} in the early to mid-1700s. However, it was not until the end of the 19th century that the form became standardized for writing sanshin music.{{sfn|Thompson|2008|p=317}} Yakabi is attributed to having written the earliest known, surviving collection of kunkunshi. The ''Yakabi Kunkunshi'' consists of 117 compositions written in the ''kaki nagashi'' style. In this form, the sanshin finger positions are written in a flowing style with no indication of rhythm. {{sfnm|Thompson|2008|1p=317|Garfias|1993|2p=117}}
==Okinawan Sanshin==
{| class="wikitable" |+ Scale and Reading of the Sanshin with the Relative Tonic sol-fa Reading{{sfn|門内|2003}}
!||Open String||Index Finger||Middle Finger|| colspan="3" |Little Finger |-
!rowspan="2" |Male String<br>（男弦） |style="background-color:#ddf" |合 (ai)||style="background-color:#ddf" |乙 (otsu)||style="background-color:#ddf" |老 (rō)||style="background-color:#ddf" colspan="3" |下老 (shitarō) |- |Do||Re||Mi|| colspan="3" | Fa |-
!rowspan="2" |Middle String<br>（中弦） |style="background-color:#eef" |四 (shi)||style="background-color:#eef" |上 (jō)||style="background-color:#eef" |中 (chū)||style="background-color:#eef" |尺 (shaku)||style="background-color:#eef" |尺♯ (shaku sharp)||style="background-color:#eef" |下尺 (shita shaku) |- |Fa||So||La||Ti♭||Ti||Do |-
!rowspan="2" |Female String<br>（女弦） |style="background-color:#fff" |工 (kō)||style="background-color:#fff" |五 (go)||style="background-color:#fff" |六 (roku)||style="background-color:#fff" |七 (shichi)||style="background-color:#fff" |八 (hachi) ||style="background-color:#fff" |九 (kyū) |- |Do||Re||Mi||Fa||So||La |- |}
{| class="wikitable" |+ Characters only Appearing in Vocal Pitch Transcription !style="background-color:#ccf" | 才 (sai)||style="background-color:#ccf" |汎 (bon)||style="background-color:#ccf" |勺 (shaku) |- |So||La||Ti |- |}
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== {{refbegin}} * {{cite journal|last1=Garfias|first1=Robert|title=The Okinawan Kunkunshi Notation System and Its Role in the Dissemination of the Shuri Court Music Tradition|journal=Asian Music|date=1993|volume=25|issue=1/2|pages=115–144|doi=10.2307/834193|jstor=834193|url=https://cloudfront.escholarship.org/dist/prd/content/qt8146f6j2/qt8146f6j2.pdf}} * {{Cite book|title=The Ashgate research companion to Japanese music|last=Thompson|first=Robin|publisher=Ashgate Publishing Limited|year=2008|isbn=9780754656999|editor-last=Tokita|editor-first=Alison|location=Aldershot, Hampshire, England|chapter=The music of Ryukyu|editor-last2=Hughes|editor-first2=David W}} * {{cite book|editor1-last=門内|editor1-first=良彦|title=沖縄三線初歩の初歩入門|date=July 14, 2003|publisher=ドレミ楽譜出版社|isbn=9784810833720}} {{refend}}
Category:Musical notation Category:Okinawan music
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