The origins of Ushibuka Haiya Bushi
Located at the southern tip of the subtropical Amakusa Islands in Kyushu, Ushibuka was once a flourishing port in the Edo period (1603–1868), as well as Kumamoto Prefecture’s richest seafood production centre. Once an independent municipality, it was merged with a numbering of neighbouring towns and cities and subsumed into the new city of Amakusa.
Ushibuka Haiya Bushi––‘bushi’ simply meaning ‘melody’ in the context of min’yo––began life in the Edo period as a melody sung by local women to welcome and entertain visiting sailors, many of whom were seeking refuge from storms, waiting for favourable southern winds to blow in and allow them to sail north. These winds were locally known as ‘the winds of hae,’ and over time, it’s said that this morphed into ‘haeya’ and finally ‘haiya.’
The opening lyrics begin with references to the southern wind, and then in the manner of folk songs, quickly descend into drinking and general debauchery:
ハイヤエー ハイヤ ハイヤで今朝出した船はエー どこの港に サーマ 入れたやらエー
エーサ 牛深三度行きゃ三度裸 鍋釜売っても 酒盛りゃしてこい 戻りにゃ 本土瀬戸徒歩（かち）わたり
The ship that sailed this morning with the southern wind
What port did it end up in?
Visit Ushibuka three times, and you’ll be naked each time
Whether you’re selling pots or kettles
Come drink lots of sake
Walk back to Hondo Seto on the way
And return home over land
As is true of most orally transmitted folk songs, the exact number of verses remains unclear, and the order in which they are sung tends to vary. Nevertheless, it’s likely to be at least a dozen or more, often with equally fun, bawdy, or outright nonsensical lyrics. To wit:
ハイヤエーハイヤ ハンヤで半年ゃ暮らすエー 後の半年ゃ サーマ 寝て暮らすエー
エーサ どっから来たかい 薩摩から 碇も持たずによう来た様だい
We sing and dance the haiya half the year
Sleep and live the other six months
Where are you from––from Satsuma?
Why have you come here without any money?
ハイヤエー船は 出ていく帆掛けて走るエー 茶屋の娘が サーマ 出て招くエー
エーサ おーさやったとん 届いたかい 届いて煮て吸って 舌焼いたサイサイ
The ship raises its sails, departing without looking back
The young lady of the teahouse
Comes out, and beckons to the next customer
I sent you seaweed, has it arrived?
Yes it arrived––I cooked it, ate it, burned my tongue
ハイヤエーハイヤ ハンヤはどこでもやるがエー 牛深ハイヤが サーマ 元ハイヤエー
エーサ 川端石だい 起こせば蟹（がね）だい 蟹の生焼きゃ 食傷のもとだい 食傷蟹なら 色なし蟹だい
Oh the Haiya, the Haiya is performed everywhere in Japan
But the Ushibuka Haiya is the original Haiya
Lift up a river rock and you’ll find a crab
Grilled crabs give you food poisoning
Rotten crabs are the colourless ones
During the Edo Period, the helmsman of a ship was obliged to sing all night long––much like sea shanties in the British and American traditions––so singing songs learned at drinking parties was often a good way to while away the hours on deck. In this way, the sailors who had stopped by Ushibuka Port brought the song all over Japan on their travels, and in the manner of folk songs, had its melodies and lyrics adapted by local communities. Many extant haiya-style min’yo today, such as Awa Odori of Tokushima prefecture and Sado Okesa of Niigata Prefecture, owe their roots to Ushibuka Haiya Bushi.
