ASURA by Kento Ishikawa 

Now digital sheet music available!
ASURA
by Kento Ishikawa
Grade 5.5
Time 6:50
ZOMS-A191S
Our e-commerce website
Concert & Festival (Grade 5) playlist:
• Concert & Festival (Gr...
Follow us on Facebook!
/ bravomusicband
Program Notes
Commissioned by Shikamoto Junior High School in 2019 and premiered at All Japan Band Tokyo Divisional Competition in August of that year.
The statue of Ashura, enshrined in the World Heritage Site of Kofukuji Temple, has a youthful body with three faces and six arms, and was completed during the Nara period (710-794). Each of the three faces has a slightly different expression, which is said to represent Ashura, the god of war, taking refuge in Buddhism and attaining enlightenment. This work has three main scenes. The middle section mixes rock elements and a non-oriental sense of beat to portray Asura, the god of war. Hence, psychedelic and violent expressions are also key to this piece.
Like the Asura statue, small in stature with a strange body that radiates a different hues, I look forward to the exploration of unique sounds and musical expressions created by smaller bands.
(Kento Ishikawa)