527 Rengashi #2[Performers Who Visited the Pit (Yama) : Renga Performers #2]

These performers going around and singing with instruments at one place after another at night sometimes appeared in the pit except during winter. Most of them were pairs of male performers in student-like costumes. One of them played the small four-stringed Japanese fiddle (kokyu) like a shamisen with a bow with horsetail strings. The other played the instrument (yokin) like an undersized Japanese-style harp (wagon or koto) about ninety centimeters long with more than eight strings. He played it with picks fixed on his right thumb and forefinger, hanging it from his left shoulder. They palmed booklets off onto the audience during intervals between songs. They sang popular songs at that time, such as Hokai, Shinonome, Sanosa, Kiteki Issei, etc. They also told riddles to the audience.