Hyakunin Isshu - Wasuramoti - Hyakunin-Isshu audio player

Audio player for Hyakunin-Isshu, designed for competitive Karuta (known as Kyogi Karuta)

The term "Hyakunin-Isshu" translates to 100 poems by 100 different poets and refers to a collection of classic Japanese poetry.

"Kyogi Karuta" is a traditional Japanese game that utilizes this poetry set.

This application randomly recites each poem or presents them in a shuffled format.

It serves as a tool for practicing or participating in Kyogi Karuta.

The software also allows for the display of the poem's text in Japanese, Romaji, or English, making it ideal for those learning Hyakunin-Isshu.

Instructions for use:

* Press and hold on the poem text to view its description.

* Swipe left or right to move to the previous or next poem.

1. Obtaining Audio Data

There are three main ways to obtain audio recordings of the Hyakunin Isshu being read aloud.

Ripping from a commercially available reading CD (2023 update: CDs may not be widely available these days).

Downloading audio data available online in MP3 format or other formats.

Using a microphone to record a skilled reader reading aloud.

CDs suitable for competitive karuta are hard to find these days, but you should try your best to find one.

There seem to be several links to available audio data for the Hyakunin Isshu available online under [I want to memorize the Hyakunin Isshu].

Memorizing the Hyakunin Isshu using a microphone is explained in Chapters 4, 5, and 6.

2. Usable Audio Data Formats and File Names

Wasuramochi supports Ogg Vorbis audio formats for Windows and Android, and AAC and MP3 for iOS. While stereo is supported, mono is recommended due to file size and other factors. Each file must be named as follows:

[Reader Name]_[3-digit card number]_[First verse = 1, Last verse = 2].[ogg,aac,mp3]

For example, the first verse of Inaba Shuji's "Arimayama" would be "Inaba Shuji_058_1.ogg," and the last verse of Yamashita Michiko's "Ogurayama" would be "Yamashita Michiko_026_2.ogg." However, please name the introductory verses "[Reader Name]_000_1.ogg" and "[Reader Name]_000_2.ogg." We recommend placing the first and first verses of the introductory verse in [Reader Name]_000_1.ogg, and the second verse of the introductory verse in [Reader Name]_000_2.ogg.

This means that there will be a total of (First verse + Last verse) x (100 poems + introductory verse) = 202 files.

*Note 1: A list of ticket numbers can be found [here].

*Note 3: It may be easier to use software that can batch convert file names, such as [Flexible Renamer].

3. Microphone Recording

First, start recording. Prepare a suitable microphone and audio editing software. We'll use the free software Audacity.

Figure 1: Starting Recording

Click the red circle to begin recording.

First, read the introductory verse, then read the 100 poems in numerical order.

When you're done recording, save it as a WAV file by selecting [File (F)] ⇒ [Export As (E) WAV...].

One hundred poems last approximately 30 minutes, so if you're using Mono/22050Hz/16-bit, the resulting WAV audio file should be approximately 75MB.

*Note: Please leave at least 5 seconds between the first and second verses, and between the second and first verses.

4. Noise Removal

Unless you have a very good recording environment, your resulting WAV audio file will likely contain noise.

Audacity has a noise removal function, so we'll use that.

First, select any part of the noise to teach the software what kind of sound is noise (Figure 2).

Next, select [Effects (c)] ⇒ [Noise Removal...]. The screen shown in Figure 3 will appear. Click [Get Noise Profile]. This will close the screen.

Figure 2: Selecting the Noise

Figure 3: Getting Noise Profile

Now that we know what kind of sound is noise, the software uses this information to remove it.

Select the entire audio file by selecting [Edit (E)] ⇒ [Select...] ⇒ [All (A)] (Figure 4).

Select [Effects (c)] ⇒ [Remove Noise...] again to display the screen shown in Figure 5. This time, click [Remove Noise] (Figure 5).

The noise will now be removed (Figure 6).

Figure 4: Select the range from which you want to remove noise.

Figure 5: Noise removal begins.

Figure 6: Noise removal complete.

5. Splitting by Silence

The resulting audio file is a single, large audio file, so it needs to be split into individual parts.

Audacity has a feature that detects and splits silence, so we'll use that.

*Note: Recent versions of Audacity have a feature called "Sound Finder," so you might want to use that instead. It's similar in usage.

Select the entire audio file, then click [Analyze] ⇒ [Silence Finder...]. The screen shown in Figure 7 will appear. Click OK.

[Silence Level: x] Consider sounds below -x decibels as silence.

[Minimum silence duration: y] Place a label after y seconds of silence.

[Place label: z] Place a label z seconds before the silence ends.

Then, "Label Track" will appear at the bottom, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 7: Silence Finder

Figure 8: Silence detected by a red label.

The file will be split based on this label, but if split as is, it will be split at the first and second verses of the introductory verse. Since we need both the first and first verses of the introductory verse ([Reader Name]_000_1.ogg), we must delete the labels between them.

Select the relevant section in the "Label Track" and then select [Edit (E)] ⇒ [Silence (S)] (Figure 9).

Figure 9: Deleting a detected label.

Select [File (F)] ⇒ [Export Multiple Files...] to display the screen shown in Figure 10. Enter the following settings.

Set "Export Format" to "Ogg Vorbis."

Check "Consecutive Numbering."

Enter the reader's name in "File Name Prefix."

Click "Export" and the audio will be split into multiple files named [Reader Name]-001.ogg to [Reader Name]-nnn.ogg.

Figure 10: Outputting Audio Files

The output file is in Ogg Vorbis format, so skip to the next section, "7. Convert to Ogg Vorbis."