Myoan Shakuhachi

Ray Brooks Shugyo

2012-02-06T16:22:00.000-06:00

Ray Brooks wrote a great book on the meditative quality of shakuhachi sound; particularly fascinating was a discipline practice undertaken as an ascetic path to realization called Shugyo. Ray undertook for 60 days a daily walk to the top of Mount Takao followed by several hours of shakuhachi playing. As the days grew shorter into November, his hands became very cold as he played, and a remarkable thing happened to him.

On these occasions, it was rare for a group of women to pass without stopping and holding my freezing hands in theirs, each taking turns and commenting on how cold mine were. This was the height of generosity, the sharing of warm hands with a stranger. --Blowing Zen p.170

After a long rainy spell where Ray was restricted to indoor playing, the weather cleared and Ray took another hike to Mount Takao where at noon he liked playing a duet with the noon temple bells.

At noon the main temple bell rang, and, as always, I played along with it. If my timing was right, it created an amazing atmosphere, as both my sound and the tolling of the bell blended and echoed across the valley.--p. 210

Statues atop Mt. Takao that kept Ray company.

Memento Light & Dark

2012-02-01T19:38:00.002-06:00

Circa 1910 shakuhachi shop.
Sign reads "Kinko Ryu shakuhachi. We teach you here. Home of teacher Shimizu."

18th Century Komuso Illustrations

2012-01-17T08:04:00.000-06:00

Katsukawa Shunshô 1775

Katsukawa Shunshô 1788

Katsukawa Shunshô c. 1780

Katsushika Hokusai 1796

Suzuki Harunobu 1768

Kitagawa Utamaro c. 1800

Illustrations and Examples of Antique Shakuhachi

2012-01-17T06:48:00.001-06:00

Ryûryûkyo Shinsai 1764–1820

Sunayama Gosei c. 1800

Matsumoto Museum Exhibit

2012-01-17T06:28:00.002-06:00

the pleasure of sheer being

2012-01-13T21:10:00.001-06:00

Koku Kyotaku for Tilo

2012-01-03T11:54:00.001-06:00

Tilo Kocho Empty Butterfly

A Future Shakuhachi Player

2011-12-22T05:01:00.001-06:00

beginning with tiny bubbles...

Shakuhachi like Golf

2011-12-04T10:37:00.001-06:00

My SenseiMori-san and I went golfing after a recent lesson under a beautiful blue autumn sky.

It reminded me a few years ago, MichaelChikuzen Gould once remarked outside a golf course that shakuhachiplaying is a lot like golf; keeping different sized clubs in bags, with concerns of stance, form, grip, a relaxed but focused technique, the holes...

(a zen-like ichionjobutsu hole-in-one approach)

Under the Bridge

2011-12-04T08:29:00.001-06:00

Riley Lee--Chikuho-ryu Notation

2011-12-04T08:16:00.001-06:00

The Fu-Ho-U Notation

Forest Chair Shakuhachi

2011-11-21T06:07:00.001-06:00

Rodrigo Rodriguez

KPL Free Shakuhachi Concert

2011-11-19T13:27:00.001-06:00

www.kpl.gov

Kalamazoo Public Library

Michael Chikuzen Gould

Free Shakuhachi Concert

Old Meiji 1.9 Gold Root Shakuhachi

2011-11-13T12:09:00.001-06:00

When I saw this distinctive flute on Jeff Cairn's beautifully designed Windwheel website, I recommemended it to my student Ken. It turned out to be a very nice instrument well-suited for the Taizan-ha repetoire.

A photo of the Meiji gold root 1.9 C# alongside my main 1.85 wide bore C# shakuhachi, coincidentally bought from the same Ebay seller in Japan who sold the Edo instrument that Perry photographed below alongside the gold root. Small world, shakuhachi.

Ken travelled to New York to meet with Perry Yung, and commissioned Perry to repair some slight cracks to the exterior of the instrument.

Perry shot these photos of the gold root 1.9 alongside a Seikado modern shakuhachi and an older Edo 1.8 in the shop at the same time for an utaguchi repair.

Ken enjoying the sound of my Edo period 1.7 shakuhachi.

An Original Edo Voice Restored: A Perry Yung Special Repair

2011-10-19T20:05:00.001-05:00

A 1.7 Edo period shakuhachi on Ebay that was represented by some blurry photos, and described as a sweet-toned flute before it had cracked after it had travelled from Kyoto to the drier climes of sunny Spain, was a relatively cheap buy. Yes, it was thoroughly cracked, but luckily the old bamboo closed completely after three days in a humid box. And after it was bound, the old flute played with a nice nuanced and dynamic tone with a sweet kan.

In the recent past, however, someone had added a brown paste covered with red urushi or lacquer at the top of the flute. And the original urushi in the bore was so old that it had become chipped and flaked. After several months of playing it, some of the recent urushi fell out and the flute became stuffy. I temporarily filled the gap with electrical tape, that almost worked, but something was missing, and more urushi was coming loose. I finally decided to send it off to Perry for repair.

Perry's initial appraisal was that this shakuhachi was most likely made by a Komuso monk. A Buddhist pilgrim would appreciate the water gourd hanko. Perry also felt some strong energy as it was played a lot by the maker or previous owners, the bamboo of the finger holes had been worn down by decades or even centuries of appreciative meditative playing...

Perry removed the recently added red urushi and paste, and the older flaking urushi in the rest of the bore. The top of the bore was widened slightly to increase the resonance of otsu Ro. There was a divot under the front of the ivory inlay and it was decided the best route was to coat the inlay with rubbed layers of shuai urushi for a cool translucent antique effect. Perry also gave the flute's bore a layer of new shuai to replicate the original layer of urushi it had when first made.

When I got the shakuhachi back (after it flew out on one of the last planes from NY before Hurricane Irene closed down all the airports for the weekend), there was an immediate response to the improved resonance and increased dynamics, surprises of nuanced tones leapt out from varying angles... As Perry put it; "Your old Edo 1.7 sounds really great now. It has an intimate yet lively feel, like many of the better-made, older and shorter flutes of the period. I believe this is how it probably first played for the original maker, before someone painted the other paint in the bore." Perry feels like I do, these Edo period flutes are kind of priceless, as they open a door to how another time sounded. Perry definitely brought this one back from an obscured past after his fine restoration... thanks so much, Perry! The sound of it now really sends me back!

Thanks for the free antique flute bag, too! A nice surprise....

The Articulated Embouchure

2011-10-19T20:04:00.002-05:00

Taizan student Ken Morrison visited Perry Yung in New York recently. While there, he was very impressed with Perry's workmanship and articulate presentation of the craft, and performance of the art of shakuhachi's living history.

Perry provided the following insights reprinted with permission in response to my embouchure questions via email:

"As for the different embouchures for the various schools, I will certainly need to write a book on this. This is no easy discussion; that's why I do not get into it on my blog entry. The main thing is that each school has a desirable sound - timbre - and those who are steeped in that school will find not only flutes that fit that sound, but will learn how to blow those instruments for that particular ballpark sound. What makes it difficult to write about is that there are endless variables in the individuality of instruments and teachers. (This is, of course, what makes it interesting to begin with!)

So everything I say is general. If I try to get specific, I can easily find an example to disprove what I am saying!

In Dokyoku, in the way it was shown to me through Kinya, there is an obvious musical arc to a piece of Honkyoku when performed. This means the player is aware of a specific journey that somehow moves from a beginning to an end, from loud to soft etc.... The player has to play dynamically and to do that he must use a wide variety of embouchures. The embouchure changes from inside blowing (uchi buki) to outside blowing (soto buki). Soft to loud. The lips have to constantly and minutely adjust to the changing velocity and the player has to understand the dynamic range. No other school uses Komi buki - big breath for an explosive, jolting sound. They also play into silence. The range is huge and is up to the player's ability.

In Kinko (Chikumeisha) from Ralph, the embouchure is somewhat static in comparison as the tone color and music stays more in a "mood" as opposed to an obvious dynamic journey with an arc. The tone color of Goro Yamaguchi constantly rides the overtones. And even when playing a melody, the notes move within the rich overtones. This requires the player's lips to be somewhat fixed. For me, this is the most difficult and closest to meditation (zen is not easy).

In Jin Nyodo's Kinko, this is not the case. Jin Nyodo's Kinko seems to be a little of Dokyoku and a little of Myoan. Not as dynamic as Dokyoku and without the sublime or elegant overtone that is a trait of the Chikumeisha Kinko. So the player's embouchure moves somewhat in between. Jin Nyoko's Kinko players do not have the same overtone core sound of Chikumeisha players.

In the Myoan pieces I learned from Nancy ( I chose to learn the basics to get a solid grasp from the very beginning - Kyorei, Choshi, Hi Fu Mi Cho and Hachigaeshi), I sense that the pure tone is more important. The pure tone meaning the fundamental note without the obvious Yamaguchi overtones or the constantly shifting Dokyoku embouchure. A wider, more relaxed embouchure produces a clearer fundamental. Once the lips bear down (as they do for Chikumeisha) they produce a higher velocity airstream, which produces the overtones. According to Nancy, the embouchure stays more open and farther away from the blowing edge. She pointed this out as my lips were rather tight and close for the Kinko overtone sound I was using. As the lessons progressed, she pulled out a photo of her first teacher's embouchure. That of Fukumoto Kyoan. It was as she described, wider, more relaxed and farther from the blowing edge. Nancy's sound was different from that of Kinya, Ralph and Keisuki Zenyoji (my Jin Nyodo teacher). Of course her flute was different, but her blowing style was consistent and her tone was clearly her own. She played different flutes through out our lessons for demonstration. Each time, she had her own sound. Which is something Kinya and Ralph has also. It takes many years to have this skill...(something I'm working on ;).

Again, this is just my impression of the differences in embouchures required for these schools. There are so many ways to play the flute. What blurs these distinctions are the gifted individual players of each school. Any great player will most likely say they use all the ranges of embouchure shapes regardless of the style of music they play.

True artists, or, seekers of truth will grow on their own unique path whether they like it or not. That's how all healthy art lives, traditional or not. Just my two cents!"

1,600 year old Embouchure

2011-10-16T08:21:00.000-05:00

Cave #46, a painting of a Buddhist Angel playing a shakuhachi-like instrument from the 4-5th century. From a set of 236 Buddhist rock-cut caves located near Kizil Township (克孜尔乡) in Baicheng County, Xinjiang, China. The site is located on the northern bank of the Muzat River 75 kilometres (by road) northwest of Kucha.This area was a commercial hub of the The Silk Road.
The caves are said to be the earliest major Buddhist cave complex in China, with development occurring between the 3rd and 8th centuries. Although the site has been both damaged and looted, at least 1000 square metres of wall paintings remain.

From the same area and period, a reliquary with an angel playing a shakuhachi-like flute, and a four string biwa still played in Japan today.

Ears through the Eyes/Eyes through the Ears

2011-10-10T06:09:00.001-05:00

It is true that the eyes dominate the ears in our time. --Karlheinz Stockhausen

A writer should write with his eyes and a painter paint with his ears. --Gertrude Stein

What should a musician do?

The world is never quiet, even its silence eternally resounds with the same notes, in vibrations which escape our ears. As for those that we perceive, they carry sounds to us, occasionally a chord, never a melody. --Albert Camus

Play your story...

Sakura

2011-10-06T03:06:00.005-05:00

Click Image for Stereoview Komusos (1934 or earlier)

2011-09-28T11:29:00.000-05:00

Hooded Habitants of the Komoso Temples Beg for Coins on the Streets of Japan

2011-09-25T10:20:00.002-05:00

TCB

2011-09-19T21:01:00.000-05:00

taking care of business

Sky Blast

2011-09-19T09:14:00.000-05:00

the flutes of sakai shodo

2011-09-19T07:01:00.000-05:00

sakai shodo learned the taizan-ha repetoire from myoan-ji abbott koizumi ryoan, successor to tanikita muchiku.

life through the kindness of the shakuhachi

2011-09-18T15:15:00.001-05:00

Taizan-ha Brothers

2011-09-16T08:29:00.001-05:00

Tempus Fugit

2011-09-10T06:34:00.000-05:00

2011-09-10T06:31:00.004-05:00

Sketches

2011-09-10T06:27:00.000-05:00

Doors

2011-09-10T06:21:00.001-05:00

Francis Wong Prepares for Shanghai Stories

2011-09-01T21:29:00.000-05:00

Maestro Wong adjusts his flute before today's performance at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The inspiration for Shanghai Stories; Francis's Mom and Dad.

Myoanji Komuso

2011-09-01T06:20:00.000-05:00

Prague Shakuhachi Festival

2011-08-26T05:08:00.000-05:00

Currently in progress

Sakai Shodo

Shikyoku Ichiban

Shika no Tone

Tsuru no Sugomori

Ryu Hei

Komuso Postcard 1930s

2011-08-21T21:54:00.001-05:00

Zenpo Plays Several Old Jinashi

2011-08-20T20:04:00.001-05:00

Follow link
http://kcroom.digital-sensation.jp/#

Hayashi Kogetsu Brief History

2011-08-19T17:53:00.007-05:00

It is said that Matano Shinryu (1791-1861) was the first teacher of Hayashi Kogetsu (birth date?-1905). Kogetsu started a shakuhachi maker school. He had a good connection with founder Higuchi Taizan and made shakuhachi for him and his students. Hayashi Kogetsu made shakuhachi for the Taizan school only. In Fuke magazine from 1940 Tanikita Muchiku mentions that Hayashi Kogetsu lived around Kyoto, close to Taizan's house. Hayashi Kogetsu also owned a grocery store.

The founding players concurrent with the great makers of the period.

Some examples of the great makers' flutes on display at the Hamamatsu Museum in the Shizuoka prefecture in Yushin's vicinity.

There were several classifications that Taizan stamped into Kogetsu's shakuhachi.

"Tofuku Myoan Taizan" was the highest rank.

"Myoan Taizan" was the middle rank.

"Taizan" was the lowest rank.

The rarest and most valued shakuhachi have the "Tofuku Myoan Taizan" stamp with illustrations and sometimes Chinese kanji, too.

The following photos are of the rarest and valued classification of Kogetsu antique shakuhachi, one of which was sold on a Japanese Yahoo auction last year 2010.

The Kogestu Hanko

Two examples of authenticated Kogetsu hanko collected by Dr. Inagaki. He owned a great number of rare jinashi, many of which after his passing were sold to the musical instrument museum.

From John Singer's website; "Kogetsu Hayashi was the leading Myoan maker of his time. This extremely rare shakuhachi is one of his best instruments. It has great body and clarity of tone. The balance and ease of response are superb. Higuchi Taizan (founder of the current Myoan style) used instruments made by Kogetsu. (Private collection)."

An example of a conterfeit Kogetsu hanko!

An example of a hanko that is possibly fake.

Another example of a possibly fake Kogetsu hanko.

Kogetsu also used two other hanko early in his career:

秋草 Autumn Grass

and

水辺 Water Wedge

Myoanji Snow

2011-08-18T11:43:00.000-05:00

Remembrance

2011-08-18T11:38:00.000-05:00

Tengu Festival; Komuso with Shakuhachi

2011-07-24T06:00:00.003-05:00

Tengu (天狗, "heavenly dogs") are a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They are one of the best known yōkai (monster-spirits) and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami (revered spirits or gods). Although they take their name from a dog-like Chinese demon (Tiangou), the tengu were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey, and they are traditionally depicted with both human and avian characteristics. The earliest tengu were pictured with beaks, but this feature has often been humanized as an unnaturally long nose, which today is practically the tengu's defining characteristic in the popular imagination.

Buddhism long held that the tengu were disruptive demons and harbingers of war. Their image gradually softened, however, into one of protective, if still dangerous, spirits of the mountains and forests. Tengu are associated with the ascetic practice known as Shugendō, and they are usually depicted in the distinctive garb of its followers, the yamabushi.

Kyotaku Lineage

2011-07-23T16:35:00.000-05:00

Tani Kyochiku

Koku Nishimura

Agar Kyosui Noiri

1) Tuning
The way of kyotaku tuning is not like the way of Shakuhachi tuning.
The way of Shakuhachi tuning makes exact pitch, with adjusting the length of the flute, with adjusting the diameter of the inside flute.
On the other hand The case of Kyotaku , the flute is just one piece , no way to adjust the length, no way to adjust the diameter of the inside flute.
So, even same 2.6 length kyotakus makes different pitches.
But you will be able to manage to adjust the pitches when you play with someone together.
2) How to play ?
Compared with Shakuhachi, Kyotaku is more long, more fat,and much more big volume.
If you play kyotaku like the way of Shakuhachi, You will make only superficial light sound .
Slow and steady breath makes vibrate the big bamboo more efficiently.
Sometimes I saw retouched kyotakus by someone who didn’t know how to play with it.
It is difficult to fix again. You have to know the difference between Kyotaku and Shakuhachi.
3)Rot number ( 4 numbers)
The numbers showing the length of kyotaku.
Example, 2640 showing 2.64 = 2 shaku 6 sun 4 bu.

It Coulda Been an Enso

2011-07-10T17:45:00.002-05:00

Large Bore 2.9 Shakuhachi with Honshu Red Urushi from Meijiro--goes on bright orange red and darkens to a deep red.

Background bamboo--Fargesia Rufa (preferred panda food source) Zone 5 Chicago, insulated last Winter with a 4 foot styrofoam box. Next winter will have to try a thermal blanket, it's growing too big...

Backgound bamboo--Phylostachys Bissetti. Zone 5 Chicago, no insulation needed, roots survive to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit ground temperature. 15 feet high in six years from a small plant.

Black Urushi and Brown Shuai Urushi on the roots, a turpentine and shuai wash on the lower nodes. A perfect Summer day for curing the natural poison sumac laquer on a screened porch, 90 degree heat, high humidity, no wind, no dust.

2.6 Jinashi with several coats of shuai urushi, glass finish, streak are reflections of sky. Background Bamboo--Phyllostachys Nuda. Zone 5 Chicago, no insulation needed.

Edo culture: daily life and diversions in urban Japan, 1600-1868

2011-07-04T05:53:00.000-05:00

Inside Outside

2011-07-03T16:35:00.003-05:00

Long after man has forgotten such words as Zen and Buddha, satori and koan, China and Japan and America, still the search will go on, still Zen will be seen even in flowers and grass-blades before the sun.

Yoshinobu Taniguchi Plays Jo-un

2011-07-03T07:38:00.004-05:00

Carved in Wood

2011-07-03T07:36:00.001-05:00

Carved in Stone

2011-07-01T11:50:00.000-05:00

Happy Summer Solstice Zuihou 54

2011-06-21T21:01:00.001-05:00

Longest Day of the Year.
Temple of More Light than Dark

Kyozan-bo group visits the Abbott at Hoshin-ji, Tokyo. The shakuhachi program played was

1)Ken Ko San

2)Hi Fu Mi Hachigaeshi

3)Ekosan

4) Murasaki no Kyoku

Intermission

5)Uji

6)San'Ya

7) Kyo San'Ya

8)Yoshiya

9)Ryugin Koku

10)Choshi & Mukaiji

Chidori!

Waterfall by artist with Chinese poem written by Tominomori Kyozan with his stamp.

Hoshin-ji

Flutes of Distinction: Ogawa Nando 1.9 Shakuhachi

2011-06-20T06:45:00.002-05:00

Outstanding Kinko Shakuhachi made by Ogawa Nando, deshi of Miura Kindo. A kodaka (vertical oval) profile, deep big open sound, rough finish jiari, 11-10 proportion holes.

SHAKUHACHI MASTERS (KANTO REGION) 1933 THE 8TH YEAR OF THE SHOWA PERIOD

From Bottom right going up and around:

Tsugawa Keizan, Miyauchi Taido, Teshigahara Kodo, Uchida Kakufu, Takayama Yuzan Abe Kozan, Ozawa Koun, Yoshizawa Dodo, Takutami Fuzan, Notomi Judo, Kusano Tatsuji, Kishi Seiho, Fukuda Rando, Yoshida Seifu, Yasaka Reizan, Seki Wado, Ogawa Nando, Yamaguchi Shiro, Shindo Kodo, Momose Hodo, Sumikawa Yodo, Zangetsudo Tekkan, Kimura Yusai, Nakamura Tsukan, Araki Baibyoku (IV), Ogino Seiun, Murase Chikugai, Shimokawa Sensei, Hirokado Reifu, Kagami Fumio, Takayama Kindo, Kurakawa Sensei, Tanaka Shosei, Ozawa Kosuke, Konishi Shozan,

Top: Right to Left

Aoki Reibo (Seizo), Kawase Junsuke (1), Nakao Tozan, Araki Kodo (III), Inoue Shigemi

Jo-un with Maki

2011-06-19T15:52:00.002-05:00

Shakuhachi made by Tomomasa Gakudo (岳童友正), early 20th century. Gold leaf urushi painted by an official artisan of the imperial family.

The Curve of the Back

2011-06-19T09:42:00.003-05:00

Traditional Meanings of the Shakuhachi Holes

2011-06-19T08:36:00.000-05:00

1.7 Edo Shakuhachi

2011-06-11T16:40:00.002-05:00

utaguchi
horizontal 34mm O.D., 20mm I.D.
vertical 30mm O.D., 21mm I.D.

close-filed root
horizontal 46mm O.D., 19mm I.D.
vertical 40mm O.D., 19 mm I.D.

holes are 10mm long by 9mm wide, and all are undercut.

length 51 cm.

The average height of an Edo (1603–1867) period Japanese man was 5 feet tall.

Interesting hanko: the pilgrim's water gourd.

The hanko also has the shape of the Buddha.

Whatever the reason, the average height of the Japanese increased gradually over the space of 10,000 years up to the sixth century, but then it strangely began to decrease again. The average height of people in the Edo Period (1603–1867) was 156 centimeters for men, and 145 centimeters for women, about the same as for the people of the middle Jomon. What on earth could have caused this?
Population density was the most likely culprit: Once people began farming in earnest, the population increased dramatically. Particularly from Japan's medieval period onwards, people began to gather in cities, and as suitable new land for farming became scarce, food shortages emerged. Sanitary conditions also deteriorated, and the physique of the populace suffered as a result.

Antonio Enzan Olias and Etsuzan Fujiyoshi

2011-06-10T18:00:00.008-05:00

Planetary Harmonics & Neurobiological Resonances

At the Shinjuku Bunka Center, Antonio Enzan Olias plays an Edo period shakuhachi made by Chikujin, and Etsuzan Fujiyoshi plays a shakuhachi made by his Sensei Takahashi Kuzan (1900-1986) These are both 1.8s pitched in C#. Higuchi Taizan's main flute was also a C#. My teacher Morimasa Seisui Horiuchi prefers the 1.8 C# and has two fine examples, including a two stamp shakuhachi made by his teacher Tomimori Kyozan. Tanikita Muchiku also favored the C# as many other great Masters of the Myoan lineages.... My favorite flute is also a 1.8 C#, and Mori-san and I predominantly play this pitch 90% of the time in lessons, after an occasional break with 1.8s or shorter, pitched in D.

Why this preference for C#? It is said the Consciousness Chakra resonates with the musical pitch of C#, verbalized as OM. The sound of OM connects us to the universe in a very real way. OM is derived from the Earth’s rotation around the sun. It takes 1 year, or 31556935.97 seconds, for the earth to complete one cycle of rotation. If frequency is cycles per second, you get 1/31556935.97; the portion of a year that exists in one second. The frequency of C# is at 136.1 Hz, OM. Many have said shakuhachi is the sound of Earth. It's interesting to see the pitch reflected in the orbit sound of our planet, from the the roundness of the root, the endless enso of the bore, taking the listener in its grounded sound circling through the space of OM

Donate

2011-06-05T11:14:00.000-05:00

2011-06-05T06:54:00.001-05:00

Tradition in a Sea of Change

2011-06-05T06:49:00.000-05:00

Russian Shakuhachi

2011-06-05T05:52:00.000-05:00

Players with Shakuhachi

2011-05-29T09:58:00.005-05:00

Fighter with Shakuhachi

Accept change in tradition.

Monks

2011-05-29T09:46:00.001-05:00

Malott Japanese Garden Children's Festival

2011-05-22T08:14:00.002-05:00

2011-05-22T07:20:00.001-05:00

Deep in the Mountains of Nara

2011-05-20T13:04:00.000-05:00

Murou-ji

komuso in oils

2011-05-20T12:57:00.000-05:00

Watazumi Doso Roshi Zen Mountain Monastery 1983‏

2011-05-14T16:39:00.000-05:00

When the shakuhachi master Watazumi Doso visited the Monastery some twenty years ago, he did play the iron flute with no holes. He was an amazing student and teacher of the bamboo flute who regarded it not as a musical instrument but a “breathing tool.” He was a bit crazy and very delightful, gruff but with a real sense of humor. We took him on a tour of the grounds when he got here. There was a plumber working at the bathhouse, pieces of galvanized pipe lying all around. Watazumi Doso picked up a five-foot section and started playing it. He had a melody and a whole range of tones coming out of the pipe. But is that expressing the inexpressible?
What is the unobscured clear original person and where is it to be found? What is the soundless sound of the stringless lute? There’s a truth that precedes sound and there’s an intuitive perception that follows. Before the sound even happens, the truth is present. And it is intuitively grasped. In the buddhadharma, this is called intimate talk or intimate sound, that is, expression that can be recognized and understood even though it has no sound. However, we should appreciate that although there is no sound, it cannot be said that it is silent. For this is not a matter that exists in the realm of dualities. It’s non-dual.

Although there is no sound, it cannot be called silent. It can’t be called silent because it communicates. We can’t even say it communicates in the usual sense because nothing comes from the outside. There is no outside. That’s the way the buddhadharma is transmitted. You already have it—all of it. That is why you can’t obtain it. It needs to be discovered; it needs to be realized. When that really happens, it doesn’t arise from all of the skillful means—discourses, face-to-face teaching, liturgy. It just emerges out of your own being. You suddenly see that it has always been there. You are born with it and you go to your grave with it. Some may realize it and some may not, but the fact is, it’s there. Not just a part of it, not one side of it—the whole thing.

Soon after we established Zen Mountain Monastery—then the Zen Arts Center—I invited Watazumi Doso for an extended stay as a master in residence. Doso, a master of the bamboo flute, was esteemed as a Japanese national treasure. One weekend Doso was teaching a workshop, and a rather puffed-up philosophy professor and long-time bamboo flute aficionado arrived at the Monastery. The professor brought out a very expensive and highly polished bamboo flute. Dramatically bowing to Doso, he said a little too loudly, “Please teach me.” The translator relayed the message. Doso grumbled something in Japanese. The translator responded in Japanese to Doso. Back and forth they went several times until Doso’s voice became gruff and demanding. The translator then turned to the professor and said, “The master said he will teach you… ‘Take the bamboo flute and hit yourself on the head with it.’” Before the professor had an opportunity to react, Doso began talking again. The translator continued, “The master says, if you don’t want to hit yourself on the head, hand the flute over to him and he’ll do it for you.”

Our state of consciousness is revealed by our presence, before anything else. We can’t hide it by being silent or by avoiding interaction. We see the same sort of exposure in Herrigel’s book Zen and the Art of Archery, where he describes how he was constantly “seen” by his master. These days, when we conduct retreats in Kyudo at the Monastery, Master Shibata’s piercing eye reads students well before they even get anywhere near a bow. Being able to see a student is an important part of the teachings, and it informs the way instructions are given. But it doesn’t just happen in Zen. When the sound of a flute is off, everyone in the audience can hear it. Even the uninformed can feel the disharmony.

Going beyond that, can we hear the subtle differences between, let’s say, a master violinist and a highly developed practitioner? I can’t. To me, a first violinist sounds superb, and I can’t tell the difference between him and a maestro. When it comes to Zen, we’re talking about even more profound subtleties. It’s not about performing, but rather about everyday human interactions. It’s about how we combust our lives.

The next line in the commentary says, In walking, talking, asking, and answering, illumination and function must be simultaneously manifest. There is the outward behavior, and then there is what is happening inside. There is driving a car, growing a garden, holding a child. In each of these activities, is there self-centeredness, or is there selflessness?

The next line says, Provisional and real are not two. The real is the absolute basis of reality. The provisional is the world of differences, the myriad things. The truth is a single reality; it doesn’t fall into one side or the other. The matter cannot be avoided—it was this way in ancient times. When you look at it, it’s clear that human nature hasn’t changed in thousands of years. The delusion of two thousand years ago is the delusion of today. How we process it may be slightly different, but it’s still there.

Imitation and self-styled Zen fills the skies and covers the countryside. This is monkey-see, monkey-do Zen. These days it’s monkey-read, monkey-do Zen. We think we can get the truth out of a book. The market is filled with Zen recipe books. You do this, you do that, and you become enlightened. Do we really think we can learn liturgy from a book? Or how to play the flute, nock an arrow, paint a picture, dance a dance? We can’t. We can only do it by practicing under the guiding eye of someone who has been there before.

As for self-styled Zen, in the land of the blind, a person with one eye is king. People see a little bit, and they figure they got it. We don’t know what we don’t know. At eighteen years of age, I definitely had the answers to all sorts of problems. And if anyone was willing to listen, I would tell them about it. However, the commentary says, if you are a clear-eyed person, you can’t be fooled one bit. Being clear-eyed is having the awakened eye, the piercing, penetrating eye that can discern the subtleties.

In order to guide people through the forest of brambles, the marvelous functioning and unconditioned compassion of an adept is required. That marvelous functioning—also called the great functioning—happens after we’ve let go of the notion of a self, after we’ve become free of our restrictive habit patterns and our mind has merged with thusness. “Great functioning” is also used to describe the functioning of the universe itself, because when the self is forgotten, the universe is all there is. It also means the fully awakened human potential that functions outside of fixed patterns.

The consequence of this great functioning is unconditioned compassion. Once you realize that you are the universe, there’s no way you can avoid taking care of it.

The Call of the Crane

2011-05-09T06:52:00.000-05:00

Returning the Bowl

2011-05-09T06:47:00.001-05:00

Temple Ground

2011-05-09T05:10:00.000-05:00

Shakuhachi Seien-ryu honkyoku Nishizono studying under Yuu Mori 延 Messrs. Umeyama Hitoshi songs 玉堂 book Prussian Hamamatsu Ootera Tsutae Tokoro (Nishizono first), head of family tradition at the school as a student center is independent of hereditary Nagoya and has become a name in the footsteps of the current VI. Traditional songs 11 songs

Suzuki Takamiti contrasting pro-versus later disciple mountain (mountain versus Higuchi)

Japanese traditional Bamboo flute secluded cliff vs dark mountain Kondo kondo yuugai ー current school tradition Nishizono (Myoan)

Fuke's Bell

2011-05-09T04:56:00.001-05:00

Dark Current versus Traditional Mountain School Nishizono (Myoan)

2011-05-09T04:47:00.000-05:00

Higuchi Taizan's Shakuhachi

2011-05-05T05:13:00.008-05:00

MAN

MOUNTAIN

Higuchi Taizan Hanko

TOU FUKU MYO AN TAIZAN

Inscription branded into the back of Taizan's shakuhachi. Tou Fuku is an area around Myoan-ji.

This 1.9 I Shaku Kyu Sun was Higuchi Taizan's favored shakuhachi. Ownership was transmitted as follows:
1) Higuchi Taizan
2) Miyagawa Nyozan
3) Mishima Jyosui
4) Current owner discretion on request.

The Eye of the Spotted Leopard

2011-04-22T10:46:00.002-05:00

obvious bamboo unparalleled aesthetic beauty

A hybrid nobekan Hochiku-Jiari?

gold-lined ivory myoan utaguchi

hanko

Phyllostachys bambusoides Sieb. et Zucc. f. lacrima-deae Keng f.et Wen

phyllostachys bambusoides f. Lacrima-deae

dizi made from mottled madake (Keng strain)

.から紙のもようになるや蠅の屎

karakami no moyô ni naru ya hae no kuso

the sliding door's

decorative pattern...

fly shit

--Issa 1823

Tomimori Kyozan 35th Passing Memorial May 22, 2011

2011-04-11T18:18:00.000-05:00

Tomimori Kyozan born 1899-died 1975.

Sound Transcendant

2011-04-11T05:16:00.003-05:00

On Your Journey

2011-04-10T08:32:00.001-05:00

with the rooted sounds of shakuhachi.

The Blind Flute Player

2011-04-01T06:02:00.003-05:00

With his wife and child--playing shakuhachi for alms in old Japan circa 1915-1923

Experiment In Tone Comparison For Shakuhachi Materials‏

2011-03-26T21:00:00.005-05:00

Two Shin-Sei Shakuhachi crafted by Colyn Petersen in light eastern red cedar wood and dense heavy purpleheart wood with identical bore profiles. All wood surfaces equally coated with waxed shellac. Myoan Taizan-ha Honkyoku Choshi played by Sensei Morimasa Horiuchi to compare the tonal qualities of each wood. More details, sound and video file links here at:

http://forums.fluteportal.com/index.php?showtopic=6799

Hear for yourself to determine the material issue.

Ukiyo-e Shakuhachi

2011-03-20T11:43:00.003-05:00

An okodate or chivalrous commoner brandishes his shakuhachi flute at the beginning of a brawl. He wears one sword, as distinguished from a samurai's two. Young men like this tried to protect commoners from the abuses of arrogant samurai and often became folk heroes.

Otodake

Kinoshita Hironobu c.1855

Upper right cartouche framed by a pair of sandals, a shakuhachi flute, a towel, a pipe case and tobacco case, and a sword.

Chivalrous Commoners

Five Chivalrous Commoners and Sake Casks

Kunichika (1835 - 1900)

Okabe in Suruga The Monster of the Cat Temple

Otokodate in a Puppy Kimono

Rogue with Dragon Kimono

Samurai Visiting a Courtesan

Self-defense with shakuhachi

Toyokuni Kunisada Shakuhachi Flute Defense

After many indecisive skirmishes with the enemy, one night Zi Fang climbed to a mountain overlooking the enemy camp. He played melodies on the flute from the enemy's home province of Chu. He played so sweetly that the warriors were drawn to tears. Tired of fighting, 6000 of the 8000 man force gave up and left for home. The general of the opposing forces realized the futility of fighting on and surrendered.

Empty Spaces

2011-03-20T11:15:00.001-05:00

Jin Nyodo 1891-1966

2011-03-20T09:57:00.000-05:00

1923

Small Boat with Komuso

2011-03-19T06:54:00.000-05:00

Kobe Street Players, early 20th c.

2011-03-19T06:53:00.001-05:00

Prayers for the Faceless

2011-03-18T17:39:00.001-05:00

Shakuhachi Distant Healing Work

2011-03-13T19:26:00.004-05:00

Message from Kiku Day:
Tomorrow, Monday 14 March at 7 am Greenwich Mean Time, the Shakuhachi Distant Healing Group will play for the earthquake victims, their families and friends. You can join us by calculating what time to play - depending on where you are.
The Shakuhachi Distant Healing group plays together and sends out healing every Monday. If you want to join you can email Stephanie Hiller and she will add you to the group. She sends members a list of people to send healing to each week.

Stephanie's email: stephaniehiller9 [at - to be replaced by@] yahoo.co.uk

The Shakuhachi Distant Healing Group founders have written guidelines on how to do the healing. I will paste it below.
I hope as many of you will join!

Message from Stephanie Hiller:
Thanks to those of you who have already contacted me about wishing to join the shakuhachi distant healing group, we welcome new members at any time. The group has been going now for c5 years and we blow every morning (not just on Mondays), with members joining in when they can. If 7am is not practical for you, you can choose to blow at another time.

Please do contact me if you require any further information, or to add names to the list (you do not need to be a healing group member to do this): stephanie hiller9 [at] yahoo.co.uk
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Guidelines for Shakuhachi Distant Healing Work
Read the following in full before you begin, going through each step in your mind as you do. It is easier not to follow a list of instructions as you are actually performing the healing, so try to remember the steps as far as possible and don’t worry if you miss some out – getting the main jist is sufficient.

• Make the sure the room you are using is warm and that you are able to sit comfortably and undisturbed for the duration.

• Sit however is comfortable – on a chair, or the floor and have a clock in view.

• Have the list of those to receive healing in front of you where you can easily see it and have your shakuhachi ready on your lap or in front of you.

• Close your eyes and take 3 deep, slow breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. With each out breath, imagine all tension draining from your body
and sinking into the earth.

• Become aware of the room you are in. Imagine that the room is surrounded by a protective bubble of energy which keeps you safe and separate from the rest of the
world.

• Be aware of yourself at the centre of this bubble, calm, still and focused.

• Reflect on the healing work you are about to do – the sounds you produce set up a vibration in the atmosphere. Your intention will fill these vibrations with healing energy which you will send out through a funnel in the top of your bubble to each of the people on the list.

• When you feel ready, pick up your shakuhachi and take another couple of deep slow breaths to prepare yourself.

• Fingering Ro, as you start to play, imagine you are bringing the sound up from the depths of the earth.

• Bring the sound gradually into being – starting with just the whisper/ suggestion of a note (perhaps breath only with no discernable note).

• Eventually, the note itself will appear and as you play the next note, visualise a funnel opening up the bubble above your head, through which you will send the healing vibrations.

• Now open your eyes gently, just enough to see the names on the healing list, and read each name in your mind as you continue to play.

• As you read each name, visualise the healing sound vibrations travelling through the atmosphere to that person, circling around them, mingling with their energy,

helping them to heal. If you know the reason for their healing request visualise their specific healing taking place.

• When you have worked your way to the bottom of the list, gradually fade the sound away to nothing again and imagine it returning to the earth.

• Place your shakuhachi back down in front of you and start to become gradually aware of your surroundings again.

• Imagine the bubble gradually dispersing into the air. Become aware of the chair or floor beneath you and, when you are ready, slowly open your eyes.

• Spend a few minutes thinking over your experiences and maybe write them up in a shakuhachi healing diary.

Earthquake Relief

2011-03-13T06:49:00.011-05:00

The first thing on most peoples' minds after they heard the news of the horrific March 11th earthquake/tsunami/radiation disaster in Japan is, what can I do to help?

Even if you're thousands of miles away, there are several ways that you can offer your support to the relief effort. Here are a few ways to help:

The Red Cross: The Japanese Red Cross has already deployed 11 national disaster response teams to respond to the crisis but you can support their efforts by donating money. Similar to their efforts to help Haiti after the earthquake in 2010, Red Cross is accepting donations either online or via text message. Simply text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 from your phone (you'll be prompted to confirm with a second text reading YES).

https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&5052.donation=form1&df_id=5052

Shelterbox: The UK-based organization has 18 international affiliates and it has launched an online fundraiser for the earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. Shelterbox provides assistance to afflicted countries by delivering large utility boxes that contain a shelter and other emergency relief tools. To donate online, simply go to your country's site and click DONATE.

https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/ShelterBoxUSAInc/OnlineGiving.html

International Medical Corps: To donate to this global non-profit's Emergency Response Efforts fund, simply go to their site and select the amount you wish to donate (be sure to note if you want your donation to be a "recurring gift" for future relief efforts) and fill in your information.

https://www.internationalmedicalcorps.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=1967

GlobalGiving.org: Working with other organizations such as the International Medical Corps, D.C.-based organization GlobalGiving has launched the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund, which will give aid to on the ground organizations providing emergency services. They are accepting donations online with a funding goal of $90, 000.

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/japan-earthquake-tsunami-relief/

Convoy of Hope: This non-profit focuses on disaster relief efforts and you can donate either online at their site or via text message by texting TSUNAMI to 50555 (you'll also be prompted to confirm with a follow up text of YES).

https://donate.convoyofhope.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=419

Salvation Army: The Japan branch of the Salvation Army has been working in Tokyo to offer shelter to stranded commuters and they are reportedly organizing a team to send to Sendai Friday night. They also have their Hawaii branch standing by, ready to help. You can help their relief efforts by texting JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to make a $10 donation.

https://www.facebook.com/SalvationArmyUSA

Back to Earth

2011-03-10T04:55:00.006-06:00

        In early spring,
Walking around the garden,
       And not going out of the gate.
                                                              --Kyoshi

Shin-Sei Shakuhachi

2011-03-06T10:23:00.003-06:00

Beautiful wood shakuhachi crafted by Colyn Peterson of Shin-Sei Shakuhachi in Omaha. The bore profile is modeled on one of Masayuki Koga's favorite 1.8s that he used for recordings beginning in the 1970's...

The light eastern red cedar at 198.8 grams and the heavy dense purpleheart at 369.6 grams. These identical shaped bores will be contrasted as Morimasa Horiuchi plays each in an experiment to determine how a material's density may affect tonal quality.

Koku Nishimura Remembered

2011-03-05T18:08:00.000-06:00

2011-03-05T17:59:00.002-06:00

Suddenly Upon Hearing the Forum Was Closed

2011-03-05T17:54:00.007-06:00

...a profound gratitude to Mujitsu Ken and Tairaku Brian for their great sense of instruction and entertainment which they provided and fostered on the Shakuhachi Forum

...and a deep sense of loss and unease to see something so useful to so many abruptly depart.

In honor of the memory and spirit of community, a long full bow and a song played on a 2.0 Mujitsu hanko shakuhachi.

And so it may never be known, who was the dadaist construct Horst Xenmeister and did he really believe in the cast bore?

Yet another Komuso mystery for the ages to ponder. R.I.P.B.B.Q.

End of story?

2011-03-04T11:40:00.000-06:00

Winter In Myoanji

2011-03-04T11:36:00.000-06:00

Winter Passing

2011-02-28T08:41:00.006-06:00

The first snow;

Sounding it out,

The moon over the bamboos.

--Buson

February Chicago 2 shaku snowstorm

Mori-san's snowshoe tracks

Listening intently to the storm

We hear a thousand and one

Different sounds.

--Shiki (1894)

Full Circle

2011-02-28T08:11:00.000-06:00

Autumn Retreat

2011-02-28T08:05:00.000-06:00

streetprayer

2011-02-27T08:18:00.001-06:00

2011-02-22T20:00:00.001-06:00

ukiyo-e

2011-02-22T19:57:00.000-06:00

Ichiro Hara Maki

2011-02-22T09:44:00.000-06:00

2011-02-21T05:26:00.001-06:00

Timeless

2011-02-20T02:55:00.000-06:00