Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Hi,
  What style of shakuhachi do you play? The Tozan Ryu has a formal testing system that may allow you to just show up for the jun-shihan tests and other levels. The Australian Shakuhachi Association also offers certificates, but I have a feeling most places will only allow you to test if you have studied under one of their teachers and/or are familiar with their school's style.
Does your teacher think you are not ready to test yet or does he not have the power to grant you a level test?
Another thing you may want to think about is if you really need to be assigned a level. Many great professional players have no official certificate stating what rank they are at, nor do there schools even offer such levels. There sound speaks for them. 
I guess it's similar to the martial arts in a way. There are karate schools that believe in assigning colors for different ranks, which they feel provides a motivation for students to continue their practice. Other schools such as aikido or iaido sword arts do not feel the need for any formal symbols to show people.

-Josh

Hi Austroshak,

That's an interesting question that you posed about testing for levels.  As Josh mentioned, the ranking system is similar in a way to the martial arts...the ranking levels shoden, chuden, okuden as compared with shodan, nidan, sandan etc.  Karate and even martial arts from countries other than Japan such as the Tae Kwon Do (Korea) and Bando (Burma) give colors for the ranks below black belt, and though iaido and aikido generally don't, aikido gives tests and certificates from 5th kyu to 1st kyu leading up to shodan (1st degree black belt rank) while in iaido (in kendo renmai at least) and jodo (art of the jo staff), 1st kyu sometimes is just a formality while shodan requires the first actual testing (writing and the performance of kata).  The whole system of giving belts was an idea first proposed by Jigoro Kano, who developed judo from various ju-jitsu systems in the latter half of the 19th century, and from judo the ranking system was taken and applied to various other martial arts.  Until recently, many Chinese martial arts didn't give belts or certificates and a master would simply acknowledge his student's ability when he thought the student had sufficiently mastered his teachings.  In recent years even some of the Chinese arts have started using the belt system, with one of the most popular tai chi styles being taught here in Japan having adopted the whole ranking and testing system from the Japanese arts, in addition to the sportive tournaments.   

In the shakuhachi world Tozan seems to have the most standardized scheme of testing, with listening, writing, and playing components, and it's the same test wherever you take it in Japan.  Concerning foreign masters of shakuhachi, John Kaizan Neptune took his license with the Tozan school before branching off to do his own thing; several of the other top level foreign players such as Christopher Blaesdel, David Wheeler, Ronnie Seldin, and Riley Lee earned their shihan licenses with branches of Kinko and in the case of Lee, with Chikuho ryu.  Alcvin Ramos and others have been given shihan certification by Yokoyama Katsuya (who leads a branch of Kinko but perhaps goes beyond Kinko as his school carries on Watazumi Dozo's unique legacy and as the KSK has been one of the key players in introducing shakuhachi to the world outside of Japan).  The branch of Kinko to which I belong, Chikudosha, has the shoden, chuden, and okuden levels but we don't having ranking tests per se; once you have completed a certain repertoire of pieces to the sensei's satisfaction, then you are given a ranking, subject to approval by your sensei's teachers, and if you complete the next series of more and more technically demanding pieces you are given the next ranking.  Our gaikyoku pieces use a notation (called shirofu, and primarily used by Domon kai and Chikudo sha, two branches of Kinko) which slightly differs from the more commonly used aofu notation (Kawase branch), and our honkyoku notation differs slightly from other styles, so it wouldn't be possible to test in our ryu without having studied under one of our teachers as one probably wouldn't even have access to the notation otherwise.  It's a new situation now with people studying on their own and with foreign masters of the instrument developing their own testing systems outside of Japan, so I imagine we'll see various new developments over the next few years if shakuhachi continues to increase in popularity.  Riley Lee and Alcvin Ramos both seem to have developed their own systems for testing students in their respective countries, but I don't believe there is as yet any testing preparation system one can access over the Internet, unless there is something on Tozan in the Japanese language.  I'm guessing that Ronnie Seldin's shakuhachi dojo in New York has probably graduated more students to the master's level than any of the other shakuhachi schools based overseas as it has been around longer than any of the others; I'm sure they must have the requirements for their levels posted somewhere on the Internet; perhaps you could find more information by accessing the International Shakuhachi Society website.  (P.S.  If you wouldn't mind answering several questions I ask in a post in the Pieces section of this forum on how students are learning traditional pieces, have a look at that; I'm interested in how players living in foreign countries are going about learning the traditional pieces, especially those without access to a regular teacher)

Tom Deaver website has some info

http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~shaku100/prnk.html

Before embarking on a license representing one school, make sure you are clear about what style you would like to achieve this in. Each school has its own distinct style that you must strive to make. Listen to many players and styles, then decide which touches you most. Then make plans to study and learn this style. If you happen to like the sound of the player who is non-Japan trained, then licenses are not an issue. But most Japanese styles have a certificate system. Unfortunately, most of these can only be achieved in Japan. I represent Kenshukan (Katsuya Yokoyama) style outside of Japan and have certification levels which have been approved by my teachers in Japan. But you must study quite regularly with me or teachers in our lineage to master the proper technique and expression to complete these levels. I give long distance lessons via internet if you are interested in pursuing this any further. Please contact me directly if you have any questions.

Alcvin
ramos@dccnet.com
bamboo-in.com

philipgelb wrote:

a license tells you nothing about a player.

This is valid for any trade. Diplomas are made for social recognition. They often correspond to a real level of competence, and sometimes not. The world of shakuhachi players is quite little, so I think a bad shakuhachi player can't hide his bad level behind his license for a long time.
The only good advice I can give to Austroshak is : practice, practice again to become a good player and so have more and more the love of playing. This is the most important.
But I understand you need to go through the levels to keep motivation. One of my students is 63 yrs old and wants to go through the levels ; social recognition has not importance for her, she just needs objectives to improve.

Phil wrote, "A license tells you nothing about a player."  That is true but it ideally it should indicate some minimum level of competence if it comes from an organization with recognized standards of evaluating performance, though one hears rumors of licenses being given away for a certain fee or because someone is about to keel over after putting in years of practice.  And the expensive license fees serve to keep the whole pyramid structure of Japanese traditional arts in place, perhaps in a state of semi-ossification  but the system as it exists did help to preserve the honkyoku and gaikyoku and having some outward sign of having gone through some sort of training/ learning process is not necessarily a bad thing.  Of course, musical ability or artistic ability of any sort is not something that can really be measured or licensed but the shakuhachi menkyo is basically just a confirmation that the holder has gone through a certain repertoire of pieces to the satisfaction of his sensei's or the iemoto's standards.  It has its uses here in Japan, as without the minimum junshihan license here I wouldn't have been able to join the prefectural Japanese traditional music (shamisen, koto, shakuhachi) association or participate in their concerts.  If you have a license and move to another part of the country then it makes it easier to link up with players of koto or shamisen and play music with them; in the U.S. we often network more informally but in Japan things are often done on a more formal basis.  Theoretically a license should be useful in attracting students, though none of my few students started lessons with me because I have a license.  I didn't think any of my students would be interested in going through the levels but a couple of them seem to have that in mind.  Some people may get a sense of accomplishment by putting their learning process into a framework with stages and goals of some sort. 

It's not that much of an unusual thing to have a license and a name connected with some art form in Japan; people take licenses and names in various arts such as flower arrangement, tea ceremony, calligraphy, traditional dance forms, koto, shakuhachi, and even in some martial arts.   In my town there are probably 40 or more people with a shakuhachi license and shakuhachi name but none of them are professional musicians and perhaps only a couple of them are at or the near the professional level.  I'm not sure how much name flaunting goes on in Japan -- I think people are more modest over here but in the West people change their names or make up pen names, stage names, or names for their groups all the time don't they?  Is that name flaunting too?  What's the difference between some rock n roll guys calling themselves the Violent Femmes (other than the fact that they're good, and that they made up their own name) and a mediocre musician using his flute name as his middle name?        

"The plain fact is that music per se means nothing; it is sheer sound, and the interpreter can do no more with it than his own capacities, mental and spiritual will allow, and the same applies to the listener."   Sir Thomas Beecham

Honestly, I began studying shakuhachi because I loved the sound, the material (bamboo), and the history and philosophy fascinated me. My only exposure were the Japanese masters on CD, and I wanted to make a sound like them. I didn't know anything about the world of shakuhachi outside of Japan. As I wasn't a musician at the time I didn't really think about being a skilled musician, just making a sound like the players I heard. So, starting shakuhachi (in the Tozan school which is the largest shakuhachi school in Japan) I just tried my best to please the teacher. But I realized soon that the sound of this school was not the one I originally wanted to make so I found another teacher with a closer sound. Then eventually found the school and players who moved me the deepest which opened me to other teachers and people that keep my inspiriation going to tread the shakuhachi path. Pursuing a menkyou (in Yokoyama's school) in Japan was just another beautiful facet of the shakuhachi world that I chose to explore.

Definitely, a license does not in any way denote one's level of playing. I've seen too many shihans that sound like beginners! But I agree with Daniel Ryudo that this system did help to preserve the traditional musics. For some it is a great motivation to practice. It is also a marketing tool as well, for those who aspire to be professional players. (But being marketable usually depends on one's marketing ability rather than one's menkyou!) As well it gives one a stronger connection to the membership of your fellow colleagues within your school who help each other and inspire each other. But most importantly, it SHOULD be a motivation to keep practicing to be a better player. For some people it works, some not. So, there are many benefits to do the license route. Whatever the reason, license or not, practicing and studying to enjoy and improve should not be sacrificed.

Anyways, I still keep an open mind and learn from everyone, whatever the level.

Alcvin
www.bamboo-in.com

edosan wrote:

dstone wrote:

-Darren.
(licensed anarchist since 1969)

And just what school, sir, issued you that license, hmmmmm....?

The Organization for Democratic Anarchism.
It's a moderate group.  We're trying to bring back the monarchy.

Leaving this thread to the Pros now, I promise...

-Darren.

Edit:  Wow, I wrote that fully tongue in cheek but it turns out there is a movement of democratic anarchism.  I give up.

Last edited by dstone (2007-01-31 16:46:36)

curious question, Did Watasumi have a license? I honestly, do not know but  i imagine not

rob+kat wrote:

Well, anarchy may not be perfect, but it is better than no government at all.

Haha, I'll have to remember that one...

Thank you all for this good information’s.
I'm little bit surprised that my desire seems to be so "exotic" to other players.
I'm sure that a license says not much about an "artist". I learned that it makes the most sense to play for myself than for others - I think it's the same with the license process - I want to make it for me - to go the way other Masters think is the best way to fully "understand" the shakuhachi.
I found the shakuhachi in the internet and after hearing it the first time I fell in love with the sound of this simple instrument - and later even more as I learned that there is something like "a way of the shakuhachi". I have no idea how someone can learn the shakuhachi without going through specific stages.

Sure I could learn the shakuhachi without the certificates, maybe I will play in the end play as good as without, however I'm sure I won't learn some really hard pieces. I'm practicing now since 1,5 years and feel that I will soon reach a level that allows me to play sufficient for me. The "path" will force me to push my practicing further.

No - I don't need a license for flaunting. Wouldn't make much sense since in my country nobody knows the shakuhachi and the only person I know who plays the shakuhachi is my teacher. So this wouldn't justify the effort ;-)

Again - thank you all for the very good info. This helped me a lot to identify some possibilities.

All the best!

Ahh - I forgot - I'm learning Kinko ...

Last edited by Austroshak (2007-02-07 02:32:01)