Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

"Black dirt"?  Could it be mold?

I've successfully cleaned a moldy bore with a damp rag tied around a stick.

Hola mi Hermano!

I have a few different kind of brushes to scrub the interior. Many old flutes have a dried layer of dust that affect the sound.

I made brushes with different hardnesses because some dust can be difficult to remove. I use the lighter density brushed first in case there is cracked urushi. You would not want to remove that unless you plan to refurbish the bore.

This brush is one of my favorites. It came from a Hyaku Yen Store in Tokyo (100 yen store. I love them).



I like to soak Jinashi flutes in lukewarm water for a few minutes to loosen the dust (I have a different method for Jiari). The camera was not fast enough to catch the thick cloud of dust that came out with the first pull of the brush. Often times, bug nests and other stuff come out too.



An old shakuhachi can be quite filthy inside. I always look into the bore before I blow into one. 

Namaste, Perry