Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Hi all,

as you know English is not my native language but I wanted to share this with you. I hope you will like it.

Small review about my „Shakuhachi Journay“in Germany.

I was always creative and seeking for away to express myself. I draw, I wrote lyrics and poems and do some 3D-Art. Also I was always looking for a little bit of truth in the wisdom of Buddha and others. In the past I often meditated a lot. As I lost my job here in Germany I sold nearly all my stuff and went on a holiday trip to Munich to visit a old friend and to have a good time. I came back in February this year and decided to leave my old apartment where i lived with my brother and his girlfriend to live at my mom's country house.

Before that time I heard Shakuhachi on a CD my brother bought in the past and that sound really touched my soul, I decided to buy a inexpensive Xiao on Ebay to learn something about this kinds of flute. I never played any instrument before but I know that I dont wanted to play Xiao anymore cause the sound is very different from Shakuhachi. So I started searching for a Shakuhachi on the net but I have seen that they are so expensive and I never thought that I have the money to get one in the future, then I have found Perry Yung's website and contacted him. I asked him about a meditation flute and wrote to him that I dont have alot money to buy some of the "higher-level“ flutes and that I just want to meditate with the flute. Perry offered a wonderful flute to me for a good price. After a long period of waiting like a little kid on Christmas I received the Earth Model flute and started to explore that wonderful piece of bamboo with my breath. Perry's booklet was a great introduction to the world of Shakuhachi.

I started with hyperventilation, frustration and a lot of struggle to get any clear note out of the flute. So I started to search a teacher near Berlin, I contacted Jim Franklin to get a lesson to just learn the basics, some weeks of waiting I had my first lesson with Jim and as you know he told me that I am able to study Honkyoku with this flute and he showed me how to get a note out of the flute. I must say that Jim seems to be a very good teacher and a very nice Person. As I first hear him play my flute I was so impressed cause I never heard that flute sounds like this.

I never wanted to study anything, I just wanted to play and meditate but after I got some information about the history and what is behind playing Shakuhachi I wanted it so much that I was searching for another teacher to get some regular lessons at the beginning. I've found Dietmar Herriger who is teaching "Fuke“ here in Berlin and also studied Shakuhachi in Japan. My first lesson with Dietmar was great and we started with the first piece that is called "Hi Fu Mi“.

Now I have regular lessons with Dietmar and also have my second flute from Perry, a 2.0 Chikusing. As I show this flute to Dietmar he was really happy about Perry's work and he said that I also can study with this flute too if I want. Dietmars style is really different from others in America I think, he allow his students to play with any flute that can handle the notes and he plays big flutes with a more Jinashi like sound. He also build wonderful flutes for his students. Jim also allow this but I think he require a flute who is nearly in tune. I dont know much about that stuff and dont want to bother anybody even my teachers with that. So I keep this short. In practice there are so much ups and downs and there are sometimes nearly no noticeable progress but Shakuhachi is a great instrument and learning it is such a great experience. My life has slowly turned into this Shakuhachi world and I meet a lot of people here in Germany and on the net. They really become friends. Nearly all of my friends and my family love the sound of this instrument and really supporting me by what I doing on this way.

For me it is not about becoming a Shihan, it is more a way to explore and understand myself better. I am always happy to learn new pieces and technics but it is more meditation and exploring the deepness of this wonderful soul touching music. I try to do it with all my energy and a lot of passion. Its just more than music and getting a master, for me it is a way to reach my nature and exploring my soul.