Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Zakarius wrote:

If only the around-the-world-airfare didn't start at US$1,400   Hope you guys have a great workshop!

Zakarius

Hey Zak, I played the shakuhachi in a theater piece in the Taipei Experimental Arts Festival in 1993. Were you there then?
Peace, Perry

Last edited by Yungflutes (2007-10-07 15:00:35)

How's the workshop planning going fellas?

Best of luck!

Ken

Thanks Ken. The planning was going well but I took off a few days for concerts. I'm trying to gather together as many tools to help time line. I have 6 or 7 drills ready and Perry has several of the workbenches so this should help shorten the lines. What I want is to have more time time for questions and answers. We can't do urushi since I'm allergic so there's a limit to that end. It looks like we'll have ample time for playing as we stay there all night for friday & sat. We usually are up till 2am playing. I'll have to knock out a couple people so we can sleep. Perfect use for my "no roots ended" Taimu log! I should report this to Brian since he asked how are we using the Taimu flutes. Mine is nick named "Beginner's Mind". I love it.

Hi Ken, I'm very excited. I've picked out some nice root end pieces for those who want to make a root end.  The non root end pieces will also be from my primo stash.

Some have inquired whether I would do further work on the flutes made in the workshop. I would be happy to. Depending upon the number of participants who want the additional work, the flutes may have to be sent to me afterwards. I don't know if the airlines would allow me to carry on a bunch of raw Ronin weapons:) I would hate to check them in.

I'm thinking that these flutes will be all natural Hocchiku style as any lacquering is time consuming. However, for those who want to seal the bore, we can apply a coat of tung oil at the end of the session. By the next day, it will be completely sealed, safe (by FDA standards) and ready to play.

Michael posted  a question about carry-ons on another thread. I've flown often carrying-on lot of shakuhachi (finished). And, also guitars and basses (not a contra). No airline has every harassed me over my musical instruments. Maybe over my haircut but not my instruments.

Namaste, Perry

If you are even vaguely in the area of this workshop and really want to deepen your understanding and appreciation of shakuhachi: Go!

I attended the one-day version workshop that Michael Chikuzen Gould and Ken Mujitsu LaCosse did in Berkeley this summer and it was worth its weight in gold for the information and insight I gained in the construction, philosophy and performance of shakuhachi -- which Brian Tairaku Ritchie  dubs "The King of Flutes".

One day was not long enough, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat including air fare and hotel rates on my working man's wage. People who go the Nov/Dec workshop are going to have 3 days. I am deep green with envy.

Just in one day's workshop, Michael's depth and breadth of knowledge of the sacred aspects of shakuhachi music provided me with months -- and very likely years--  of reflection. I  find myself practicing or performing a piece of music, come to a passage and discover that I understand aspects of its spiritual and emotional shape much more deeply because of something Michael commented on during the workshop. This is like my experience with the best of teachers like Riley Lee and Peter Hill and the late Yoshizawa Masakazu-sensei.

Michael's classroom presentation in engaging, coherent and lively. And he is a truly nice, warm and generous teacher. When you study with Michael you are also studying with the  greats of 20th century shakuhachi who were his direct teachers:  Yokoyama Katsuya and Taniguchi  Yoshinobu -- and by extension the legendary Watazumi Doso Roshi. Chikusen Gould is also one of the few Western shakuhachi teacher/performers who is regarded highly among Japanese shakuhachi players themselves -- no small achievement, indeed.


The shakuhachi making portion of the workshop is equally invaluable. I may never intend to pursue flute making or make another shakuhachi again, but as a flute student I have come to appreciate the instrument and marvel at it complexities in ways I would not have otherwise imagined: How bamboo types, bore shape, tone hole placement/shape and the subtleties of utaguchi construction effect tone color, pitch, playability, balance and speed. As a shakuhachi student to learn even the most basic concepts of hands-on construction from a knowledgeable professional maker with solid traditional roots is priceless. (The real 11th Commandment is: KNOW THY INSTRUMENT!)

Perry Yung has a wealth of shakuhachi making training and experience. He received his initial training with Japanese master maker, performer and iconclast Kinya Sogawa. Perry is one of most prolific shakuhachi makers of good, mechanically sound, fully functional shakuhachi in the USA (and his repair work is just as masterful). One of a VERY few. To study basic shakuhachi making with Perry (or Ken, as I did) is to tap into real practical and spiritual knowledge about the Great Instrument.

(This endorsement is made in the zen-style ... with no strings attached.)

Last edited by Chris Moran (2007-11-12 18:20:57)