Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

nyokai · 2008-08-27 16:22:32

Reading between the lines on the forum, I have noticed a lot of unclarity about what "Meian" or "Myoan" shakuhachi is -- not the instrument itself, but the music.

If used literally, it would mean the body of pieces traditionally associated with the Myoanji temple in Kyoto, but in common usage it has come to mean honkyoku from a wide assortment of temples, pieces that have been passed along over the years via a complex and often haphazard network of komuso and other players and teachers. What Myoan pieces have in common is that they have not been "professionalized": they are not too strongly associated with any one iemoto (traditional head of a school) or ryu, such as Kinko or, more recently, Yokoyama-sensei's organization. Rather than being stylistically frozen, they continue living and dying as part of an unmediated evolutionary process. This process includes the slow adaptation of techniques to new instruments and playing conditions as well as the sudden mutations caused by influential masters with strong personalities.

Using this more general and common definition, Myoan playing ranges from the traditional simplicity of Nishimura Koku to the fierce individualism of Watazumi -- no particular style is prescribed or proscribed. There is a generally accepted body of musical material, but with many many versions, variations, and complex branchings of teachers' lineages. There are versions of Kyorei that begin in the kan register and versions that stay otsu throughout; there are versions of Ajikan that don't sound much like other versions of Ajikan; there are versions of Tsuru no Sugomori that are easy to play and others that are quite difficult. And then there is the matter of an individual's playing: in the Myoan tradition, the way we are loosely defining it, your end goal is not to sound exactly like your iemoto, if there even is one, but eventually to become part of the evolutionary process yourself.

In this country, at least since the last part of the 20th century, Myoan playing was mainly spread via the Jin Nyodo lineage: Jin Nyodo --> Yodo Kurahashi --> Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin. (Jin Nyodo was a great early-20th century player who collected and memorized pieces from many different temples and masters.) More recently, Yoshio Kurahashi has been doing quite a bit of teaching here too, and some students of both Nyogetsu-sensei and Kurahashi-sensei have been licensed and lead active dojos. But there is no central Myoan entity and no top-down organization, just a loose anarchic confederation of players and teachers -- nothing like Yokoyama-sensei's highly organized school (whose music is a set individual reinterpretation of Myoan pieces). The Myoan world may seem confusing, but that's also what makes it very rich fertile ground.

The world of Myoan playing retains a simplicity, an earthiness, even an artlessness that resonates with me. Also, I like the lack of stars: The range of versions and interpretations is so mongrel in itself that it's hard to imagine "best of breed" playing contests like some of the ryu have. Its mongrel nature insures, too, that the musical material is full of subtle techniques and difficult nuances that you may never encounter in the more codified repertoires. I am not saying Myoan is BETTER -- I go through periods where I actually prefer the straight-backed elegance of the Kinko style. But I always find myself coming back to Myoan -- my personal taste.

Now that I've posted this, it would be great if people from other traditions would do something similar to introduce very simply their own path as well. Bias is no problem as long as it is acknowledged -- and by acknowledging it we can hopefully avoid the territorial wars that sometimes spring up here.

Last edited by nyokai (2008-08-27 17:37:55)

Lorka · 2008-08-27 17:35:25

Thanks for the very thoughtful post Nyokai. I am one of those people wanting to know more about this school/type of shakuhachi music.

So, what recording would you recommend listening to, to get a good idea of the general flavour?

Is the stan richardson double CD representative of Meian? The one where one CD is kinko tunes and the other one Meian?

nyokai · 2008-08-27 17:53:49

Lorka wrote:
So, what recording would you recommend listening to, to get a good idea of the general flavour?

Maybe somebody else will answer that -- not something I want to get into myself, as I don't really look at it that way... sorry.

nyokai · 2008-08-28 06:59:27

jeff jones wrote:
Although Taizan-ha is not considered a ryu(schooll), I really dont think it could be called anarchic, there are rules of sorts in the way things are played. There is a recording of Sakai Shodo Five Metamorphosis of Nesting of the Cranes (the third track) where I heard for the first time someone play it with what I think is the proper articulations who is not basically a Taizan-ha player.

Hi Jeff --

Good point. But I wasn't trying to say that any particular branch or lineage (such as Taizan-ha) was in itself free of organization or rules, only that the territory as a whole -- because it includes all these branchings -- is a pretty wide open territory. Again, I was trying to give a very very basic overview -- if people are interested in specific branches, that's a whole other discussion.

Five Metamorphoses is a wonderful CD, and Sakai Shodo is apparently very dedicated to the details of the particular versions. I'd be interested, what exactly are you referring to as the proper articulations -- the fingered meris, or the variations in finger hits, or...?

Interestingly, somebody privately criticized my post from the opposite direction, pointing out that the KSK is not as organized as I made out, that its repertoire and techniques are not at all "frozen," and that there are very large stylistic differences among the students and teachers of this school. I suppose a lot of this is relative. I don't have any interest personally in trying to analyze what the KSK is like, and I apologize if my own view is distorted -- I was simply using it as an example of what Meian, in the loose definition, clearly is not: an organization of ANY sort.

chikuzen · 2008-08-28 11:29:13

Phil and Jeff, thanks a lot for your contributions here. Trying to understand why everyone played tsu meri at different pitches in Myoan and Kinko years ago led me to discover what you are so eloquent at explaining. The relative "looseness" of the organization in general that Phil speaks to allows for much variation, for new energy to come into things( which Phil already said too). I wonder if this was the case when they were still playing at Myoanji itself. Something I'm hoping one of you will comment on? The reason I mention this is in response to Phil's getting a reply which didn't agree that Yokoyama-Ryu (as I call it now) isn't so codified. It seems that when Kurosawa Kinko, Nakao Tozan and Yokoyama sensei began teaching their styles, and since their styles were so different, that codification was an inherent part of the deal in order to teach the music. In Yokoyama's case, he always said (sometimes exploded) that there is only one correct pitch, for example, tsu meri is e flat. He enforced this and also the way to do other techniques and the way to play the songs sometimes with a strong stick. This is codification, if you will. However, he also played things differently. Which was the de-codification. I would go to one lesson where he would play a song a specific way and then the next lesson it would be played differently. He demanded the freedom to do this (not spoken but just by these actions) so this has to be interpreted to be part of his teaching: that the song can be played differently. Taniguchi says that there is a peculiar essence to each song and as long as you don't destroy the heart of the song there can be variation. I think the codification comes in in the 'short term' perspective of teaching. You have to have something concrete to give to students to go home and practice. If the student takes this for "the only way' or the "right way" it adds more to the codification. In some cases, students didn't come for enough lessons or just didn't get lessons often enough (at Yokoyama sensei's). So, when learning one particular song they only learned or were only able to perceive one way of playing the song. So in their minds they think they are playing the song the "right way" using the "right techniques' etc. Since so much was non-verbal they didn't get the advice they needed on the spot. The freedom to be different was expounded non-verbally through hearing Yokoyama sensei play the songs many different times. This is what was expounded to me in the 'long term' view. That means coming for many lessons. Some things are transmitted by words (what's said) and some things transmitted by actions (what's played). Often it seems to be contradictory. This is only understood by taking lessons for a long time and hearing the different versions played and the different comments. It could be confusing. The more lessons you have and the more time spent there means that you can understand the subtle differences. You would come to be able to distinguish between differences that effect the essence of the song and differences that don't and therefore are not considered to be differences worth acknowledging. This is why the less experienced player may think " I'll just do my thing" when playing a song as they perceive others to be doing things without rhyme or reason. A shakuhachi teacher could be looked upon as one who can "protect" the essence of the song, transmit it AND explain what they're doing.

I think there are two other things that are important concerning Yokoyama sensei's "Ryu". He was a powerful personality with a lot of talent so he was able to create his own style and attract enough followers. This is a given. The fact that he is alive and still directing (teaching) his main teachers makes the variation in his music less than it will be in 100 years. The other thing is that since he doesn't play now he talks a lot more. So what he used to express with his playing he has to express verbally. This itself forces a big change in his teaching style.

I've heard comments on how 'all the Yokoyama players sound the same' and I myself frequently refer to the "shakuhachi police', somewhat in jest but somewhat deservedly. I think the Yokoyama style of playing has his mark on it so strongly and so differently from Meian and Kinko and Tozan styles that it has to, in comparison, sound all the same. Studying in Japan used to be quite different as there wasn't so much cross-sectional study. In other words, most people studied only one sect. And since so much was non-verbal, it was enough of a task to understand what was going on in your own sect. If you asked a question about another sect you would get a very funny facial expression coming back at you. Of course, you wouldn't ask about another sect though. It's certianly easier to learn about the different sects now via this forum.

Last edited by chikuzen (2008-08-28 11:44:11)

edosan · 2008-08-28 11:46:53

chikuzen wrote:
It's certianly easier to learn about the different sects now via this forum.

Oh, really?

[great post, btw]

nyokai · 2008-08-28 12:10:58

Yes, great post, Michael. I like the terminologies "codification" and "decodification." I think this is how many really good teachers work. Perhaps as an outsider to Yokoyama's school I have seen a lot of the codification ("the right way") and much less of the advanced decodification (brilliantly relaxed playing).

Anyone who has studied with Kurahashi-sensei has experienced the codification/decodification dichotomy in fast motion, which may occasionally confuse beginners: "Very important point: slightly shade fourth hole one eighth inch more, pitch slightly sharper, hit the first hole a tiny bit faster. BUT... AS YOU LIKE!" That codification/decodification happening all at once captures the flavor of Meian playing, I think.

Last edited by nyokai (2008-08-28 13:04:18)

chikuzen · 2008-08-28 13:05:22

Eddy, are you referring to my misspelling of 'certainly' (Cleveland accent) or to the relative word 'easier'?

Last edited by chikuzen (2008-08-28 13:06:02)

Moran from Planet X · 2008-08-28 14:42:36

jeff jones wrote:
...did not has such many PCS.Taizan gathered many PCS from around the country.Old Komuso temples had only 'SANKYOREI=Kyorei,Mukaiji and Koku' and some PCS not many.

PCS? "Pieces"?

nyokai · 2008-08-28 14:59:50

Thanks for the interesting information, Jeff.
Where on the net can one find that Soetsu recording?

edosan · 2008-08-28 20:47:31

chikuzen wrote:
Eddy, are you referring to my misspelling of 'certainly' (Cleveland accent) or to the relative word 'easier'?

Referring to 'easier', natch; what's a little misspelling between friends, anyway.

Daniel Ryudo · 2008-08-28 22:30:32

Great posts by Michael and Phil. About twelve or thirteen years ago there was a Meian player living here in Kochi for a year or so. He once gave a solo performance at Chikurinji (Shingon) Buddhist temple which I attended and I was greatly impressed by his playing -- the qualities of simplicity and earthiness, as Phil mentioned, I think are good words to describe it, especially in comparison to the style I was (and still am) learning ; he also played on longer, rawer flutes with much larger bores. Up until then I had only seen music performed by shakuhachi in the 1.6-2.0 range. One evening I was asked to join another shakuhachi player and his two young daughters on a visit out to the Meian player's house, which was an old Japanese style house right down by the sea, and we tried to getting a sound out of some of his larger unrefined flutes. I remember stumbling down to the beach behind his house in pitch darkness; the moon then revealed itself and there was a magic moment while we were standing out in the waves playing shakuhachi while the kids were turning cartwheels in the sand and the player's girlfriend was practicing primal screaming for a martial art called shin-taido. I thought about leaving my school and learning Myoan but then the player left town; later I heard he was living near Takamatsu. I can't remember his name; I would like to hear him play again. My style is more the 'refined' Kinko style; our school is quite rigid in some ways, and we are part of the Araki kei. Our iemoto Fuji Jido was a student of Notomi Haruhiko (Notomi II); after Notomi died he became an in house student for Notomi's father Notomi Judo, who was a National Living Treasure. Jido sensei formed his own Kinko group, called Tojukai, in 1979, and in 1989 officially created his own branch of Kinko (following a split with Domon-Kai after Notomo Judo passed away), called Chikudosha, which was granted official status in the Nihon Sankyoku Kyokai in the late 1980s. We play gaikyoku pieces using the shirofu notation of Domon-Kai and have 29 honkoku in our repertoire (don't know what happened to the other seven...). Our style is very similar to that of Araki Kodo V; in fact, iemoto Fuji Jido rewrote all the Notomi kai honkyoku, and wrote an instruction book in Japanese along with Araki Kodo V in the late 80's. My shihan, a good amateur player, was the one and only Chikudosha player to make it down to Shikoku. Strangely enough, he never learned so much as a single piece from Fuji Jido; something I was surprised to find out recently, but that is another story...
I've also been learning pieces from the Yokoyama school for the last decade, but only once a year, usually at their spring workshops in Bisei, and I think I agree with what Michael is saying about codification and de-codification in the KSK ; Yokoyama sensei would often stress playing a repeated phrase in a selected honkoku in a different way, whereas our style of Kinko usually plays it in the same way, though that is not always the case as I've found out recently. It seems the more you know the more you don't know...

Last edited by Daniel Ryudo (2008-08-29 04:16:50)

axolotl · 2008-08-29 19:00:30

At this stage of the game, I only know what my ears tell me, not having delved deep into any tradition or school as of yet, and my ears perk up at Meian pieces (on Ronnie's CD) and min'yo the most. Certain songs in those areas seem the most ready to--fly, is the best verb I could use to describe it.

I have a question. If one can vary a honkyoku piece to a certain degree, including a Kinko piece, is the difference in Myoan/Meian that one can vary a piece with much greater freedom, due to the lack of a 'definitive' version?

Tairaku 太楽 · 2008-08-29 19:13:19

axolotl wrote:
I have a question. If one can vary a honkyoku piece to a certain degree, including a Kinko piece, is the difference in Myoan/Meian that one can vary a piece with much greater freedom, due to the lack of a 'definitive' version?

Sure, if you listen to Watazumi play "Yamagoe" or "Reiho" as it is sometimes called and then compare it to other Myoan versions of "Kyushu Reibo" which is the same piece you can hear that it can be played frenetically or simply and in a stately fashion.

There is plenty of range of expression with Kinko as well but usually people play like their subsect instead of going off on their own tangents.

A Kinko player once harangued me on this subject, complaining that Myoan is difficult to evaluate because there is so much variation, no strict standards and even the possibility of an individual having a ryu of one, himself.

I enjoy talking with Jeff Jones about his experience studying Myoan because he is my former student from my Milwaukee days and I taught him some of the same pieces from the Jin Nyodo style and it's interesting to note the differences between that and what he gets from his current (Myoan) teacher. Same songs, different interpretations, both valid.

Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

#1 2008-08-27 16:22:32

For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

#2 2008-08-27 17:35:25

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

#3 2008-08-27 17:53:49

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

Lorka wrote:

#4 2008-08-28 06:59:27

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

jeff jones wrote:

#5 2008-08-28 11:29:13

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

#6 2008-08-28 11:46:53

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

chikuzen wrote:

#7 2008-08-28 12:10:58

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

#8 2008-08-28 13:05:22

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

#9 2008-08-28 14:42:36

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

jeff jones wrote:

#10 2008-08-28 14:59:50

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

#11 2008-08-28 20:47:31

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

chikuzen wrote:

#12 2008-08-28 22:30:32

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

#13 2008-08-29 19:00:30

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

#14 2008-08-29 19:13:19

Re: For beginners -- a biased introduction to Myoan

axolotl wrote:

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