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#51 2008-05-03 04:05:52

Kiku Day
Shakuhachi player, teacher and ethnomusicologist
From: London, UK & Nørre Snede, DK
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 922
Website

Re: Traditional Japanese Dress

Seth wrote:

But while I have seen many a kimono have yet to see a live performance with the basket.

Any veteran basket wearers out there?

I have performed quite a bit with the whole komuso outfit. It still is a problem for me to tie the obi! smile and I am always happy I usually don't wear this whole gear when there are Japanese people around.

But YES, the tengai is fantastic to wear!

The first time I was asked to wear a tengai at a performance was at some party at SOAS (my university, which is a part of University of London) was hosting some fund raising party. I was asked in such way, that I could not refuse. I felt embarrassed about it, but once the hat was on and I was out among people playing, it felt SO good. I was in my own little world - could focus on playing... in fact, it felt really like the music was in focus and not me as a performer. Apart from that, it was good I had the tengai on, as there was the world championship in football (Americans call it soccer) going on at the same time. A violin player kept on telling me the score between England and Denmark.... (Denmark lost 0-3), so the tengai also covered my face that got more and more annoyed for each goal! smile

To perform with the tengai in a country where noone has no what-so-ever clue what is going on can be fun and challenging at the same time. Just last week, I performed at a private confirmation party. When I came wandering in playing, it was clear people thought to themselves, "What has he now done?" (he = the crazy father of the girl who was celebrating her confirmation. People didn't know whether they should laugh or listen to the music seriously. They thought some crazy idiot had put on a rubbish bin on the head! But after the first piece they got the explanation, and realised how unknown and surprising this musical tradition had been for them.

I would never, myself, go out and do takuhatsu (begging) or busking with a tengai on. But after many performances with the tengai on, I can imagine how it has helped the komuso to focus... as well as cutting for the wind. It is a great part of the komuso costume.
The hakama that most people wear when playing shakuhachi only became a shakuhachi costume after the secularisation of the instrument and the abolishment of the Fuke sect, when shakuhachi players began performing in ensembles. I once showed Dr. Simura some pictures of komuso doing takuhatsu. His sharp eyes immediately spotted they had hakama on, and he said, "That is a new picture. They are not real komuso".

It would be great to hear if others have felt the same when wearing tengai.


I am a hole in a flute
that the Christ's breath moves through
listen to this music
Hafiz

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#52 2008-05-03 04:13:39

Tairaku 太楽
Administrator/Performer
From: Tasmania
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 3226
Website

Re: Traditional Japanese Dress

I posted this somewhere before. It's an oldie but goodie:

Tairaku wrote:

Yeah it's a good story. One year in Milwaukee I dressed as a Komuso for Halloween because we were playing a concert at a beautiful venue and I wanted to start out the show on shakuhachi. We were staying in a fancy hotel and one of my friends invited me to the lobby bar for cocktails. I was already in komuso garb, so I slipped on the tengai and hopped on the lift to the lobby. When the doors opened two flabbergasted Japanese salarymen who had just checked into the hotel were awaiting the elevator with their suitcases. They looked at me, did that eye bulging and circle mouthed routine they do when surprised and one of them gasped, "Komuso!"


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#53 2009-07-28 08:00:27

Bas Nijenhuis
Member
From: Groningen, the Netherlands
Registered: 2008-10-30
Posts: 160
Website

Re: Traditional Japanese Dress

Hah! what a great experience Tairaku, I can see them before my eye! I was just reading all these posts, and I find it very interesting! Can you post pictures of the attire you acquired (the special 6 piece) kimono?
What is the main difference in non-japanese terms of Komuso and more contemporary (hakama) attire?


Read more about my shakuhachi adventures at:
Bas' Shakuhachi Blog!

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#54 2009-07-28 09:35:01

edosan
Edomologist
From: Salt Lake City
Registered: 2005-10-09
Posts: 2185

Re: Traditional Japanese Dress

Bas Nijenhuis wrote:

What is the main difference in non-japanese terms of Komuso and more contemporary (hakama) attire?

Hakama are essentially just more or less fancy 'pants'. See here:

     http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/kimono/gifs/man-hakama.gif

A Komuso getup is a fancy set of jammies, with kimono over it, and some essential accessories, including a begging box,
a prayer 'shawl', and a short wooden sword, along with the tengai, of course.

     http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/9594/p1018650wq7.jpg


Zen is not easy.
It takes effort to attain nothingness.
And then what do you have?
Bupkes.

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#55 2009-08-02 10:58:57

lait
Member
Registered: 2009-05-25
Posts: 3

Re: Traditional Japanese Dress

Please help me. I know that there are 2 types of hakamа: trousers and skirt. What types of hakamа suitable for shakuhachi players for the concert ?

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