Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Yungflutes wrote:

Toby wrote:

I almost hesitate to post this, because I want to keep it all for myself

Of course the downside, as with any auction, is that you really don't know what you have until it is in your hands, more so with shakuhachi than with machine-made instruments. But at worst you can pick up a very nice looking instrument and rebuild it for about the price of a raw culm sometimes.

Go here:

http://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/

and type (or copy and paste) 　尺八

Try not to salivate too much on your keyboard.

Toby

Hi Toby, I am very busy in the repairs department as a direct result of these auctions and Japanese Antique sellers on eBay!

I get a lot of inquires about them. I always say think of it as an automobile purchase. While there are great bargains, there are also lemons. There's no way to tell until a mechanic gets under the hood.

Good luck, Perry

Having tried numerous flutes like these at various Japanese antique fairs, secondhand shops and flea markets over the years, I would say that many, if not most, are either lemons or at best less than excellent. Shakuhachi, more than any machine-made instruments, vary greatly in quality, even those of known makers. So of course it is a gamble, but perhaps an interesting idea for those who are instrument makers, or those who wish to learn the craft. Some of the pieces of bamboo are quite nice, and holes can be plugged or redrilled, utaguchi fit, cracks closed, and a bore redone.

Toby

Toby is right that there are many pieces of good bamboo that a budding repairman/maker could possibly rework into a functional instrument.  But, basically as Toby suggests, you will just be left salivating because unfortunately Yuusui, the only known alternative to purchasing with a Japanese bank issued credit card is to wire the money if you can figure out the banking details and even then it might not fall within the acceptable time constraints because foreign bank to Japanese bank wires  usually take a couple of weeks to transpire.  Sellers won't wait that long to confirm the purchase.

Last edited by Jeff Cairns (2010-04-15 09:42:31)

Yuusui wrote:

Speaking of Yahoo Japan auctions, how do you use it here in the USA? I have tried to figure it out for well over a year now. When I have tried to set up my account, it gets turned down because my credit card isn't from a Japanese bank. I know many of the sellers won't ship outside of the country, but I have a Japanese mailing address that will forward packages to me. The best I have been able to find so far is to use a second party for the purchase. I am hoping one of you might have a more convenient options!

Doesn't Yahoo! Auctions Japan offer paypal as payment? Paypal converts dollars no problem.

chikuzen wrote:

Toby wrote:

Having tried numerous flutes like these at various Japanese antique fairs, secondhand shops and flea markets over the years, I would say that many, if not most, are either lemons or at best less than excellent. Shakuhachi, more than any machine-made instruments, vary greatly in quality, even those of known makers. So of course it is a gamble, but perhaps an interesting idea for those who are instrument makers, or those who wish to learn the craft. Some of the pieces of bamboo are quite nice, and holes can be plugged or redrilled, utaguchi fit, cracks closed, and a bore redone.

.
   This is an accurate description of what's happening most of the time. It seems to me that the "market" has been flooded with these "less than excellent" (to put it mildly) shakuhachi in the past few years.  Even after repairing them to some extent they often have so many problems that they need more and more repairs. In some eyes, they seem like a good deal because they are so cheap but this seems to be an attraction to beginner players and of course, if you don't have much money to spend on a flute, it appears to be an option worth looking into. There is also the entertainment value that Chris mentions where it might be fun just to check out things, browse, if you will.  From my position as a professional teacher/performer, what I see happening time and time again, is that once the player develops a bit, they start to learn about the problems with the flutes and try to sell them, often losing money in the process or just passing the "less than excellent" flute on to others. If I were a craftsman, I think I would devote very little time to bandaging these and spend most of my time developing my craft so I can make very good instruments from beginning to end. I'm sure doing a lot of repair work helps one develop to a degree but I haven't seen that many of these "repair job shakuhachi" that are worth it. Mainly because, the end result is what is being added to the mix in the market place. Of course, someone is going to bring up the exceptions to this right away, but I've seen so many of these that the appearance of a few decent ones wouldn't change my mind much. People already have enough trouble finding a reference for good or excellence in all aspects of shakuhachi whether making, teaching or performing, also thanks to the internet. Have to love it have to hate it.

Words of wisdom spoken by someone that knows what the heck he is talking about no sentiments or wallet involved here just reality Thanks Chikuzen!

BUT as usual people want to do what they want to do BECAUSE this is what they can afford or what they think is a good deal. They are like kids that just will not listen to their parents until they hit the wall.

In the end as I always say YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR ACCORDING THAT YOU BUY  FROM A REPUTABLE MAKER/SELLER/SHOP