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#1 2010-04-19 16:55:49

evaughan
Member
Registered: 2010-03-23
Posts: 6

Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Not sure where to look for this topic on the forum as it involves teachers and flute making. So I will ask it here.

Can anyone recommend a place in Japan where one can make their own Shakuhachi as well as learn a little about Zen philosphy and traditions?

I am planning on going in June for two months. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

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#2 2010-04-19 19:03:05

Mujitsu
Administrator/Flutemaker
From: San Francisco
Registered: 2005-10-05
Posts: 885
Website

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

evaughan wrote:

Not sure where to look for this topic on the forum as it involves teachers and flute making. So I will ask it here.

Can anyone recommend a place in Japan where one can make their own Shakuhachi as well as learn a little about Zen philosphy and traditions?

I am planning on going in June for two months. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Eric,

Mejiro in Tokyo offers shakuhachi making classes. You might want to check their website for dates.

Good luck.

Ken

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#3 2010-04-19 22:42:06

Glenn Swann
Member
From: Central New Jersey
Registered: 2008-03-01
Posts: 151
Website

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

last year i visited yanaka, and was surprised to see a sign by the side of the road next to a pile of shakuhachi saying something like "please try blowing" in japanese and english both....
it turned out to be this very interesting fellow DeU, who makes and plays what he calls "roots shakuhachi"- very simple jinashi one piece types.... anyway really nice guy, and super-friendly. he has informal making workshops it seems- i only had time to chat with him a little while and blow one of his flutes... if you are looking to learn finely crafted or with-ji shakuhachi making, mejiro would be better- but yanaka/nippori is a wonderful place to visit anyway, and DeU is so down-to-earth it's worth contacting him and having a visit. he seems to speak english, but we spoke in japanese so i don't know.

his blog
http://roots-bamboo.jugem.jp/?cid=15
he seems to do his thing in yotsuya too
http://roots-bamboo.jugem.jp/?cid=3


I followed rivers, I followed orders,I followed prophets, I followed leaders
I followed rivers, I followed highways,I followed conscience,
I followed dreamers... And I'm back here,
and I'm back here... At the edge of the sky       (New Model Army)

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#4 2010-04-19 22:55:16

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

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Hey Glenn, that sounds GREAT! Please report on the flutes!


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#5 2010-04-20 06:36:07

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

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Hi evaughan

The combination of Zen and making renders it a bit tricky. But here are a few suggestions:

I have organised for a few people to stay with Kodama Hiroyuki and his family while learning to make shakuhachi (jinashi) and some had playing lessons with Kodama as well. The people who did that said they had some of the best experiences in Japan there. Kodama lives in the mountains in Nagano very close to American shakuhachi maker Tom Deaver. Kodama will not be strong on Zen philosophy but I think he could share his own take on tradition and culture.

A friend of mine Kikuchi Kosuke is an autodidact jinashi shakuhachi maker. His flutes are good. He lives in a simple cottage in Tochigi-ken (kind of Nothwest of Tokyo). He graduated in Buddhist studies at one of the oldest universities in Japan... the name of the uni escapes me - sorry. So, he might be stronger on the Buddhist side. I never made contact between him and other shakuhachi players/makers so I don't know if he will be willing to do something like this... but I could ask. He was the first person I learned shakuhachi making from in Yakushima before I learned from Murai Eigorō. He is totally outside any shakuhachi scene... but quietly makes his shakuhachi and karimba and sells them.

Takahashi Suiko who lives near Chiba close to Tokyo is both a maker and Myōan player. As far as I remember he is into Zen. I haven't had contact with him the past year and his health wasn't that good last time we spoke... but in case you were interested - I could perhaps check up on him.

When you get to Japan you could also enquire at the Komusō Kenkyūkai. The abbot Kosugi could perhaps guide you. I would guess that if anybody would know about makers active in Zen - it would be him.

This is not in Japan... but I thought I'd mention that Hanada Ikhei Nobuhisa, who lives in Munich and also teaches in Berlin sometimes do workshops in shakuhachi making at Hokuozan Sogenji temple in Liebenau, Germany.

Sorry the Kosuke and Suiko descriptions are so vague.. but my limbo situation 'can I fly to Oman for my concert or not' due to volcanic ashes is driving me a bit crazy and I can't think straight. smile
In case you'd like to hear more about the 3 first persons, please let me know and I can see what I can do to help you. You can also email me.


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

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#6 2010-04-20 08:08:44

purehappiness
Member
From: Connecticut USA
Registered: 2009-01-13
Posts: 528

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Wow kiku. I wish I could go to japan. That could be quite an experience. smile


I was not conscious whether I was riding on the wind or the wind was riding on me.

Lieh-tzu

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#7 2010-04-20 16:16:44

Glenn Swann
Member
From: Central New Jersey
Registered: 2008-03-01
Posts: 151
Website

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Tairaku wrote:

Hey Glenn, that sounds GREAT! Please report on the flutes!

they were root-end he dug himself, mostly longish and wide-bore.... had nice tone color. pretty rough, unfinished, rustic(in a good way) the one i played had no urushi, just bare bamboo. this was before i started studying making with perry, and before i had any experience to speak of with longer-than-2.0 jinashi (have played mostly  pre-war  jiari) so had a bit of a hard time with it,  and thus couldn't give a fair report as such. now that i've made some of the same type myself, and gotten used to how to play them, i'd love to go back and hang with him next time i go to tokyo. he seems to have studied meian style playing with someone, don't know about making.... but as "roots shakuhachi" suggests, it would seem he tends to keep it simple. actually, talking to him convinced me to start exploring making myself. he said, truly, playing a flute you made yourself, even if it's rough and imperfect, is quite a different experience, and one that can deepen your relationship with shakuhachi generally.
i'll keep my pro-made ones for performing tho smile

BTW, i've met suiko san (of kiku's post) myself, sat in on a lesson he gave to my friend nick once. wonderful fellow, and seemed to know ALOT about history and lineages and such. wished i had had more time to talk with him too. (sorry to hear he hasn't been well...)

Last edited by Glenn Swann (2010-04-20 16:21:51)


I followed rivers, I followed orders,I followed prophets, I followed leaders
I followed rivers, I followed highways,I followed conscience,
I followed dreamers... And I'm back here,
and I'm back here... At the edge of the sky       (New Model Army)

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#8 2010-04-22 01:11:34

evaughan
Member
Registered: 2010-03-23
Posts: 6

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Thanks everyone. Expecially Kiku, those were some great tips. Staying with Kodama sounds amazing.

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#9 2010-04-22 01:54:06

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

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Just let me know if you want me to introduce you to any of these guys... smile


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

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#10 2010-04-22 11:28:54

Mujitsu
Administrator/Flutemaker
From: San Francisco
Registered: 2005-10-05
Posts: 885
Website

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

evaughan wrote:

Staying with Kodama sounds amazing.

Kodama and Tom Deaver are pals and live very close. You're likely to run into Tom as well if you visit. Kodama is a very nice guy. Tom has an interesting way of teaching "philosophy" without realizing you've been taught!

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#11 2010-04-22 20:37:20

Jeff Cairns
teacher, performer,promoter of shakuhachi
From: Kumamoto, Japan
Registered: 2005-10-10
Posts: 517
Website

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Kiku Day wrote:

A friend of mine Kikuchi Kosuke is an autodidact jinashi shakuhachi maker.

I befriended Kosuke about 24 years ago and had an opportunity to visit him at his hand-made cottage on Yakushima and play shakuhachi. I traded a piece of madake I had with me for a nice piece of bansuri-suitable cane from India he had and whittled a low C flute during my month camp on Inakahama beach.  I used one of his kalimbas and the bansuri I made on my first CD Shirakawa.  A nice person.


shakuhachi flute
I step out into the wind
with holes in my bones

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#12 2010-04-23 02:10:54

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

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Oh my God! Jeff, you know Kosuke! How nice! He is one of my favourite persons I have ever met. He was the first person to introduce me to shakuhachi as well as teaching me how to make them - but that was much later.
Oh yes, Shirako village on Yakoshima.... smile

Ken, yes the combination of Kodama and Tom is quite a treat! smile


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

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#13 2010-04-23 12:40:21

chikuzen
Dai Shihan/Dokyoku
From: Cleveland Heights,OH 44118
Registered: 2005-10-24
Posts: 402
Website

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Glenn wrote:

last year I visited yanaka, and was surprised to see a sign by the side of the road next to a pile of shakuhachi saying something like "please try blowing" in japanese and english both....

We have shakuhachi dumped on every curb here in Cleveland, Ohio, the unknown shaku mecca of the USA. It's quite a mess. We even have a SHAKUCYCLE  truck just for picking up all this old crap for recycling. They actually built the ROCK-N-ROLL HALL OF FAME here to distract people's attention away from the bamboo mess everywhere. They have 8 foot guitars erected all over town for the same purpose of beautifying the city. They are actually garbage bins to throw your crappy shakuhachi in. Shakuhachi players from Indiana come here to dumpster dive. We have FEARLESS SHAKU POLICE though that arrest them for "Possession of Crappy Flutes With The Intent To Sell".

It might be worthwhile to build the cyber SHAKUHACHI HALL OF NON FAME?


Michael Chikuzen Gould

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#14 2010-04-23 12:57:48

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

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

chikuzen wrote:

It might be worthwhile to build the cyber SHAKUHACHI HALL OF NON FAME?

Careful what you ask for you just might get it.


'Progress means simplifying, not complicating' : Bruno Munari

http://www.myspace.com/tairakubrianritchie

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#15 2010-04-23 13:14:11

Elliot K
Member
From: Santa Rosa, CA
Registered: 2005-10-11
Posts: 132
Website

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Tairaku wrote:

chikuzen wrote:

It might be worthwhile to build the cyber SHAKUHACHI HALL OF NON FAME?

Careful what you ask for you just might get it.

Oh, my. Such wonderful possibilities...

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#16 2010-04-23 13:57:43

radi0gnome
Member
From: Kingston NY
Registered: 2006-12-29
Posts: 1030
Website

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

chikuzen wrote:

It might be worthwhile to build the cyber SHAKUHACHI HALL OF NON FAME?

I nominate this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY_WB75ZkWs


"Now birds record new harmonie, And trees do whistle melodies;
Now everything that nature breeds, Doth clad itself in pleasant weeds."
~ Thomas Watson - England's Helicon ca 1580

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#17 2010-04-23 14:40:46

Moran from Planet X
Member
From: Here to There
Registered: 2005-10-11
Posts: 1524
Website

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

And let's not forget this favorite:

Video


"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I am all out of bubblegum." —Rowdy Piper, They Live!

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#18 2010-04-29 01:38:20

evaughan
Member
Registered: 2010-03-23
Posts: 6

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Looks like I will be postponing my trip to Japan until after the summer. I have been getting some great gigs out here in LA (I play several different kinds of flute for meditation and yoga classes). But when I get a better idea of going to Japan I will contact you Kiku. You are a wealth of information, it is very much appreciated.

By the way, leave it to YouTube to show you it is possible to play a log. Although some might contest. ;-)

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#19 2010-04-29 02:35:17

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

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

evaughan,

Autumn is a great season to go to Japan.
If you wait as long as to November - it might be cold in the mountains but you can do bamboo harvesting... in case you were interested smile

Please do contact me any time when you are planning to go to Japan. Combined with the contacts of the other people here on the forum - I am sure your trip will be great!


After being based in Japan during the years 1987~2000 I do have quite some contacts in Japan and it is only very nice to share with others. Can't believe it is 10 years ago I left Japan... but hey I used these years to become Dr ethnomusicology. I left Japan after my grandmother died. The contact to Meiji Japan through her was quite an amazing experience.


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

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#20 2010-07-01 23:43:16

ejun
Member
Registered: 2008-03-15
Posts: 3

Re: Zen and making your own Shakuhachi in Japan

Hello!
For any of you going to Japan, I'm a Japanese Rinzai zen monk, a certified teacher of the Meian (Myoan) Ryu, now living near Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto. If you want, we can practice shakuhachi and zazen together (I can teach calligraphy, too). If you are on a short visit, you can just come for a cup of tea and talk about Zen culture... Please feel free to contact me any time! More info: http://myoun.digi2.jp/bunkaen.html

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