Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

I dig the language Akikazu Nakamura used to emphasize the importance of tone color at the end of this quote...

Different scales, a subjective and flexible approach to timekeeping, and the importance of texture in Japanese music are three elements that distinguish it from Western music...

"I think the third one is the most important," Nakamura says, suggesting that the texture of a note is sometimes more important than its actual pitch. "Japanese are very sensitive to tone color or timbre, so sometimes the timbre eats the pitch."

Heheh "eats it".  Love it.

The article/interview also mentioned some specialized breathing techniques, etc.  Worth a quick read.

-Darren.