Shakuhachi
Sinuous bamboo bell
Meticulous form for air
Breath turned sonic
One, sound
Welcome, I’m a shakuhachi teacher and craftsman, inventor of the Bell Shakuhachi, and author of Your Shakuhachi Journey. As a teacher, I pass down the honkyoku pieces which were composed by the Komuso monks and their successors. As for my journey, it began when I started crafting bamboo flutes in my teens as a complement to my meditation practice. The shakuhachi was the first instrument that I studied under a teacher, and I never looked back. Over the years since, I’ve helped people around the world to enjoy this wonderful instrument as I continue to explore its seemingly inexhaustible depths for myself.
The name of my site, and of the Bell shakuhachi, comes from the honkyoku Reibo (鈴慕) which translates as “yearning for/missing the bell”. In this case, the bell is that of the monk Fuké (Puhua c. 770-840~60 AD). Legend has it, he would ring his bell in the village as a call to awakening, not unlike Diogenes of Sinope (c. 404-323 BCE) who would hold his lantern up to the faces of villagers in broad daylight in search of anthropon zito, a “human being”. Fuké’s bell has come to symbolize his teaching or “pointing”, enlightenment, or the nature of our consciousness. The Komuso monks expressed this in the saying ichi-on jobutsu, which means, “one sound, Buddahood”. Serendipitously, the shape of the root end of the shakuhachi also resembles a bell.
My YouTube videos on how to play shakuhachi
Below are my in-depth videos on the fundamentals of playing the shakuhachi. I cover all of the essentials, from how to hold shakuhachi of various lengths to getting your first sounds and improving. These videos now serve has my “free introductory lesson”, offered to all.
Do you need a shakuhachi?
The Bell shakuhachi – the first and only complete copy of a jinashi shakuhachi for sale. Handcrafted by me from my bamboo eco-composite material.
Bamboo Shakuhachi – Jinashi and Jimori
I craft and play jinashi and jimori shakuhachi (shakuhachi types explained). With these approaches, each piece of madaké bamboo is a sonic puzzle with a myriad of ways in which one can “solve”. In the end, they are a collaboration with the bamboo, allowing a unique voice to sing.
“What are shakuhachi?”
A. The utaguchi (歌口) tone-edge on the front and the chin-rest portion on the back
B. Finger-holes 1 through 5 (the 5th thumb-hole is on the back)
C. The bottom root-end which voices the fundamental
Note: Some shakuhachi have a joint between finger-holes 3 and 4
Shakuhachi (尺八) are end-blown flutes played with embouchure which is a specific shaping of the lips and mouth in order to control air-flow and pressure. Unlike Native American flutes and recorders they don’t have a fipple mouth-piece to direct the air-stream. While far more difficult, the reward is that the player can have much more control over the sound. The shakuhachi has six tone-holes, five of which are finger-holes, and it can play a little over two octaves. The natural scale is the minor pentatonic, however, players can access many more notes by adjusting the pitch in various ways.
For example, by lowering the head the player can bring their lips closer to the tone-edge which flattens the pitch. Players can also cover or “shade” the finger-holes to various degrees to flatten the pitch. Players combine these two techniques for meri (メり). Additionally, players move their head and lips in a number of ways to create vibrato and other sound effects. In short, it’s the ability to manipulate the sound to a high degree that makes it such a unique and expressive instrument.
A Brief History of the Shakuhachi
The first shakuhachi-like flutes were said to have been brought to Japan from the mainland during the Nara period (710-794 AC). These instruments were 1.08 shaku in length, which is much shorter than the later standard of 1.8 shaku (a difference of roughly 8 inches). Furthermore, they were made from the upper “pole” portion of the bamboo, as apposed to using the lower portion and root end of the bamboo, as is standard now. They were a part of Gagaku court music, however, they were replaced in the ensemble. They eventually made it into the hands of the common people, particularly the Komoso or “straw-mat monks” who would play shakuhachi for alms.
The Komoso were not ordained Buddhist monks, so “monk” was more of loose descriptor. They begged for alms like ordained monks and presumable alongside them at times. At the beginning of the 17th century the Tokugawa military government consolidated its control over most of the country which brought about peace. As a result, many samurai found themselves masterless or rōnin (浪人, “drifter” or “wanderer”).
Some of these rōnin turned to playing the shakuhachi for alms, like the Komoso. Eventually, the rōnin created their own fraternity and began calling themselves the Komuso instead of Komoso. Komuso translates as “monks of nothingness” (虚無僧). The Komuso eventually named their organization the Fuke shu after the Chinese Chan Buddhist monk Fuke Zenji (allegedly ca. 770-840 or 860). The Komuso developed a number of honkyoku which are considered a Zen art form. These pieces are felt to be spiritual or meditative in nature and some have called the act of playing Suizen or “blowing Zen”.