Notes About the Shakuhachi

Adrian Freedman

Within the sound of the shakuhachi we can hear living nature – the autumn
wind playing with dry leaves in a bamboo grove ... the cry of a soaring bird ...
waves crashing on a distant shore ... an empty bell ringing in a still morning
… The mystical sounds of the shakuhachi come from the edge of silence,
crossing boundaries of time and culture to echo in the soul.

When looked at, nothing could seem more simple: a hollowed out bamboo
stalk with just five holes; yet despite its simple appearance it has a
reputation as being one of the most difficult instruments to master, and is
capable of producing a remarkable range of expressive tones.

The shakuhachi has a venerable history, going back well over a thousand
years. It has strong links to Zen Buddhist contemplative practice. Within this
context the shakuhachi was considered as more of a spiritual tool than a
musical instrument.
Playing the shakuhachi as part of meditation practice came to be known as
suizen (blowing zen). It was considered that the development of ‘spirit
breath’ (kisoku) would lead to ‘absolute sound’ (tettei-on), in which a single
tone could contain the entire universe.

The monks who practiced the shakuhachi in this way were known as
komusō, literally ‘Monks of Emptiness and Nothingness’. They roamed the
Japanese countryside playing the shakuhachi from temple to temple with
rattan headdresses that obscured their face, signifying detachment from the
world.

The traditional repertoire of the komusō was called honkyoku (original

music), or dōkyoku, (music of The Way). Some honkyoku pieces are serenely
meditative and picturesque, others are more powerful and dynamic. These
pieces have been passed down in an oral tradition spanning hundreds of
years, with different playing and teaching styles emerging at different times
and in different parts of Japan.

 
  

The legendary shakuhachi master Watazumi Doso Roshi

commented:

“If you go deep into the source of where the music is being made, you'll
find something more interesting. At the source, everyone's individual
music is made. If you ask what the deep place is, it's your own life and
it's knowing your own life.”

Playing the shakuhachi

One feels the unseen worlds
In all the universe
There is only this song

Ikkyū Sōjun (Crazy Cloud) 1394-1482.

Zen Buddhist monk and poet