From: stan@hfglobe.intel.com (Stan Uffner)
To: zendo@lysator.liu.se
Subject: shakuhachi & zen
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 10:22 PST


A while back (before the US holidays) someone asked about the 
relationship between the _shakuhachi_ and Zen.

The shakuhachi is a bamboo flute that developed in Japan.  It is said to 
have precursors dating back to ancient Egypt.  A definite connection 
exists with a bamboo flute that was used in China.  This early flute was 
made from the thinner upper parts of the plant.  The "modern" flute is 
made from the lower thicker portions of the plant.  The thicker parts 
gave the flute it characteristic tone.  The flute is made by cleaning 
out the center portion of the plant and drying.  The drying process may 
take as long as two or three years; the average is several months.  The 
tube is cut to length (Shakuhachi means "a length of 1.8 shakus" and 
determines the pitch of the flute.  Longer or shorter flutes would play 
in different pitches but they are all sort of lumped in the generic term 
"shakuhachi.")  The bore is worked with files and material is removed or 
added to create a smooth conical shape.  The blowing edge is created by 
making an oblique cut at the top end of the tube.  This type of edge is 
important in that the angle at which the flute is held affects the 
pitch.  This gives rise to many of the vibrato and glissando effects.  
The bore is lacquered and the outside oiled.  Some flutes are wrapped 
with rattan bindings to help prevent splitting and cracking.  

The shakuhachi was adopted as a religious instrument by a Zen Buddhist 
sect known as the Fuke.  By some political maneuvering they were granted 
the sloe right to use the instrument in their begging trips and 
pilgrimages.  (During which , as payment for their unique status, they 
served as information gatherers for the government.)  These were the 
_komuso_, the "priests of emptiness" who wandered about wearing a basket 
over their heads and playing their flutes.  It is not known if they did 
zazen in addition to their playing practice, but they did say that the 
music they played was not intended as a performance but was their 
practice of Zen.  The melodies (if they can be called that) they played 
were not improvisations but were structured forms and exercises that 
they learned from their _sensei_ and _roshi_.  Similar to other _-do_, 
the monk would begin with the basic forms and then as his skill and, 
presumably, insight grew he would be introduced to more and more 
advanced training.  Ultimately he would begin to improvise on the 
melodies and even create new ones as his practice developed and he 
became a master of the flute.  This set of melodies was passed from 
generation to generation in this fashion.  Eventually the life of the 
komuso began to fade from society and there was a danger that the 
melodies, called honkyoku would be lost.

In the 19th century a man named Kinko began to collect the honkyoku and 
notated it.  He began a school that was dedicated to the study and 
preservation of the shakuhachi tradition.  Also about this time the 
flute began to be used in secular performance of the traditional music, 
particularly in ensemble with the _koto_ and _shamisen_.  Virtuosos 
began to appear and they formed their own schools (_ryu_) that had a 
less traditional/religious character, but all harkened back to the 
honkyoku for training and inspiration.

Today, the Kinko-ryu still exists and is still based on the original 
thirty-some honkyoku.  Another major school is the Tozan-ryu, which is 
focused on the more modern music and technique, including a synthesis 
with western music.  Of special note to the readers of this list would 
be the Watazumi school.  Watazumi is a Zen teacher who uses a form of 
the shakuhachi as the basis for his teaching.  He uses green, unworked 
bamboo flutes and emphasizes isolated (as in secluded) musical 
improvisation as a form of zazen.  He is fairly hard to find out about 
as he shuns the public eye and has been recorded playing only a few 
times.  His students even rarely hear him play.

I have informally studied the shakuhachi for over ten years, using books 
and tapes and taking an occasional lesson when the teacher was 
available.  In practice, I always try to clearly divide the times I'm 
"working" on technique or learning a new piece from the times when I 
just sit and play.  It is very difficult to compare the experience of 
zazen and the "blowing zen" of the flute.  The obvious connection is the 
focusing on the breath, but it goes beyond this.  There is the 
occasional feeling of "forgetting" the flute and the melody.  Each tone 
becomes a complete expression of the fleeting moment.  I feel there is 
an ephemeral quality of playing that is similar to some aspects of 
zazen.

It is said that the "...goal of the shakuhachi is to enlighten the whole 
universe with one note."  Keep your ears open.