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The Shakuhachi
Roots and Routes
Henry Johnson
The shakuhachi is a traditional Japanese musical instrument.
The instrument – an end-blown, bamboo flute – has been
known in Japan since the Nara period (710-94), after being
introduced from China. In Japan, it was originally part of
the court orchestra (gagaku), but was soon disseminated to
other music styles and regions to become one of Japan’s most
mysterious and fascinating musical instruments. Yet, with
a very long history in Japan, over the last 30 years or so it is
increasingly establishing a place for itself outside Japan. The
shakuhachi has a long association with Fuke subsect of Rinzai
Zen Buddhism, especially during the Edo period (1600-1868).
These komusô mendicant monks had about 80 regional temples
around Japan and transmitted shakuhachi music orally. Later
performance traditions developed that focused more on the
music than on religion, and today several traditions or styles
are well known (e.g., Kinko and Tozan schools). Made of a
single stem of bamboo, the instrument is blown across one
end in order to make a sound. It is the sound of the shakuhachi
that has a haunting yet beautiful tone, which has intrigued
Japanese and non-Japanese alike for many years. In this book,
the instrument is explored through ethnographic research
with performers and instrument makers; with detailed study
of historical research materials; and through the depiction of
the instrument in Japanese art (e.g., Ukiyo-e woodblock prints).
This book is the first of its kind in English to investigate the
history of this intriguing instrument from its introduction
to Japan to the present-day phenomenon of becoming more
popular in international contexts.
BRILL
13
BRILL’S JAPANESE ART CATALOG 2014
Related titles: See also The Shamisen: Tradition and Diversity
(p. 27) and The Koto (p. 31).
• June 2014
• ISBN 978 90 04 24339 2
• Hardback (ca. 172 pp., ca. 60 color illus.)
• List price EUR 84.- / US$ 109.-