Shakuhachi

What it means

The shakuhachi is a Japanese end-blown flute made from the root end of a bamboo stalk. It has four finger holes on the front and one on the back, and is sounded across an obliquely cut edge at the top, with no duct or reed.

The name refers to its traditional standard length of one Japanese foot and eight inches (shaku and hachi), about 54.5 centimeters.

Musical use

For centuries in Japan the shakuhachi was played by wandering monks of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism as a meditation instrument, with playing regarded as a spiritual practice. The solo repertoire of honkyoku, meditative pieces of great tonal subtlety, comes from this tradition.

Changes in lip position, head angle, and blowing angle strongly affect pitch and timbre; gliding tones, breathy noise components, and a very wide range of nuances are typical, which is why the flute can be played chromatically despite having few finger holes.

The shakuhachi should be distinguished from the Western recorder, which is sounded through a duct, and from the transverse flute, which is blown from the side; the shakuhachi is instead held vertically and sounded across the edge at the end of the tube.

Performance practice

Expect that simply producing a tone takes a great deal of practice: first look for a stable embouchure at the edge and vary the air stream in small steps. Listen to traditional honkyoku recordings to understand breath control and tonal treatment.