I'd be interested in reading Riley Lee's dissertation as well as our small
branch of the iemoto down in Kochi doesn't really get much information as
to what goes on at the iemoto's center up in Tokyo, and I know little of
the workings of the iemoto at a higher level, especially in its relations
regarding other iemotos in the Kinko ryu. The iemoto system does offer
very personalized and in depth instruction in a particular tradition, and
that is probably one of the best things about it. Most of our lessons with
the sensei in Kochi or with one of the heads of the iemoto who occasionally
visit from Tokyo (once every several years) are one on one, sitting in
seiza across a low table from the sensei -- he reads the shakuhachi gakufu
(music notation) upside down -- not a small feat in itself -- and the other
students in the group are also watching and listening in. The fact that we
have a rather authoritarian teacher is not necessarily an accurate
reflection of the iemoto itself -- having said that, his knowledge of the
shakuhachi and the gaikyoku and honkyoku in our tradition is very extensive
and he is very generous with his time and efforts to teach us as much as
possible-- there's always more to learn.
Cheers,
Dan
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jan 08 2002 - 09:19:35 PST