Living in Tokyo, I have been involved in shakuhachi making for a number of
years. A complete assortment of shakuhachi-making materials is available
from "Meijiro", the well-known shakuhachi shop. They offer a workshop once a
month for those interested in construction of their own flutes, taught by a
number of makers. This is where I learned, and I can't conceive of really
learning the craft any other way. Meijiro does have good books on
flute-making; unfortunately they are all in Japanese, as far as I know. Mrs.
Miura, who runs the shop along with her husband, is fluent in English, and
is always happy to answer questions from us heyna gaijin. You might call or
e-mail her, as she would be the person most in-the-know about information in
English on the subject.
Meijiro also offers their catalog of tools in English--ask them to send one
to you if you want an idea of what is involved. I have, over the course of
the years, spent several thousand dollars on tools and supplies, although
you can get a basic tool kit for around $500. The main points involved
include cutting, making the joint (if jointed), the utaguchi, finger and end
holes, filing the interior, building the bore and then lacquering. If you
are making a flute with a natural bore then the process is greatly
simplified, as the joint and the bore are difficult and time-consuming
steps. This does leave you, however, with the vagaries of the individual
cane interiors to contend with, and most of these flutes have various
intonational and response problems, as well as (usually) a non-existent
third octave. Also, tuning is usually a problem, as it is very difficult to
find canes with lengths and nodal placements that allow for concert pitches.
I'll try to briefly outline the major steps in making a flute:
1. Cane is harvested and then heat-treated to remove the oils. If it is bent
it can be straightened at this point in a special jig. Then it is left to
age for a minimum of three years.
2. Seasoned cane is selected based on length and nodal placement. Meijiro
sells a set of wooden strips with the length, joint placement and finger
hole placements marked thereon for flutes from 1.2-2.5 shaku. These can be
ordered either for traditional length-based or modern tone-based flutes. If
the flute is to be jointed the middle section can be adjusted (sometimes) so
that the length is correct and the finger holes fall in the correct places
(i.e, ideally in the middle of the section and not on or near the nodes).
3. Saws and special files are used to trim the top and bottom of the cane,
an auger is used to cut a hole at the root end, and a special round rasp on
a long rod called a garibo is used to knock out the interior membranes at
the nodes and smooth the interior. The joint is cut. Channels are cut with
saws and files and/or knives near each side of the joint and these areas are
wound with silk thread or stainless wire to reinforce and prevent cracking
around the joint.
4. The bottom of the joint is hollowed out with curved chisels and a special
bamboo sleeve glued in. The top part of the joint is also hollowed out and
finished with sandpaper or special tools to ensure roundness and a good
fit.The bamboo sleeve is cut to size and a small ring glued in the upper
part of the top. The finished joint has to fit snugly after several coats of
lacquer, and with no gap at the top inside. This ain't easy. There are some
special tools available to facilitate this process.
5. The utaguchi edge has to be cut at the correct angle and in the right
orientation. This work is begun with a fine saw and finished with special
files and sandpaper glued to a flat board. Meijiro sells a special gauge to
get all the angles correct. Then the top node is opened to the correct size.
This varies depending on the length of the flute. These steps are rather
critical--if you go to far there is little, if anything, to do to save the
flute.
6. The upper edge is cut with special knives and/or files for the utaguchi.
(Meijiro has made a special template which considerably simplifies the
process of marking the correct dimensions and placement for the cut). This
is for me the scariest part of the whole process--very easy to make a
mistake or break the thin bamboo and your flute is trash. And it is not a
straight cut--it angles. Difficult stuff.
7. The utaguchi material (usually acrylic or water buffalo horn) is shaped
to fit the hole just cut, then inserted , tapped in, sawed then shaped with
files and sandpaper.
8. The bore is filled with a special paste called "ji" (phonetic spelling).
This is traditionally made from lacquer (urushi) and stone powder. Modern
equivalents include epoxy wood putty and car body filler putty. The
disadvantages of the former are its long drying time and the fact that
Japanese lacquer is chemically similar to the sap of the Rhus family. If you
are allergic to poison oak, ivy or sumac then you will have the same
reaction to lacquer. Many coats of ji are needed to bring the inside
diameter of the bore down enough. Because of drying times, traditionally
this process can take several months. The other alternatives are easier to
work with and less noxious, but traditionalists feel that it compromises the
final sound. Maybe, but at most only a very little.
9. Finger holes are drilled according to a schema. I can provide
measurements for those who wish them (let me know). There are traditional
diameters according to the length of the flute. Modern practice in Tozan
flutes is to have all the holes the same size, Kinko no. Most people use a
drill press with special bits these days...
10. Now comes the hard part--the bore. Meijiro sells a set of internal
measurements at different points inside the bore for all sizes of flutes for
\2000 each. The bore is critical, and has to be within very fine tolerances
(on the order of .1mm throughout the length) for the thing to play
correctly. This is what separates the masters from the boys. Many good
makers have settled on a bore design and are able to reproduce it
accurately, and know from experience how to fine-tune each flute. The most
commonly used tool is a set of small metal cylinders in .1mm steps that can
have special adhesive-backed sandpaper attached which are screwed onto a
long rod and used to ream out the flute. If you go too far you have to
recoat the interior with ji and start again. I redid the interior of my 1.8
twenty-two times. When I shamefully told this to the sensei he said
"Hmmm...Not bad!" Sometimes he has redone it sixty times or more. Tom Deaver
told me that he gardens as a hobby. Just when he feels like throwing a flute
through the window he'll go outside and tend the blueberries for awhile.
It's maddening to get everything perfect except for one note, then fixing
that throws other notes off. It seems like an endless chain.
11. If and when you get this whole thing working you coat the interiors of
the holes and the bore with lacquer (again several times, using wet and dry
sandpaper between each coat to smooth the lacquer). There is a chemical
alternative to lacquer called "Cashew" (the brand). It is hard enough to be
used everywhere but on the joint surfaces.
12. Several other things, such as shaping and finishing the top, fitting
rings or binding at the joint, finishing the root end. But this is the gist
of it. But this is kind of like me talking about rebuilding an engine and
saying--put new piston rings on and reassemble...So many steps left out,
each with their own unique set of tricks, traps and pitfalls. And I am only
a beginner myself. However I hope this serves to give you a vague idea what
is involved.
Best,
Toby Marshall
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