Shakuhachi Players and Others,
Have just read the reply from Ronnie Seldin about the meaning of "Honkyoku",
that is, the word "Honkyoku". Just in case anyone has forgotton or doesn't
know, there is another meaning for the "hon" in "honkyoku" that may be
appropriate here. This may be what Ronnie is trying to get at in reference
to the comment made by Miyata. Two or three examples will nicely illustrate
the idea. The Japanese is not included since most of your computers do not
understand it.
"Hon jitsu", written with the same "hon" as "honkyoku" together with "jitsu"
written with the character for "day", means "today". If it is translated as
meaning "original day" in the sense of there having been in the past some
"first" and thus "original" day, then the meaning is missed. It simply
means "today" in the sense of "now".
"Hon nin" is another example of the same meaning of this "hon". It
frequently happens that, when one is completing some sort of official
government paper work, there is a space provided in which to write the
answer to "This form is for whom?" or "Whose form is this?". The most
common response is this "Hon nin" which means "This is my form" or "This
form is for me". Thus, "Honkyoku" also can mean, "This is My song".
From one point of view, this idea of "My song" might be something very much
worth striving towards. What does it mean if written scores contribute to
this in any way.
It might also be kept in mind that, according to some sources, a very early
written notation for a complete shakuhachi honkyoku was one simple circle.
One last thing. One can listen to various versions of Yokoyama Katsuya
playing the same song, recorded at an interval of a few years. They are
quite different. In resonse to questions about these differences, Yokoyama
has responded that shakuhachi players have always been free to change the
songs, but that they always knew where they could and could not make
changes. So what does this mean about the validity of any sort of notation.
And take Riley Lee's version of the Kinko "Shika no Tone". He happened to
mention once that he picked up various techniques from hearing several other
shakuhachi players. That is, he incorporated parts from a few different
players into his own version. What does this mean about any notation?
Tom Deaver
Bei Shu Shakuhachi Workshop
http://www.aax.mtci.ne.jp/~shaku100/
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