Greetings
The following is a brief overview of the Tokyo International Shakuhachi
Summit 2002, followed by some observations regarding non-Japanese
participation.
The Summit was held over three days, 9-11 August, in the suburb of Mizue,
about 40 minutes by subway from Shinjuku. The activities on Friday and
Saturday were held in the "Tobu Friend Hall", a multi-story building with
meeting rooms, music rooms, and a medium size concert hall on five levels.
Sunday was spent at another larger concert hall, the Main Hall in the Souai
Kumin Center, located two subway stops from the Tobu Friend Hall.
The activities on 9 August were as follows:
Five or six activities ran concurrently all day long, with twenty activities
all together. This meant that you could only attend at most six of the
twenty activities, unless you attended only the first half of some
activities to go the second half of others. A number of people chose this
less than ideal option.
Morning Workshops:
Making a Shakuhachi, by Matsumoto Hirokazu
Contemporary Performing Methods, by Fujiwara Dozan
Presentation on Komuso, by Makihara Ichiro
How to Read Western Music Scores, by Kobayashi Jun
Jiuta (traditional ensemble music) "Nasuno", by Tokumaru Jumei
Afternoon Workshops:
Shakuhachi Performance with koto and shamisen, by Ikegami Shingo
Performance of pieces composed by Rando Fukuda, w/piano, by Kakizakai Kaoru
and Okada Yuko
How to Play "Meri" and "Kari", by Tanabe Retsuzan
Making a Shakuhachi, by John Neptune
How to Make Sounds on the Shakuhachi, by Sugawara Kuniyoshi
Presentation on Komuso, by Kanda Kayu
Presentation on Komuso, by Shiratsuchi Koko
Computer Programming for Shakuhachi Notations, by Simura Satosi and others
Min'yo (Japanese Folksong) "Oiwake", by Hayashi Seido
Jiuta "Zangetsu", by Kawamura Taizan
Honkyoku "Shika no Tone", by Araki Kodo
Honkyoku "Tamuke", by Yokoyama Katsuya
Rehearsal of Summit group composition "Bamboo Metamorphose", composed by
Seki Ichiro
In the evening, there was a 90 minute concert, followed by a 180 minute
symposium.
The concert featured mostly modern pieces for one, two and three shakuhachi,
performed by people who were not able to play in the Sunday concert due to
prior commitments. There were no non-Japanese in this concert.
The Symposium, held entirely in Japanese, was a panel discussion on why
numbers of shakuhachi players had fallen by a third in Japan in the last
decade. One widely held opinion was that only the number of dues paying
members of the big shakuhachi organisations, eg. Tozan ryu, had fallen, and
that the shakuhachi 'scene' was as healthy as it has ever been.
Some panellists thought that young people needed to be encouraged to take up
the instrument. It was observed that in the USA, Australia, and to some
extent Europe, the numbers had greatly increased over the past decade. It
was also observed that the increased numbers overseas was more in terms of
percentages, while actual numbers remained relatively low. Many (most?) of
the panellists had no time for the 'iemoto' system and especially the
selling of licences. The belief was that this money making activity did
nothing to encourage musical excellence or to attract new shakuhachi
players. The dissenting view was that the iemoto system helped conserve
certain parts of the tradition, and the licence selling helped maintain the
iemoto system.
Saturday, 10 August was more of the same, this time with up to seven events
running concurrently.
Morning workshops:
Shinobue (traverse bamboo flute), by Toki Tatara
How to Teach Beginners, by Furuya Teruo
Techniques of Shakuhachi Performance, by Ishikawa Toshimitsu
Edo Period 'Ji Nashi" Shakuhachi, by Simura Satosi
Diagnosis: How is your Shakuhachi?
Jiuta, "Azuma Jishi", by Kawase Yosuke
Honkyoku "San'ya", by International Shakuhachi Kenshu-kan
Movie: "The Singing Bamboo"
Afternoon workshops:
Performing 'Haru no Umi", by the students of the Yoshizaki school
Rare Recordings of Shakuhachi Music, by Mori Jun
Performance of Pieces Composed by Rando Fukuda, w/piano, by Madama Kazushi
and Isozaki Manami
Komuso presentation, by Aoki Konamu
Komuso presentation, by Kosuge Daitetsu
How to Dig Bamboo, by Obu Jin
Shakuhachi: the Diameter of the Inside Curve, by Hayashi Masahiro
Jiuta "Sue no Chigiri", by Araki Kodo
Jiuta "Mama no Kawa", by Aoki Shoji
Shigin performance (dramatic singing, usually related to Bushido), by Kouno
Seimai
"An Example from a Classroom", by Kosakai Osamu
Also in the afternoon was a two hour (it went overtime!) Fourth Annual
Contest for the Shakuhachi Rookie of the Year. Each contestant was limited
to only four minutes. A panel of five or six judges ranked each performer on
a scale of 0-20. The person with the highest overall score won the contest.
The judges had a very difficult time, for among the 30 players or so, many
performed to very high standards. Also, it would have been challenging for
any judge to compare performances of honkyoku with those of modern
compositions, a bit like comparing apples with oranges. There was only one
non-Japanese in this concert, who happened to win it.
This concert was followed by a 90 minute presentation by Tim Hoffman on
Indian Classical Music on the Shakuhachi.
Saturday evening featured a Shakuhachi Enko (popular Japanese songs) Party,
another concert in the main hall, again mostly modern pieces, performed by
those who could not be accommodated in the Sunday concert, as well as a
second rehearsal of the group piece "Bamboo Metamorphose". Of the six pieces
in the concert, three were performed by non-Japanese.
Here is a question for you: With the idea that the workshop presenters
represent a large proportion of the principle proponents of the shakuhachi
tradition, how many of them have you ever heard of? Just one, maybe?
Sunday, the final day of the "Summit" began at 9am in the larger hall two
subway stops away, with the final rehearsal of "Bamboo Metamorphose". The
concert began at 11am and finished at 7pm.
The concert was divided into four sections, with intermissions between each
section.
The first section had solo Chinese traverse bamboo flute music, the folksong
"Oiwake", and the honkyoku "Tamuke" performed by most of the participants,
and conducted by Yokoyama Katsuya.
The second section presented five groups or bands that featured the
shakuhachi. One of the bands featured a non-Japanese
The third section had seven performances of honkyoku. Interestingly, of the
seven, three were versions of the same piece (Saji, Sashi, also known as
Jimpo San'ya), and two were versions of Nesting of the Cranes. The other
two pieces were Mukaiji Reibo, and Shin Kyorei. One of the pieces was
performed by a non-Japanese.
The fourth section featured ten modern compositions, including pieces for
one to nine shakuhachi players, for shakuhachi and voice, shakuhachi, tabla
and tamboura, shakuhachi and biwa, shakuhachi and bass koto, and shakuhachi,
koto and shamisen. Four of the pieces were performed by non-Japanese.
The final piece, or eleventh piece in this last section was 'Bamboo
Metamorphose", for four solo shakuhachi, taiko, marimba, and mass shakuhachi
choir (four parts), a very interesting piece, worthy of further
performances.
After the concert, a buffet party, with speeches, many toasts, etc, was held
in a banquet hall within the same building as the concert hall.
The following are some observations:
Though one might have had the idea that there was a large non-Japanese
component of the "Summit", as one can see by the names of the presenters of
the workshops, this was not the case. Though 'foreigners' were represented
in the Saturday and Sunday concerts, the vast majority of the performers
also were Japanese.
Furthermore, all six of the non-Japanese in the Sunday concert have studied
in Japan for a number of years. In fact, only two 'second generation'
non-Japanese, that is those who had not studied extensively in Japan with
Japanese teachers, featured in the entire Summit.
I spoke to few non-Japanese who participated in the Summit, but didn't
perform or present a workshop, and who understood little or no English. All
seemed contently satiated with shakuhachi 'stuff', even though none of the
workshops were presented in English. There was enough non-verbal stimulation
to suffice, it seemed.
Several points here. Firstly, the overwhelming majority of shakuhachi
activity probably still occurs in Japan. Technical performance skill,
academic and intuitive understanding of the repertoire, including honkyoku,
jiuta, min'yo, modern compositions, and instrument making all appear to be
of a higher level in Japan than elsewhere, so much so as to hardly warrant
comparison.
Japan is still where it is at in terms of the shakuhachi tradition. Though
this event was called an "International Shakuhachi Summit", the
international element was minimal at best.
Where does that leave us folks who live outside of Japan? I suppose we are
where we have always been, muddling along with our very limited knowledge,
limited experience, and limited understanding of the shakuhachi tradition,
sometimes reinventing the wheel, but also adding our little contributions to
that tradition, and having a grand time while doing so.
One lesson from the 'Summit', if there has to be one, is that most of us
reading this are swimming in extremely minuscule ponds, whatever size fish
we might think we are.
Your humble, bamboo flute playing minnow,
Riley
--Dr. Riley Lee Sound of Bamboo PO Box 939 Manly NSW 1655 Australia Tel: +61 02 9976 6904 mobile: +61 0414 626 453 www.rileylee.net
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