--Apple-Mail-2-799682520
charset=WINDOWS-1252;
format=flowed
Dear shakuhachi list,
Our group hailing from Vancouver BC, just returned from a journey to=20
Japan harvesting bamboo, visiting sacred places, and taking master=20
classes. I have written a preliminary summary of the first section of=20
our trip. I will add more entries and detail as the days progress. You=20=
can see pictures along with the narrative at:=20
http://www.bamboo-in.com/about-us/Piligrimage.htm
Have a happy Christmas and O-Shogatsu!
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu,
Al
=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D
Alcvin Takegawa Ramos
Director
The Shakuhachi Society of BC (Bamboo-In)
=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D
S9-C3
Madeira Park, B.C.,V0N 2H0
Canada
tel: 604.883.2023
cell: 604.788.0060
MAIL: ramos@bamboo-in.com
WEB: www.bamboo-in.com
Shakuhachi Roots Piligrimage 2004
=A0
Harvesting
Playing
Jinashi
Jiari
Making
Makers
Zazen
Misogi
Suizen
Music
Sankyoku
Honkyoku
Henro
Family
Peace
Tendai
Zen
Shinto
Matsuri
As I write, I am living in the past, within memories and imagination,=20
as the experience was quite difficult for me to capture on paper while=20=
engaged in it.
(Peter Smith's haiku may help in solving this dilema! See haiku below.)
The memory I am referring to is the pilgrimage to Japan this past=20
November/December 2004 to experience the roots of shakuhachi from an=20
physical-visceral basis.
As the organizer and guide of this unique excursion into Japan, I am=20
only giving my own perspective on it. There are so many emotions and=20
levels of nuance to this journey that it is impossible to capture the=20
entire experience in words. So I hope to incorporate the other=20
participants=92 view into this narrative. There were seven of us,=20
including me, who came to Japan for the tour. Ronan Nanning, the=20
youngest (14 years of age) in first year of highschool, who has been=20
studying shakuhachi with me for three years. Peter Smith (39), a=20
computer systems executive for an insurance firm in Richmond, BC, who=20
has been studying with me for over a year. His wife, Paris, a buyer for=20=
a clothing chain in Vancouver; Jean Mihell (66), Peter Smith=92s mother,=20=
a retired nurse who just started playing shakuhachi a month ago; Jane=20
Kilthau (63), from New York, a retired highschool teacher, who has been=20=
studying with Ronnie Seldin for 9 years; and John Paul Sicotte (33)=20
from Edmonton, Alberta, a computer programmer who plays taiko/shinobue=20=
who started shakuhachi after coming to the Vancouver Shakuhachi=20
Festival last year. In Japan we were joined by Justin Ken Tobias, a=20
Japanese-Australian working in Kanazawa-prefecture.
This trip is a dream come true for me as I=92ve always wanted to take=20
students to Japan to experience Japanese culture and shakuhachi.
Tokyo (Nov. 18-19)
Submerged again within the Tokyo atmosphere; my blood quickens to the=20
pace of the mass of humanity and technology merging like ghosts into=20
the ether. Old, familiar feelings wash over me.....but this time not a=20=
slave to a company but a vessel of shakuhachi and O-Kami-sama, guiding=20=
students, first timers to Japan.=A0 Guided by the spirits of shakuhachi,=20=
the depression of Tokyo is dispersed like sun shining out of a dark=20
cave. I see through the cracks of glass and steel into a truly=20
beautiful dimension.
This first day in Tokyo was spent relaxing and walking around Ueno Park=20=
and spending the afternoon viewing ancient Japanese historical=20
artifacts at the massive National Museum. On our way home we all played=20=
shakuhachi in the center of Ueno park as people were going home from=20
work. The sun was setting and our sound floated through the mist and=20
smog and branches of cherry trees lining the park walkways.
Back at the hostel I could barely sleep as I was extremely excited=20
about the next day=92s trip to Nagano to harvest bamboo.
=A0
Nagano (Nov. 20-21)
Waking up at 5 AM we all got to Shinjuku Station by 6:30 AM. Our train=20=
to Nagano left at 7:15 AM. We got to Sakakita Station, a tiny town in=20
the mountains of Nagano around 10:30 AM and Atsuya Okuda was there to=20
greet us. He had a bus waiting for us and we threw all our bags in the=20=
bus and drove to the ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) where were all=20
met by other members of the Zensabo, Atsuya Okuda=92s school of bamboo=20=
flute players, old friends and new ones.
After lunch the harvesting began. The area where we were to harvest was=20=
only 5 minutes from the ryokan. The day was glorious. Sunny, warm and=20
clear skies. We parked by the side of the road and everyone signed out=20=
for tools to harvest bamboo: pick-chisel, hammer, and hand saw. Then we=20=
all trekked up the side of steep hill covered in bamboo. As we went=20
higher the steeper it got and it eventually became quite treacherous.=20
Many times I would slip and nearly saved myself from a fatal tumble by=20=
clutching onto a bamboo stalk.
Before actually harvesting I offered sake and dried squid to the=20
spirits of the mountain and bamboo.
To harvest, one must select a desirable piece of bamboo that is not too=20=
young and a suitable diameter. Then the upper stalk is cut to make=20
bamboo extraction easier. With hammer and pick the roots are cut at=20
least 5 inches below the earth. Roots are extremely strong so a great=20
deal of muscle and energy is needed to extract a stalk. My goal was to=20=
get 30 stalks but I came out with 14 which is still a good harvest. We=20=
stayed there for 5 hours but I could have stayed there all night !
We descended the slopes and began cleaning the bamboo roots as the sun=20=
set, preparing for the bamboo burning the next day.
The evening was a time for celebration. After a hard day's work on the=20=
mountain harvesting bamboo, the onsen (hotspring) at the ryokan felt=20
incredible! Shower, hot pool, sauna, cold pool....donning the cotton=20
yukata... heaven.=A0 Then a traditional Japanese meal in the main room=20=
with everyone. After dinner we all gathered in a big room there was a=20
sharing of honkyoku by those who wished to play. I started with the=20
piece, Tamuke then many people chose one honkyoku to play...Koku,=20
Echigo Meian Sanya, Daha, Neri Saji, Koku, Sagari Ha...
Sleep was peaceful and deep.
The next morning after breakfast was abura-nuki, oiling and drying=20
bamboo by heating over fire. We all gathered at Okuda-san's friend's=20
place where bon-fires were made. It was a fun, communal experience as=20
we all burned bamboo together over the bonfires. We spent all morning=20
doing abura nuki then our group had to leave for Kyoto after 1 PM. We=20
took the train from Nagano Station to Kyoto where we met Yoshio=20
Kurhashi at Kyoto Station at 6:40 PM.
Kyoto/Nara (Nov. 21-23)
Meian-ji
Nijo-jo
Ryoan-ji
Ginkaku-ji
Visiting Yamaguchi Shugetsu
Mie (Nov. 23-25)
Tsubaki Daihongu
Iga Ueno
Tokyo again (Nov. 26-Dec. 2)
Christopher Blasdel Workshop
Ichi Ku Kai Misogi-Zen Dojo
Sogawa Jinashi-kan making workshop
Murai Jinashi-kan making workshop
Saitama (Dec.3-5)
Chichibu Yo Matsuri
Mitsumine Jinja
=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D
=A0
HAIKU
from the
Shakuhachi Roots Pilgrimage
By Peter Smith
=A0
First time in Japan--
passport, page 7
new orange sticker.
Airport security,
prompt and efficient:
no photos here.
Come refresh yourself
with ice green tea--
our first vending machine.
Restaurant meal--
sake laughter
across smoke filled air.
Japanese culture:
not so different,
just different.
November rains
busily play pachinko
on our umbrellas.
Across from Ueno park
hot ramen noodles
go slurp!
Antique swords
in the national museum
slice through history.
Under a sole umbrella,
while above,
a thousand raindrops.
Ginkgo tree--
fans carpet the ground,
we walk on.
Subway station with its
thousands of commuters;
us against the flow.
Bamboo grove,
hammering chisel sounds
--shakuhachi beavers.
Cutting bamboo,
dirt under fingernails--
the roots of Honkyoku.
[Honkyoku =3D original repertoire.]
Steep slope--
my bamboo culm
takes a quick ride down.
Sake bottle forgotten,
his long sweet tone
fills my cup.
Thick smoke--
bamboo held over a fire;
the wind has turned.
Blue pagoda roofs--
reflected sunlight
on a country lake.
Tokyo express train--
gentle rocking,
no rush here.
Eighty eight, eighty nine...
lost count,
here=92s a new railway post.
Bamboo culms--
each connected to the others,
the same once a flute.
Cloud darkened hills--
rain cleans the air
for playing Koku.
[Koku =3D Empty Sky]
It's either seaweed
or pickle, definitely
not the original colour.
Leaves orange and red--
thousands have come to see
thousands more in line.
At Meianji temple
we play an offering
till the sound subsides.
Starting anywhere,
finishing anywhere,
we just played.
Famed city Kyoto
of a hundred temples,
not a monk in sight.
Department complex
casts its shadow--
temple obscura.
Two lovely geisha:
come take our picture
2,000 yen.
Rich complexities
of real green tea--
every sip.
Past the ticket booth
the temple sits--
manicured pines.
Ryoanji temple--
no need to enter,
their garden is empty.
[Ryoanji =3D home of the famed rock garden.]
Shugetsu flute--
my hand won't let go
as I return it.
[Shugetsu =3D master flute maker.]
Ordinary meal,
yet served on the side,
green tea salt.
Basho's birthplace--
a most wonderful place
to think of =A0nazuna.
[Nazuna =3D Shepherd's Purse]
If you stand on the tracks,
the Bullet Train
--like a bullet.
Shinto water purification
--stone frogs observe
funky underwear.
Through peach tree forest
an ancient pilgrimage
--fresh tracks.
Tatami mat room--
a black beetle sleeps
outside by my shoes.
Kind subway rider,
business suit and tie,
pushed us all in tighter.
Overnight at a Zen dojo
bitter cold winds
rattle the windows.
Zendo sangha--
lovely dog wags her tail
yet tied close by.
Restaurants in Tokyo--
shoes in lockers
making new friends.
Each of us eager
to make shakuhachi
--only one drill.
Temple tourist attraction--
locals pray for luck,
mainly just incense.
Finely dressed mannequins
grace Ginza shops--
the only ones not bowing.
Odd shower head
three feet off the floor,
the stool is the clue.
Big Buddha sits
eyes downcast,
mine through a camera.
Counting yen,
what=92s been spent, what remains:
enough to get home?
Matsuri winter festival--
the beat of taiko drums,
the call of street vendors.
Shakuhachi practice
heard far down the hall
--paper walls.
Trunk of an old tree
inside a new one grows--
restoration at mountain shrine.
New bamboo in tow,
new friends part,
plenty of hugs.
Lining the road
feathery bamboo tops wave
--we shall return.
=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D<+>=3D
EVENTS LIST FOR 2005
Events Calendar 2005
Event: O-Shogatsu
date: Saturday, January 01 and 02, 2005
time: from 6:00 AM
location: Tsubaki-Kanngara Jinja
city: Granite Falls, WA
=A0 =A0
details: There will be misogi (cleansing) and chohai (prayers) for the=20=
New Year at the Kannagara Jinja (Shrine). I will offer honkoku to the=20
Kami Sama for their pleasure and ask for a successful year of=20
shakuhachi in 2005. I will also give my honkyoku as blessing to all who=20=
have passed away in 2004.
=A0
Event: Jinashi-kan Shakuhachi Making Workshop on the Sunshine Coast
date: Sunday, May ?, 2005
time: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
location: Bamboo-In
city: Madeira Park, BC, Canada
=A0 =A0
details: After the bamboo has dried for several months, Bamboo-In=20
organizes a day for making hocchiku shakuhachi in the spring time on=20
the stunningly beautiful Sunshine Coast, Madeira Park, BC.
This year Murai Eigoro will be visiting to lead a workshop.
Dates and times to be announced.
Please contact Bamboo-In prior to the workshop to register for a space.
=A0
Event: Shakuhachi Summer Camp
date: Thursday, June 23-27, 2005
time: 9:00 AM
location: Sunrise Ranch
city: Boulder, CO
=A0 =A0
Master teachers:
Christopher Blasdel
Michael Gould
Kaoru Kakizakai
Yoshio Kurahashi
Riley Lee
David Wheeler
Yoko Hiraoka(koto/shamisen)
The Seventh Annual Shakuhachi Summer Camp of the Rockies will be held=20
from Thursday, June 23 to Monday, June 27, 2005. We will enjoy five=20
days of intimate study with great masters of the shakuhachi in the=20
beautiful foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
The idea of an annual summer camp arose in response to the expressed=20
interest of World Shakuhachi Festival 1998 participants to have a=20
smaller, more intimate, regularly-occurring gathering for shakuhachi=20
enthusiasts.
For the past six summers, camp participants have had the opportunity to=20=
practice, perform and study intensively with wonderful masters of the=20
shakuhachi and we=92re looking ahead to another exciting camp next year!
Shakuhachi Summer Camp offers an unparalleled opportunity to really=20
immerse yourself in shakuhachi from sun-up to bedtime. Featuring the=20
most impressive gathering of shakuhachi teachers annually outside of=20
Japan, this camp provides an intense learning environment that will=20
facilitate dramatic progress in your shakuhachi ability and a deepened=20=
understanding of the instrument and its broad musical repertoire. And=20
beyond all of this, we always come away from camp with a heightened=20
sense of the global fraternity of shakuhachi lovers and a greatly=20
increased and strengthened personal network of shakuhachi friends and=20
teachers from around the world.
=A0
Event: Second Bi-Annual Vancouver Shakuhachi Festival
date: Sunday, November 13-16?, 2005
time: 9:00 PM
location: University of British Columbia
city: Vancouver, BC, Canada
=A0 =A0
details: The Second Vancouver Shakuhachi Festival at UBC in beautiful=20
Vancouver, Canada will be 4 days of pure shakuhachi study, exploration=20=
and joy. Teachers, makers, and performers from Japan and around the=20
world will come to Vancouver to help make this event a truly wonderful=20=
experience. Local new music composers and performers will also be=20
involved in the festivities. Concerts, workshops, vendors, gatherings=20
for shakuhachi.....what more can you ask for!!! Hope to see you there!
A website will be up soon for registration. Please stay tuned!
=A0
Event: Second Annual Shakuhachi Roots Pilgrimage to Japan
date: Saturday, November 26-December 5, 2005
time: 7:00 PM
location: Japan
to visit: Nagano, Kyoto, Mie, Saitama
=A0 =A0
details: Every year in late autumn, Bamboo-In arranges trips to Japan=20
to harvest bamboo with Atsuya Okuda and the Zensabo. Members spend two=20=
unforgettable days visiting Nagano prefecture where the best bamboo is=20=
found. We participate in an outing of harvesting amongst the fresh air=20=
and beauty of Japan's mountainous countryside. During the field trip,=20
members are trained how to select, harvest, and dry bamboo for their=20
own hocchiku shakuhachi.
Other activities on the trip include visiting Kyoto Meianji and Tsubaki=20=
and Ise Shrines, some of the holiest places in Japan.
There is a maximum limit of 8 people on this trip so please reserve=20
your spot early!
--Apple-Mail-2-799682520
charset=WINDOWS-1252
<fontfamily><param>Times New =
Roman</param><color><param>0000,0000,0000</param><bigger>Dear
shakuhachi list,
Our group hailing from Vancouver BC, just returned from a journey to
Japan harvesting bamboo, visiting sacred places, and taking master
classes. I have written a preliminary summary of the first section of
our trip. I will add more entries and detail as the days progress. You
can see pictures along with the narrative at:
http://www.bamboo-in.com/about-us/Piligrimage.htm
Have a happy Christmas and O-Shogatsu!
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu,
Al
=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D
Alcvin Takegawa Ramos
Director
The Shakuhachi Society of BC (Bamboo-In)
=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D
S9-C3
Madeira Park, B.C.,V0N 2H0
Canada
tel: 604.883.2023
cell: 604.788.0060
MAIL: ramos@bamboo-in.com
WEB: www.bamboo-in.com<bold>
=
</bold></bigger></color><bold><color><param>7265,136F,A94E</param><bigger>=
<bigger><bigger>Shakuhachi
Roots Piligrimage 2004 =
</bigger></bigger></bigger></color></bold><color><param>0000,0000,0000</pa=
ram><bigger>
=A0=20
Harvesting
Playing
Jinashi
Jiari
Making
Makers
Zazen
Misogi
Suizen
Music
Sankyoku
Honkyoku
Henro
Family
Peace
Tendai
Zen
Shinto
Matsuri=20
As I write, I am living in the past, within memories and imagination,
as the experience was quite difficult for me to capture on paper while
engaged in it.=20
(Peter Smith's haiku may help in solving this dilema! See haiku
below.)=20
The memory I am referring to is the pilgrimage to Japan this past
November/December 2004 to experience the roots of shakuhachi from an
physical-visceral basis.=20
As the organizer and guide of this unique excursion into Japan, I am
only giving my own perspective on it. There are so many emotions and
levels of nuance to this journey that it is impossible to capture the
entire experience in words. So I hope to incorporate the other
participants=92 view into this narrative. There were seven of us,
including me, who came to Japan for the tour. Ronan Nanning, the
youngest (14 years of age) in first year of highschool, who has been
studying shakuhachi with me for three years. Peter Smith (39), a
computer systems executive for an insurance firm in Richmond, BC, who
has been studying with me for over a year. His wife, Paris, a buyer
for a clothing chain in Vancouver; Jean Mihell (66), Peter Smith=92s
mother, a retired nurse who just started playing shakuhachi a month
ago; Jane Kilthau (63), from New York, a retired highschool teacher,
who has been studying with Ronnie Seldin for 9 years; and John Paul
Sicotte (33) from Edmonton, Alberta, a computer programmer who plays
taiko/shinobue who started shakuhachi after coming to the Vancouver
Shakuhachi Festival last year. In Japan we were joined by Justin Ken
Tobias, a Japanese-Australian working in Kanazawa-prefecture.=20
This trip is a dream come true for me as I=92ve always wanted to take
students to Japan to experience Japanese culture and shakuhachi.
<bold>Tokyo (Nov. 18-19) </bold>
Submerged again within the Tokyo atmosphere; my blood quickens to the
pace of the mass of humanity and technology merging like ghosts into
the ether. Old, familiar feelings wash over me.....but this time not a
slave to a company but a vessel of shakuhachi and O-Kami-sama, guiding
students, first timers to Japan.=A0 Guided by the spirits of shakuhachi,
the depression of Tokyo is dispersed like sun shining out of a dark
cave. I see through the cracks of glass and steel into a truly
beautiful dimension.=20
This first day in Tokyo was spent relaxing and walking around Ueno
Park and spending the afternoon viewing ancient Japanese historical
artifacts at the massive National Museum. On our way home we all
played shakuhachi in the center of Ueno park as people were going home
from work. The sun was setting and our sound floated through the mist
and smog and branches of cherry trees lining the park walkways.=20
Back at the hostel I could barely sleep as I was extremely excited
about the next day=92s trip to Nagano to harvest bamboo.=20
=A0
<bold>Nagano (Nov. 20-21) </bold>
Waking up at 5 AM we all got to Shinjuku Station by 6:30 AM. Our train
to Nagano left at 7:15 AM. We got to Sakakita Station, a tiny town in
the mountains of Nagano around 10:30 AM and Atsuya Okuda was there to
greet us. He had a bus waiting for us and we threw all our bags in the
bus and drove to the ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) where were all
met by other members of the Zensabo, Atsuya Okuda=92s school of bamboo
flute players, old friends and new ones.
After lunch the harvesting began. The area where we were to harvest
was only 5 minutes from the ryokan. The day was glorious. Sunny, warm
and clear skies. We parked by the side of the road and everyone signed
out for tools to harvest bamboo: pick-chisel, hammer, and hand saw.
Then we all trekked up the side of steep hill covered in bamboo. As we
went higher the steeper it got and it eventually became quite
treacherous. Many times I would slip and nearly saved myself from a
fatal tumble by clutching onto a bamboo stalk.=20
Before actually harvesting I offered sake and dried squid to the
spirits of the mountain and bamboo.=20
To harvest, one must select a desirable piece of bamboo that is not
too young and a suitable diameter. Then the upper stalk is cut to make
bamboo extraction easier. With hammer and pick the roots are cut at
least 5 inches below the earth. Roots are extremely strong so a great
deal of muscle and energy is needed to extract a stalk. My goal was to
get 30 stalks but I came out with 14 which is still a good harvest. We
stayed there for 5 hours but I could have stayed there all night !
We descended the slopes and began cleaning the bamboo roots as the sun
set, preparing for the bamboo burning the next day.=20
The evening was a time for celebration. After a hard day's work on the
mountain harvesting bamboo, the onsen (hotspring) at the ryokan felt
incredible! Shower, hot pool, sauna, cold pool....donning the cotton
yukata... heaven.=A0 Then a traditional Japanese meal in the main room
with everyone. After dinner we all gathered in a big room there was a
sharing of honkyoku by those who wished to play. I started with the
piece, Tamuke then many people chose one honkyoku to play...Koku,
Echigo Meian Sanya, Daha, Neri Saji, Koku, Sagari Ha...
Sleep was peaceful and deep.
The next morning after breakfast was abura-nuki, oiling and drying
bamboo by heating over fire. We all gathered at Okuda-san's friend's
place where bon-fires were made. It was a fun, communal experience as
we all burned bamboo together over the bonfires. We spent all morning
doing abura nuki then our group had to leave for Kyoto after 1 PM. We
took the train from Nagano Station to Kyoto where we met Yoshio
Kurhashi at Kyoto Station at 6:40 PM.=20
<bold>Kyoto/Nara (Nov. 21-23) </bold>
Meian-ji
Nijo-jo
Ryoan-ji
Ginkaku-ji
Visiting Yamaguchi Shugetsu
<bold>Mie (Nov. 23-25) </bold>
Tsubaki Daihongu=20
Iga Ueno=20
<bold>Tokyo again (Nov. 26-Dec. 2) </bold>
Christopher Blasdel Workshop
Ichi Ku Kai Misogi-Zen Dojo=20
Sogawa Jinashi-kan making workshop
Murai Jinashi-kan making workshop
<bold>Saitama (Dec.3-5)</bold>
Chichibu Yo Matsuri
Mitsumine Jinja
=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D
=A0
<bold>HAIKU </bold>
<bold>from the </bold>
<bold>Shakuhachi Roots Pilgrimage</bold>
By Peter Smith
=A0
First time in Japan--
passport, page 7
new orange sticker.
Airport security,
prompt and efficient:
no photos here.
Come refresh yourself
with ice green tea--
our first vending machine.
Restaurant meal--
sake laughter
across smoke filled air.
Japanese culture:
not so different,
just different.
November rains
busily play pachinko
on our umbrellas.
Across from Ueno park
hot ramen noodles
go slurp!
Antique swords
in the national museum
slice through history.
Under a sole umbrella,
while above,
a thousand raindrops.
Ginkgo tree--
fans carpet the ground,
we walk on.
Subway station with its
thousands of commuters;
us against the flow.
Bamboo grove,
hammering chisel sounds
--shakuhachi beavers.
Cutting bamboo,
dirt under fingernails--
the roots of Honkyoku.
[Honkyoku =3D original repertoire.]
Steep slope--
my bamboo culm
takes a quick ride down.
Sake bottle forgotten,
his long sweet tone
fills my cup.
Thick smoke--
bamboo held over a fire;
the wind has turned.
Blue pagoda roofs--
reflected sunlight
on a country lake.
Tokyo express train--
gentle rocking,
no rush here.
Eighty eight, eighty nine...
lost count,
here=92s a new railway post.
Bamboo culms--
each connected to the others,
the same once a flute.
Cloud darkened hills--
rain cleans the air
for playing Koku.
[Koku =3D Empty Sky]
It's either seaweed
or pickle, definitely
not the original colour.
Leaves orange and red--
thousands have come to see
thousands more in line.
At Meianji temple
we play an offering
till the sound subsides.
Starting anywhere,
finishing anywhere,
we just played.
Famed city Kyoto
of a hundred temples,
not a monk in sight.
Department complex
casts its shadow--
temple obscura.
Two lovely geisha:
come take our picture
2,000 yen.
Rich complexities
of real green tea--
every sip.
Past the ticket booth
the temple sits--
manicured pines.
Ryoanji temple--
no need to enter,
their garden is empty.
[Ryoanji =3D home of the famed rock garden.]
Shugetsu flute--
my hand won't let go
as I return it.
[Shugetsu =3D master flute maker.]
Ordinary meal,
yet served on the side,
green tea salt.
Basho's birthplace--
a most wonderful place
to think of =A0nazuna.
[Nazuna =3D Shepherd's Purse]
If you stand on the tracks,
the Bullet Train
--like a bullet.
Shinto water purification
--stone frogs observe
funky underwear.
Through peach tree forest
an ancient pilgrimage
--fresh tracks.
Tatami mat room--
a black beetle sleeps
outside by my shoes.
Kind subway rider,
business suit and tie,
pushed us all in tighter.
Overnight at a Zen dojo
bitter cold winds
rattle the windows.
Zendo sangha--
lovely dog wags her tail
yet tied close by.
Restaurants in Tokyo--
shoes in lockers
making new friends.
Each of us eager
to make shakuhachi
--only one drill.
Temple tourist attraction--
locals pray for luck,
mainly just incense.
Finely dressed mannequins
grace Ginza shops--
the only ones not bowing.
Odd shower head
three feet off the floor,
the stool is the clue.
Big Buddha sits
eyes downcast,
mine through a camera.
Counting yen,
what=92s been spent, what remains:
enough to get home?
Matsuri winter festival--
the beat of taiko drums,
the call of street vendors.
Shakuhachi practice
heard far down the hall
--paper walls.
Trunk of an old tree
inside a new one grows--
restoration at mountain shrine.
New bamboo in tow,
new friends part,
plenty of hugs.
Lining the road
feathery bamboo tops wave
--we shall return.
=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D<<+>=3D
EVENTS LIST FOR 2005
=
</bigger></color></fontfamily><bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><col=
or><param>0000,0000,0000</param><bigger>Events
Calendar 2005 =
</bigger></color></fontfamily></bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><co=
lor><param>0000,0000,0000</param>
<bold>Event: O-Shogatsu</bold>
<bold>date: Saturday, January 01 and 02, 2005
time: from 6:00 AM
location: Tsubaki-Kanngara Jinja
city: Granite Falls, WA</bold>
=A0 =A0
details: There will be misogi (cleansing) and chohai (prayers) for the
New Year at the Kannagara Jinja (Shrine). I will offer honkoku to the
Kami Sama for their pleasure and ask for a successful year of
shakuhachi in 2005. I will also give my honkyoku as blessing to all
who have passed away in 2004.=20
<underline>http://kannagara.org/home.htm>
=A0
=
<bold>date: Sunday, May ?, 2005
time: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
location: Bamboo-In
city: Madeira Park, BC, Canada</bold>
=A0 =A0
details: After the bamboo has dried for several months, Bamboo-In
This year Murai Eigoro will be visiting to lead a workshop.=20
Dates and times to be announced.
Please contact Bamboo-In prior to the workshop to register for a space.
=A0
=
<bold>date: Thursday, June 23-27, 2005
time: 9:00 AM
location: Sunrise Ranch
city: Boulder, CO</bold>
=A0 =A0
Master teachers:
Christopher Blasdel
Michael Gould
Kaoru Kakizakai
Yoshio Kurahashi
Riley Lee
David Wheeler
Yoko Hiraoka(koto/shamisen)
The Seventh Annual Shakuhachi Summer Camp of the Rockies will be held
The idea of an annual summer camp arose in response to the expressed
For the past six summers, camp participants have had the opportunity
Shakuhachi Summer Camp offers an unparalleled opportunity to really
<underline>http://www.shakucamp.com/>
=A0
=
<bold>date: Sunday, November 13-16?, 2005
time: 9:00 PM
location: University of British Columbia
city: Vancouver, BC, Canada</bold>
=A0 =A0
details: The Second Vancouver Shakuhachi Festival at UBC in beautiful
A website will be up soon for registration. Please stay tuned!
=A0
=
date: Saturday, November 26-December 5, 2005
time: 7:00 PM
location: Japan
to visit: Nagano, Kyoto, Mie, =
=A0 =A0
details: Every year in late autumn, Bamboo-In arranges trips to Japan
Other activities on the trip include visiting Kyoto Meianji and
There is a maximum limit of 8 people on this trip so please reserve
</color></fontfamily>=
--Apple-Mail-2-799682520--
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List subscription information is at:
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29
: Wed Feb 23 2005 - 15:42:34 PST
</color></fontfamily><bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><color><param=
>0000,0000,0000</param>Event:
Jinashi-kan Shakuhachi Making Workshop on the Sunshine =
Coast</color></fontfamily></bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><color>=
<param>0000,0000,0000</param>
organizes a day for making hocchiku shakuhachi in the spring time on
the stunningly beautiful Sunshine Coast, Madeira Park, BC.
</color></fontfamily><bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><color><param=
>0000,0000,0000</param>Event:
Shakuhachi Summer =
Camp</color></fontfamily></bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><color><=
param>0000,0000,0000</param>
from Thursday, June 23 to Monday, June 27, 2005. We will enjoy five
days of intimate study with great masters of the shakuhachi in the
beautiful foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
interest of World Shakuhachi Festival 1998 participants to have a
smaller, more intimate, regularly-occurring gathering for shakuhachi
enthusiasts.=20
to practice, perform and study intensively with wonderful masters of
the shakuhachi and we=92re looking ahead to another exciting camp next
year!=20
immerse yourself in shakuhachi from sun-up to bedtime. Featuring the
most impressive gathering of shakuhachi teachers annually outside of
Japan, this camp provides an intense learning environment that will
facilitate dramatic progress in your shakuhachi ability and a deepened
understanding of the instrument and its broad musical repertoire. And
beyond all of this, we always come away from camp with a heightened
sense of the global fraternity of shakuhachi lovers and a greatly
increased and strengthened personal network of shakuhachi friends and
teachers from around the world.
</color></fontfamily><bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><color><param=
>0000,0000,0000</param>Event:
Second Bi-Annual Vancouver Shakuhachi =
Festival</color></fontfamily></bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><col=
or><param>0000,0000,0000</param>
Vancouver, Canada will be 4 days of pure shakuhachi study, exploration
and joy. Teachers, makers, and performers from Japan and around the
world will come to Vancouver to help make this event a truly wonderful
experience. Local new music composers and performers will also be
involved in the festivities. Concerts, workshops, vendors, gatherings
for shakuhachi.....what more can you ask for!!! Hope to see you there!
</color></fontfamily><bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><color><param=
>0000,0000,0000</param>Event:
Second Annual Shakuhachi Roots Pilgrimage to Japan
Saitama</color></fontfamily></bold><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><colo=
r><param>0000,0000,0000</param>
to harvest bamboo with Atsuya Okuda and the Zensabo. Members spend two
unforgettable days visiting Nagano prefecture where the best bamboo is
found. We participate in an outing of harvesting amongst the fresh air
and beauty of Japan's mountainous countryside. During the field trip,
members are trained how to select, harvest, and dry bamboo for their
own hocchiku shakuhachi.=20
Tsubaki and Ise Shrines, some of the holiest places in Japan.
your spot early!
http://communication.ucsd.edu/shaku/listsub.html