Hi Theo,
It could be that there is mold in your hocchiku and
that that could be the source of your allergy. Since
hocchiku have bare walls, it is more likely to retain
breath moisture than a lacquered bore shakuhachi.
If you are not too squeamish about it, there are
natural mold killing remedies you could mix to scrub
out the bore of your flute with. I would try
grapefruit seed extract or tea tree oil (tea tree oil
has a strong a smell for some people but I like it).
Both extracts have multi-purpose uses. Among them, as
antibacterial cleaning solutions and immune system
boosters. You could kill two birds with one stone ;-)
If indeed you do have mold in your flute and you want
to try this at home here's what you'll need:
1) Long stiff brush that will reach at least half way
into your flute, maybe a toothbrush taped to a rod.
2) A strong solution of one of the above mentioned
extracts mixed with water (a few drops in a cup of
water).
3) A bath tub.
4) Fan to dry the flute.
I could walk you through the process off the list if
you're interested. Feel free to give me a ring.
One of my favorite flutes is a 2.5 hocchiku. I rarely
bring it out of my shop because it's acclimated so
well to the relative humidity level. I did however
bring it to Japan with me recently. It was it's first
time home in three years ;-)
Breath slowly and deeply,
Perry
> Hello to all, has any jinashi - hocciku
> player's here ever experienced
> any allergic - reaction with the (raw-bamboo) with
> there shaku's..? theo
>
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