Greetings All,
This is in reply to Stav's recent questions:
>And how many accomplished shakuhachi players are there in Japan right now?
>From the small amount of Japanese shakuhachi CDs on sale here, I get the
>sense that actually very few people are still playing this instrument at
>all.
Stav, I can't say with any certainty how many shakuhachi players
(accomplished or on the road to being so) there might be in Japan now, but I
can give you some idea. I live in the city of Kumamoto (population 640,000
or so) which is a fair distance from Osaka or Tokyo. I've been here and
studying shakuhachi for the past 19 years. I can easily say that there are
100 or so Kinko and Tozan players here who perform publicly. It's an easy
bet that there are up to 10 times as many who don't perform but play for the
enjoyment of it or are not ready for performance. Although shakuhachi
learning is largely relegated to older men, young players both female and
male are increasing especially in the Tozan school largely due to strong
representation of that school in the many hogaku clubs in universities
around Japan. Only recently, the largest local general music school in
Kumamoto is offering instruction in shakuhachi. Shakuhachi players here
are largely unaware of the existence of shakuhachi players in other
countries and have virtually no understanding of the existence of
international portals like this list (things might be different in more
active centers like Tokyo). Though I made a strong attempt to enlist people
to attend the last World Festival in NY, I couldn't generate the interest (I
suppose the daunting cost of airline tickets was a big factor). At any
rate, I feel that it is necessary to bring these two bodies together somehow
for two reasons. One is to give people learning in places other than Japan
a sense of the roots of the music which is the heart and soul of shakuhachi.
Here I would like to pay homage to the many teachers, both Japanese and
non-Japanese who have experienced those roots to a depth that allows them to
justifiably translate and transmit them to others and who have and actively
do so. The second is to give Japanese players a sense that the shakuhachi
is expanding and the depths of the tradition are being stirred by new ores.
One concern of mine is about something that looks like a diverging split
that at times seems like a gaping chasm between these two bodies. I'm not
necessarily saying that forging two distinct paths would be bad, but I
somehow think that something stronger might be generated by making closer
ties through communal support. The world festivals, local festivals and
camps are wonderful attempts to do this. Please attend any of these events
that you can and if possible, try to study in earnest with one of the many
teachers who have been nourished by the roots. A dying art? not by a long
shot.
all the best
jeff cairns
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