Re: [Shaku] The Power of Urushi

Hi Delmar
Have you tried playing a shakuhachi before and after
it has been lacquered, giving you this conclusion? I
found it quite interesting that, when I made those
recordings for this list, of some hochiku before and
after applying urushi, no-one claimed they could hear
any difference in the sound. Actually, I do think it
makes a slight difference, but that also is relative
to how much work has been done inside the bamboo in
the first place. For example, even with a hochiku, or
any kind of jinashi shakuhachi, the maker will be
using files inside the bamboo. That makes the surface
rough. The more of that work which is done, the more
rough surface you have. Roughness makes the sound
dull. Urushi then serves to help make the surface
smooth again.
But more than just whether it has urushi or not, is
the effect of the maker, crafting the inside to bring
out the sound wanted, balancing the notes, etc. This
crafting is by changing the shape. A coat of urushi,
which is by the way extremely thin, does not actually
have so much effect on that process. As mentioned
though, it does greatly improve the longevity of the
instrument, acting as a water barrier. This is surely
one of the reasons why urushi has been used for so
many hundreds of years on so many of the traditional
Japanese instruments.

Some makers nowadays may prefer to use more modern
artificial coating to do the same job. This is perhaps
a good solution for those with urushi allergies. As
for the people I meet here in Japan, they tend to
prefer the traditional and natural urushi coating,
which seems so loved here.

Best wishes
Justin

--- delmar mavignier <mavignier@passionpixels.com>
wrote:

> and really... why do we need urushi in the first
> place.
> much nicer sound without. and playing the bamboo
> instead of the lacquer.
>=20
> anyone?
>=20
> :-)
>

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Received on Wed Jul 11 18:36 PDT 2007