For your reading enjoyment: a specially curated playlist by Cornelius Shinzen Boots composer and multi-instrumentalist who received his shakuhachi mastery (Shihan) in 2013.
The Shakuhachi
The name “shakuhachi” is translated as “1.8 shaku.” “Shaku ” is a unit of length, and “hachi ” means 8, thus the flute is basically 1.8 shaku long. However, this only refers to the flute that plays in the key of D minor. Many lengths and keys are possible and used today.
The oldest known evidence for bamboo flutes goes back to the ninth century BCE in China. However, there is much variation among bamboo flutes with regard to whether it is end-blown or side-blown, the number of holes, etc. In the sixth century the bamboo flute is known to have migrated to Japan. The shakuhachi as we know it today originated in the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism.
Cornelius Boots is a Vandoren performing artist, a Mujitsu Shakuhachi and Chikuzen Studios affiliate, and a member of the International Shakuhachi Society, the World Flute Society, Chamber Music America, New Music USA and Save the Redwoods. He is currently (since 2014) enrolled in the Masters of Divinity program at Buddha Dharma University where he also teaches a course on the Taoist rascal-sage Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi), The Way of Zhuangzi.
