LEARN TO PLAY SHAKUHACHI

LEARN TO PLAY SHAKUHACHI - Members only

Instructor:  Eric 玄楓 Strong

6 Wednesdays – February 16 to March 30, 2023

Classes on Feb 16, 23, No class on Mar 2, Classes on March 9, 16, 23, and 30

6:00pm – 7:30pm

Fee: $60.00

Max # - 12 people

Please pay for registration HERE

I’m very excited to be teaching another session of classes on the shakuhachi at JCAM this Spring! We had a dozen wonderful students begin in the fall. Many of you probably know the powerful, emotional sound of shakuhachi. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve heard it in the background of movies, anime and video games.

Do you know its history and tradition?

During the Edo period (1603-1867) the law restricted this flute to a special group of Buddhist monks called komuso. We could translate their name as “monks of emptiness”. They covered their faces with baskets and travelled around, playing the shakuhachi to beg for donations.

In the Meiji era (1868-1912) the new government pushed away many traditions. Temples were burned and the komuso were outlawed. The shakuhachi became a popular instrument for folk music (min'yō) and ensembles (sankyoku – with koto & shamisen). Most people forgot the old ways, and the flute was even changed to fit western ideas about music.

In 1890, Myōan-ji temple was rebuilt in Kyoto. A group called the Myōan Kyōkai started to preserve the old songs and ways of playing. I’m honoured to be a member of this group, studying under Seian Genshin, the 42nd Kansu (head) of Myōan-ji.

In Myōan shakuhachi, we play traditional music called honkyoku. Playing the shakuhachi is treated as a kind of meditation. We focus on our breathing and learn to use our whole spirit to play the instrument. The songs often imitate the sounds of nature, like Shika no Tōne (Distant Sound of Deer). Other songs embody Buddhist concepts and spiritual teachings.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have fun! Join our class for an opportunity to learn a beautiful instrument and a little bit of history.