THE "SAN KOTEN HONKYOKU" OP THE KINKO-RYU:

A STUDY OF TRADITIONAL SOLO MUSIC

FOR THE JAPANESE VERTICAL END-BLOWN FLUTE—
THE SHAKUHACHI

by

NORMAN ALLEN STANFIELD

B.Musi, University o f B r i t i s h Columbia, 1970

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF MUSIC

in

THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

(Department o f Music)

We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming
to the required standard

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

October, 1977

© Norman A l l e n S t a n f i e l d , 1977
In presenting t h i s thesis i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f the

requirements f o r an advanced degree at The U n i v e r s i t y o f

B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library s h a l l make i t

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ment or by h i s representatives. I t i s understood that

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 ABSTRACT

The "San Koten Honkyoku" are three ("san") t r a d i t i o n a l

("hon") compositions ("kyoku") which are distinguished and

venerated f o r t h e i r archetypical ("koten") c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .

Of the many "schools" ("ryu") of musicians who claim p r o p r i e -

t o r s h i p or p r o p r i e t a r y c o n t r o l of versions of these melodies,

the Kinko-ryu has the strongest claim to h i s t o r i c i t y . Their

medium of performance i s the "shakuhachi"—a bamboo, end-

blown, v e r t i c a l f l u t e — a n d t h e i r aesthetics i s founded on Zen

Buddhism.

The progenitor of the shakuhachi most l i k e l y o r i g i n a t e s

from the Mesopotamian c i v i l i z a t i o n s of the fourth millennium

B.C. A f t e r d i f f u s i o n to China, the v e r t i c a l f l u t e acquired

a seminal r o l e as the aural manifestation of the Chinese fun-

damental p i t c h , "huang-chung". Some time l a t e r i t became a

melody instrument i n the court orchestras, s u f f e r i n g several

recondite changes i n nomenclature and p o p u l a r i t y . When i t

a r r i v e d i n Japan as the Imperial "ch'ih pa" (Jp. shakuhachi)

i t was i n rapid decline, but during the 16th century i t re-

emerged as an ignoble instrument played by Japanese mendicant

Buddhists c a l l e d "Komo-s5". The period between the decline

 iii

of the Imperial Court's shakuhachi and the r i s e of the Komo-

so's v e r t i c a l f l u t e i s a void f o r h i s t o r i a n s of the i n s t r u -

ment, but i t i s suggested i n t h i s t h e s i s that an e a r l i e r

group o f mendicant Buddhist priests/musicians, the "Mo-s5"

biwa players, may have been the source of t h i s renaissance.

By the time of the Edo Period (1600-1868), the v e r t i -

c a l f l u t e had passed from the hands of the Komo-so, through

the merchant c l a s s who c a l l e d i t the " H i t o y o g i r i " and a

samurai clan who knew i t as the "Tenpuku", to a newly-emerged

group comprised o f "ronin" or masterless samurai who adopted

the then-defunct Komo-so's way of l i f e i n a manner that

suited t h e i r a r i s t o c r a t i c background. They c a l l e d themselves

"Komu-so", and t h e i r c o l o r f u l h i s t o r y ranges from clandestine

malevolence to Buddhist s a i n t l i n e s s .

In the 18th century, Kurosawa Kinko and h i s son (Kinko

II, 1741-1811) and grandson (Kinko I I I , 1772-1816) advanced

the p o s i t i v e aspects of the Komu-so's a c t i v i t y by assembling

a u n i f i e d repertoire and organizing an association o f l a y

f l u t i s t s devoted to the p u r s u i t of "Takedd"—the "Way" of

the bamboo f l u t e — a process o f self-enlightenment fashioned

a f t e r Zen Buddhist precepts.

Today, the music theory o f the Kinko-ryu Honkyoku i s

comprised of a b a s i c system o f rudiments tempered by complex

 iv

performance p r a c t i c e s which are only accessible through the

o r a l / a u r a l i n s t r u c t i o n o f a sensei. His pedagogy i s designed

to b r i n g the student t o a u n i f i e d understanding o f the many

aspects of melodic d e t a i l by emphasizing t h e i r r o l e i n anima-

t i n g the simple melodies outlined by the s k e l e t a l notation.

Through a systematic analysis o f the Kinko-ryu "San

Koten Honkyoku", the present study has found that the theore-

t i c a l p r i n c i p l e s o f these compositions are c l e a r l y demonstra-

ble. Their inherent pitches are derived from the Japanese "In"

scale and e x i s t i n a hierarchy made manifest i n tonal p r o c l i v i -

t i e s which are n a t u r a l l y or deceptively resolved. The h i e r a r -

chies also determine the structures o f the melodies by a r t i c u -

l a t i n g t h e i r progress.

The conclusion o f t h i s thesis draws together the s o c i -

ology, history, melodic theory and melodic analyses o f the

Kinko-ryu shakuhachi and i t s Honkyoku by o u t l i n i n g t h e i r r e -

spective contributions to a unique musical expression o f Zen

Buddhism.
 TABLE OP CONTENTS

PREFACE .. vi

CHAPTER

1. The Kinko-ryu 1

2. A H i s t o r y o f the Shakuhachi 36

3. Kinko-ryu Melodic Theory 85

4. San Koten Honkyoku Melodic Analysis 117

CONCLUSION 164

NOTES 167

APPENDICES

A. Transcriptions 190

B. Senritsukei 223

C. Fingering Chart 229

D. Character Index 233

BIBLIOGRAPHY 256

v
 PREFACE

My graduate studies, culminating with t h i s thesis, were

an amalgam o f three seemingly disparate i n t e r e s t s : flute

playing, Buddhism and Japan. The meeting ground of these

i n t e r e s t s was the Shakuhachi, a v e r t i c a l f l u t e which combines

the magic of the f l u t e sound with the e s s e n t i a l s p i r i t of

Buddhism and the fascinating temperament o f t r a d i t i o n a l Japan.

The preliminary groundwork f o r my f i e l d studies i n J a -

pan was g r a t e f u l l y received from my graduate studies super-

v i s o r . Professor E l l i o t Weisgarber, with further assistance

from Professor Shotaro Iida (Buddhist Studies). Since my r e -

turn from Japan, I must thank Professor Ming-Yueh Liang and

Professor Donald McCorkle f o r t h e i r many invaluable comments

and c r i t i c i s m s during the d r a f t i n g of my t h e s i s .

I am also deeply indebted to Takeo Yamashiro, Zenryu

Shirakawa, Michel Roffiaen, and Linda Bennett f o r t h e i r help

during the actual preparation o f my thesis.

The zenith of my studies occurred i n Japan, under the

excellent i n s t r u c t i o n of Tanaka Yudo, Sensei i n the Kinko-ryu,

who taught me so much more than how to play the shakuhachi.

vi
 vii

A renaissance figure who teaches as much by example as by

pedagogy, h i s dedication to the highest p r i n c i p l e s o f human

endeavour was c l e a r l y evident i n h i s devotion to "Takedo".

During the same period, I also received a considerable

amount o f valuable information concerning the Meian-ha from

Dr. Toyoaki Kojima Sensei.

It i s hoped that t h i s t h e s i s w i l l serve as a temporary

intermediary between the t r a d i t i o n as i t i s found i n Japan,

and the West which i s j u s t discovering i t . Ideally, i t w i l l

soon be replaced with the d i r e c t kind of experience between

Sensei and students most valued by the Zen Buddhists:

" e x t r i n s i c teachings, separate from exegetics

no dependence on words and l e t t e r s
pointing d i r e c t l y to the human mind
seeing into one's nature and a t t a i n i n g Buddhahood"

T r a d i t i o n a l l y ascribed t o Bodhidharma
 CHAPTER 1

THE KINKO-RYU

1:1 The Kinko-ryu Organization

The Kinko-ryu i s a "school" o f shakuhachi players foun-

ded by Kurosawa Kinko (1710-1771). The usual t r a n s l a t i o n of

ryu as "school" i s c l e a r l y inadequate, but i t i s the only

English word which approximates i t s meaning.

One o f the c e n t r a l facts o f the Japanese people i s t h e i r

p a r t i c u l a r sense of s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s which i s derived from

Chinese Confucian f a m i l i a l ethics tempered by medieval Japanese

feudalism. In music c i r c l e s , t h i s c u l t u r a l pattern has been

made manifest i n " f a m i l i e s " ("ryu") comprised o f p a t r i a r c h a l

teachers ("sensei") and " f i l i a l " students ("gakusei") who may

be r e a l or "adopted". The nature of t h i s teacher-student r e -

l a t i o n s h i p i s discussed i n Chapter 3 (see 2:1).

Kurosawa Kinko was followed by Kinko I I , I I I , and IV,

who were actual p a t r i l i n e a l descendants. However, Kinko IV

was unable t o succeed, so the ryu's leadership was passed on

to an "adopted" student o f Kinko I I I , a t r a d i t i o n that came

to dominate the Kinko-ryu. This type o f succession i s prone

1
 2

to d i v i s i v e factionalism with the r e s u l t that the kinko-ryu

has formed multiple branches and sub-branches. Although inter-

necine c o n f l i c t s have developed, the r e s u l t o f t h i s d i s p e r s i o n

has been an expanded community and a c e r t a i n amount of freedom

for students wishing to assert t h e i r musical independence.

The b a s i c tenor o f the Kinko school i s very conservative,

which acts both f o r and against i t . An emphasis on intense

teacher-student r e l a t i o n s h i p s and a conservative r e p e r t o i r e

tends to discourage prospective students, but i t s Zen Buddhist

heritage and conscious conservation o f t r a d i t i o n a l Japanese

values more than compensate f o r such stringency.

The Kinko-ryu i s comprised o f laymen (upper and middle

class) who u s u a l l y pursue t h e i r ryu a c t i v i t i e s as an avocation,

although some might argue that i t i s t h e i r profession which

i s an avocation, while shakuhachi-playing i s the c e n t r a l f a c t

of t h e i r l i f e . The ryu i s an urban phenomenon with a c t i v e

centers i n the Kanto (Tokyo) and Kansai (Osaka-Kyoto) area,

the former being the place of the school's o r i g i n i n the 18th

century. I t s two major branches stem from the leading students

of Hisamatsu Fuyo" (the successor o f Kinko I I I ) , A r a k i Kodo I I

and Yoshida Itcho. The more successful l i n e o f Kodo a l s o d i -

vided i n t o several branches dominated by the lineages o f Kawase

Junsuke and Araki Kodo I I I , the former being l e s s conservative

than the l a t t e r . The t o t a l network o f branches and sub-branches

 3

i s so i n t r i c a t e that i t i s v i r t u a l l y impossible t o o u t l i n e .

There are four other ryu besides the Kinko school. The

Ikkan-ryu, a recondite school, i s conterminous with the Kodo

branch of the Kinko-ryu and various sensei have claimed to be

i n both schools simultaneously. This school traces i t s h i s -

tory back to Miyagi Ikkan who studied with Kinko I (Sato, 1966:

1,3). The most popular ryu i s the Tozan-ryu, founded by Nakao

Tozan (1876-1956) i n the Kansai area i n 1906. His school i s

strongly influenced by the West, as evidenced by i t s complex

system of bureaucratic pedagogy s i m i l a r to a n a t i o n a l conser-

vatory of music, and i t s r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e music l i t e r a t u r e

and shakuhachi. I t s r e p e r t o i r e i s extensive and v a r i e d but

i t does not date before the founding of the school. The r e -

s u l t of t h i s p o p u l i s t approach i s a membership f a r i n excess

of a l l the other ryu.

When A r a k i Kodo II was a c t i v e i n the Tokyo area, Kondo

Soetsu was r e p l i c a t i n g the same innovations i n Osaka. His

work resulted i n the founding o f the Chikuo-ryu with a reper-

t o i r e that u t i l i z e s the pre-1868 Fu-Ho-U" s y l l a b a r y because

M

of an e a r l y association with the Meian-ha (Gekkei, 1971:21).

The Chikuo musicians use p a r t i c u l a r l y long shakuhachi ("cho-

kan") and perform i n an intense, sotto voce tone augmented by

a wide v a r i e t y of subtle melodic embellishments. Finally,

the Kinpu-ryu, an outgrowth of the Nezasa-ha, i s another

 4

school which was founded at the turn of the century. Its

musicians are also known f o r t h e i r use of chokan but their

sound i d e a l i s more p l a c i d , c o n s i s t i n g of long tones i n t e r -

polated with breath pulsations at regular i n t e r v a l s of two

or three gentle bursts per second i n the manner of an echo.

Aside from the ryu, there are associations of shaku-

hachi musicians c a l l e d "ken" or "ha" which are u s u a l l y asso-

c i a t e d with temples ('*ji"). These organizations u s u a l l y con-

s i s t of independant teachers and t h e i r students who may share

the same r e p e r t o i r e but who r e t a i n t h e i r own "family" s t y l e .

Some o f these " f a m i l i e s " (ryu) became quite established, such

as the Kinpu-ryu. The two most famous ha are the Nezasa-ha

i n Tohoku (North-East Honshu Island, Japan) and the Meian-ha

i n Kyoto. The l a t t e r was established at Meian-ji i n 1883 as

the Meian Kyokai but the temple i t s e l f has a long t r a d i t i o n

as the major f o c a l point for the Komuso. Another organization

i s the "Ueda", which has deep roots i n f o l k music. Although

they are considered ignoble, I have encountered them i n such

prestigious r e c i t a l s as the National Concerts ("Zenkoku Dai-

kai") which are held i n Meian-ji.

1:2 The Kinko-ryu Shakuhachi

The shakuhachi* played by the Kinko-ryu are made from

 5

a thick-walled type of bamboo c a l l e d "odake", Phyllostacus

Bambusoides (En. Whangee, from the Ch. Huang, as i n Huang-

chung Kuan, see 2:1). Because the root-end ("ne") i s i n -

cluded i n the cut, the word "nedake" i s used as a synonym

(see Gekkei, 1971:18). However, among Kinko-ryu performers,

the word "take" i s a more common synonym.

The casual appearance o f the f i n a l product i s deceptive

because each instrument requires long hours o f meticulous

craftsmanship. The " b e l l " i s hewn from a dense knot o f roots

and bent by applying heat and pressure; the bore i s c a r e f u l l y

lacquered t o create a smooth w a l l and evenness o f p i t c h ; and

the mouthpiece, or "utaguchi", i s hewn a f t e r a b u f f a l o horn

or t o r t o i s e - s h e l l : insert: ("hasamigushi") has been placed i n

it. The instrument i s u s u a l l y made i n two pieces f o r reasons

concerning tuning, but t h i s expediency has one flaw, i n that

the bamboo i s weakened and therefore prone t o s p l i t t i n g . For

t h i s reason, shakuhachi are dangerously susceptible t o the

surrounding humidity, and antique shakuhachi are extremely

rare.

Excellent photographs o f the stages o f construction may

be seen i n Bamboo (Austin, 1970:144-51), and the problems o f

construction are w e l l o u t l i n e d i n "The Shakuhachi and the

Kinko-Ryu Notation" (Berger, 1969:35-42).

The three main types o f shakuhachi construction are the

 6

Kinko-ryu, Tozan-ryu, and Meian-ha models. There i s no u n i -

formity o f construction i n the Meian-ha type which r e f l e c t s

the casual organization o f the association, but two features

which are notable are that a l l o f the shakuhachi are made i n

one piece and the ridges o f the inner nodes are retained.

The s a l i e n t features that d i f f e r e n t i a t e the Kinko and Tozan

instruments were o u t l i n e d by Berger (ibid.) and they may be

summarized and supplemented i n the following manner:

1. The distance between the thumb-hole and the fourth f i n g e r -

hole i s 5.4 cm. i n the Kinko shakuhachi and 3 cm. i n the

Tozan shakuhachi. A l l other holes, i n the instruments o f

both schools, are 5.4 cm. from each other.

2. The diameter o f the t h i r d finger-hole i s 1 cm. i n the To-

zan Shakuhachi and .9 cm. i n the Kinko shakuhachi. A l l

other holes i n both instruments are 1 cm. i n diameter.

3. The inner wall o f the Kinko instrument i s e n t i r e l y l a c -

quered, whereas the Tozan instrument has alternate layers

of p l a s t e r o f Paris and lacquer.

4. The decorative band around the ends o f the j o i n t s i s usu-

a l l y made o f rattan i n the Tozan school, and lacquered i n

the Kinko school.

5. The bore o f the Tozan shakuhachi i s l a r g e r and f l a r e s at

the end j o i n t , whereas the Kinko shakuhachi c o n s t r i c t s

slightly.
 7

6. The hasamiguchi are shaped d i f f e r e n t l y , as i n Example 1.

Example 1. The Kinko and Tozan Hasamiguchi

7. The blowing edge of the Tozan utaguchi i s shallower and

wider than the Kinko, making the Tozan instrument much

e a s i e r to p l a y . Despite t h i s fact, the Kinko-ryu r e t a i n

t h e i r s t y l e o f instrument because i t s "resistance" offers

more o f a challenge.

The t r a d i t i o n a l range o f the shakuhachi s l i g h t l y ex-

ceeds two octaves.

Example 2. Shakuhachi T r a d i t i o n a l Range

>
h_
Vi
^ yC=z .
a

A l l the chromatic notes within the t r a d i t i o n a l , ambitus

can be played, but only f i v e notes i n both the low (RO) and

high (KAN) can be played "naturally", i . e . , with the head i n

 8

a normal p l a y i n g p o s i t i o n .

Example 3. Natural Shakuhachi Sounds

a ^-v o a
7 pj o
LJ ai

V; a <J
c ? f I i
RO KAN
The other pitches are sounded by lowering the head by degrees

so that a " n a t u r a l " p i t c h w i l l then sound a h a l f - s t e p lower

("raeri") or a whole step lower ("dai-meri"). The opposite

motion ( i . e . , r a i s i n g the head) i s c a l l e d " k a r i " , and t h i s i n -

s t r u c t i o n i s used to cancel meri or dai-meri i n d i c a t i o n s .

The term "shakuhachi" i s a truncated v e r s i o n o f the

more c o r r e c t a p p e l l a t i o n "ichi-shaku, hachi-sun" (or " i s s h a -

ku, hassun") which means one foot, eight d e c i - f e e t , using the

ancient Chinese u n i t s of measurement ( i . e . , multiples of ten

as i n the metric system). An isshakuhassun i s only one mem-

ber of a consort of i d e n t i c a l - l o o k i n g v e r t i c a l f l u t e s that

vary only i n s i z e (see Ongaku J i t e n , 1965-66, vol.5, "Kangakki").

Each instrument being one-half step d i f f e r e n t from the next,

the name o f the f l u t e s and t h e i r lowest p i t c h can be illus-

t r a t e d i n the following manner:

 9

Example 4. Shakuhachi Consort Names

7_
(?
f
\
<

Stab I / I I I I I I I I

The only other instrument t o e x h i b i t t h i s k i n d o f con-

s o r t arrangement i s the "shinobue", a r u r a l f l u t e . The a r -

chaic H i t o y o g i r i , a prototype o f the shakuhachi, and the

Gagaku Shakuhachi were a l s o b u i l t i n consorts as evidenced

by chronicles and extant c o l l e c t i o n s (Gekkei, 1971:18).

Today, the most frequently used shakuhachi s i z e i s the

isshaku-hassun, although longer shakuhachi (chokan) were more

often played i n the past and are considered more appropriate

f o r performances o f Honkyoku (Weisgarber, 1968:316). Two

other shakuhachi s i z e s have become common i n the Kinko-ryu

t r a d i t i o n ; the "isshaku-sansun" (a "tankan", o r s h o r t shaku-

h a c h i ) and t h e "nishaku-sansun" (a chokan). Both i n s t r u m e n t s ,

tuned a P e r f e c t F o u r t h h i g h e r and lower, r e s p e c t i v e l y , t h a n the

isshaku-hassun, a r e used i n Honkyoku t r i o s (see Example 5 ) .

Example 5. " M u k a i j i Reibo" T r i o , F i n a l Cadence

1. Kumoi C h o s h i (Chokan)

2. Honte C h o s h i

3. Akebono C h o s h i (Tankan)

1:3 The K i n k o - r y u R e p e r t o i r e

The r e p e r t o i r e o f the K i n k o - r y u i s comprised o f ap-

p r o x i m a t e l y 200 m e l o d i c c o m p o s i t i o n s ("kyoku") w h i c h a r e c a t e -

g o r i z e d as e i t h e r "Honkyoku" ( i n t r i n s i c melodies), "Gaikyoku"

( e x t r i n s i c m e l o d i e s ) , o r "Shinkyoku" (contemporary m e l o d i e s ) .

Honkyoku r e p r e s e n t t h e c o r e o f the r e p e r t o i r e because of their

s a c r e d and h i s t o r i c a l c o n n o t a t i o n s ; Gaikyoku are l a t e r addi-

t i o n s which a r e s e c u l a r i n s p i r i t and c o n t e x t . Shinkyoku i s

 11

comprised of music written i n the 20th century but the r e l a -

t i v e l y few compositions i n t h i s category tend to be thought

o f as extraneous to the Kinko-ryu corpus.

While Honkyoku are self-contained compositions, G a i -

kyoku are a c t u a l l y part-books f o r " J i - u t a " and "Danmono" a r -

rangements. The l a t t e r are purely instrumental compositions

while the former are medlies o f songs with instrumental ac-

companiment and interludes ("tegoto"), played without pause.

The compositional structure of both genres i s heterophonic,

with a lead koto melody "simultaneously v a r i e d " (Meyer, 1956:

234-46) by shamisen and/or shakuhachi (a l a t e r substitute f o r

the kokyu (see Malm, 1959:175,55)) and, i n the case o f J i u t a ,

an interpolated vocal l i n e (Adriaansz, 1973:226). In Danmono

performances any combination of the instruments can be used

(including i n d i v i d u a l solos) but J i - u t a performances always

use the e n t i r e instrumental ensemble, u s u a l l y r e f e r r e d t o as

"Sankyoku" (three-part melodies).

The introduction o f Gaikyoku t o the r e p e r t o i r e o f the

Kinko-ryu i s c r e d i t e d to Araki Kodo I I . (Kondo Soetsu, the

founder o f the Chikuo-ryu, attempted the same a s s i m i l a t i o n

but to a l e s s e r extent.) This new "populist" trend was promp-

ted by a p r o s c r i p t i o n of a l l Komuso a c t i v i t i e s i n 1871, i n -

cluding performances of Honkyoku. In an e f f o r t to sustain

t h e i r ryu (or because they were no longer constrained by

 12

t r a d i t i o n a l o b l i g a t i o n s ) , Kodo II and Kondo Soetsu incorporated

the shakuhachi p a r t s of the popular music o f the time (mainly

J i u t a ) into t h e i r ryu systems o f pedagogy and r e p e r t o i r e . H i s -

tory has shown that t h i s innovation was extremely successful,

r e s u l t i n g i n a continuously expanding r e p e r t o i r e of Sankyoku

arrangements which c u r r e n t l y number over one hundred. Gaikyoku

has also prompted further experimentation, r e s u l t i n g i n Shin-

kyoku which employ contemporary ensemble combinations and forms

(see Toyataka, 1956),

The Kinko-ryu Honkyoku c o n s i s t s o f 28 "Dokuso" (solo

melodies), 4 "Seiso" (heterophonic t r i o s f o r three shakuhachi

o f unequal s i z e ) , 4 "Juso" (polyphonic duets f o r two shakuhachi

o f equal s i z e ) , and 2 "Fue-ond5" (polyphonic duets i n free

canon f o r two equal-sized shakuhachi)• There are a l s o several

" u n o f f i c i a l " Honkyoku written by anonymous composers and some

newly-composed Honkyoku ("Sakkyoku") composed by famous shaku-

hachi performers (Sato, 1966).

The i n d i v i d u a l h i s t o r i e s o f the Honkyoku are from anony-

mous sources which are u n v e r i f i a b l e and appear to be based on

hearsay (see Tanaka G i i c h i , 1956:303-307). Kinko I and II

gathered the melodies from various temples as f a r away as To-

hoku i n the north and Kyushu i n the south, although t h e i r major

sources were R e i h o - j i and I c h i g e t s u - j i , the two temples near

Tokyo that they d i r e c t e d . They are to be c r e d i t e d with pro-

 13

digious memories, because t h e i r appropriations must have been

by o r a l / a u r a l transmission, and with impeccable diplomacy be-

cause t h e i r sources doubtless claimed the t r a d i t i o n a l r i g h t s

of exclusive possession. Each temple "owned" a small number

of Honkyoku ( i f not j u s t one), the o r i g i n s o f which seem to

have been forgotten although the Komuso organization was less

than a hundred years o l d . Many o f the Honkyoku from d i f f e r e n t

temples had the same name so a p p e l l a t i o n s were devised to d i s -

t i n g u i s h them from each other. Unfortunately, most of these

appellations have meanings which have become l o s t and conse-

quently can only be guessed at (see Kikkawa Eishi:,RCA Victor).

The 28 Dokuso can be d i v i d e d i n t o s i x categories accor-

ding to t h e i r common surname:

1. Kyorei: Shin Kyorei

Kinsan Kyorei

Uchikae Kyorei

Shimotsuke Kyorei

The word "Kyorei" i s comprised o f "Kyo", the Japanese word

f o r the Buddhist concept o f no-thingness (Sk. sunyata), and

"Rei", which roughly t r a n s l a t e s as " s p i r i t " or " s o u l " .

"Kinsan" may be an abbreviation f o r "Koto/Shamisen" i n d i -

cating some unknown s t r i n g music background; "Shimotsuke"

i s an ancient province i n Honshu; and "Uchi-kae" ("close-

addendum" ) may be a reference to an i n t e r p o l a t i o n o f t h i s

 1 4

s p e c i f i c " K y o r e i " i n t o a Komuso r i t u a l . Shin Kyorei will

be d e a l t w i t h p r e s e n t l y .

2. Reibo: M u k a i i i Re i b o Y o s h i y a Reibo

Koku Re i b o Igusa Reibo

G i n r v u Koku (Reibo) Namima Reibo

Kyo(to)_ Reibo Sokaku Reibo

Izu Reibo Reibo Nagashi

Kyushu Reibo

The word "Reibo" c o n s i s t s o f " R e i " , "a s m a l l h a n d b e l l " ,

and "Bo", "yearning". R e i a r e used by B u d d h i s t s i n e v e r y

c o u n t r y where Buddhism i s p r a c t i c e d . Although Rei are

used t o a r t i c u l a t e B u d d h i s t s e r v i c e s , t h e r e f e r e n c e h e r e

i s t o P'u hua (Fuke) who c o n s t a n t l y rang h i s l a r g e Rei

( i . e . , "takti") d u r i n g h i s supposed p e r e g r i n a t i o n s t h r o u g h

graveyards. A common synonym f o r Reibo i s "Renbo" which

s i m p l y means " y e a r n i n g " . Kyoto, I z u and Kyushu a r e p l a c e -

names. "Nagashi" ("to flow") means "mendicant m u s i c i a n " ;

"Namima" i s a synonym f o r "sea" ( i . e . , " k a i " , as i n "Mukai-

ji"); and "Sokaku" t r a n s l a t e s as " n e s t i n g c r a n e " , a symbol

of o l d age and wisdom. Other, more p r o b l e m a t i c a l trans-

lations are: "Igusa" ("reed"), perhaps a t r u n c a t e d syno-

nym f o r " a s h i - b u e " ("reed f l u t e " , see 2:1, "Wei-Yueh");

"Yoshiya" ( " b u c o l i c " ) ; and " G i n r y u " ("sound d r a g o n " ) , an

obtuse r e f e r e n c e t o the mythology which h o l d s t h a t the

 1 5

4
f l u t e could invoke "the sound of a dragon".

3• Sugagaki: Akita Sugagaki

Koro Sugagaki

Sanya Sugagaki

Sayama Sugagaki

"Sugagaki" i s a term found i n Wagon and Gaku-so (Gagaku

koto) music which r e f e r s to a melodic pattern played i n

a free, p r e l u d i a l s t y l e c a l l e d "Kaki-awase". I t also

became the b a s i s f o r l a t e r , metric compositions c a l l e d

"Shirabemono", performed on the koto. S t r i c t l y trans-

lated, i t means "reed panpipes".^ Sanya Sugagaki i s par-

t i c u l a r l y venerated as a Honkyoku almost as o l d as the

San Koten Honkyoku. Although i t s name t r a n s l a t e s as

"three v a l l e y s " , the word may be an adaptation o f the

Buddhist Sanskrit term "samaja", meaning "gathering

place". "Akita" and "Sayama" are place-names, and "Koro"

("tumble") may be an a l l u s i o n to the "Ko-Ro, Ko-Ro" t e c h -

nique or some other performance p r a c t i c e contained w i t h i n

i t s composition.

4. Shirabe: Hi, Fu, Mi

combined i n one Honkyoku
Hachi Kaeshi

Banshiki-cho

"Shirabe" means "Prelude". Hi, Fu, Mi, Hachi. Kaeshi Shirabe

(two combined Honkyoku) may r e f e r to three steps of alms-

 16

begging ("takuhatsu") because i t t r a n s l a t e s as "one, two,,

three; return the bowl". However, Hi, Fu, Mi probably

r e f e r s t o three constantly recurring tones i n i t s melody

1 1 2

(i.e., d , g , and d ), while Hachi Kaeshi may be an o r i g i -

nal takuhatsu melody.^ Although Banshiki-cho i s a tech-

n i c a l term i n Gagaku music theory which denotes the Gagaku

mode that begins on "b" (both the p i t c h and the mode do

not appear i n the Honkyoku), i t s l i t e r a l t r a n s l a t i o n i s

shallow bowl t r a n s f e r , "cho", ( or, more properly, "choshi"

or "shirabe"), an obvious synonym f o r Hachi Kaeshi no

7 _
Shirabe. The "Banshiki-cho" Honkyoku melody explores the
musical ambiance found i n the two tetrachords bounded by
2 2 2 3

c - f and g -c . I t i s only heard as a preamble t o "Shin

k y o r e i " and "Shika no Tone", the two most respected Hon-

kyoku i n the r e p e r t o i r e .

5• Kyoku: Takiochi no Kyoku

Shizu no Kyoku

Yugure no Kyoku

Sagariha no Kyoku

The word "Kyoku" i s a common term f o r "melody". "Takiochi"

t r a n s l a t e s as " w a t e r f a l l " ( l i t e r a l l y , "dragon f l i g h t " ) and

"Yugure" means "evening". "Shizu" ("desiderative plan")

may be an obtuse reference to r e l i g i o u s awakening or taku-

hatsu protocol, and "Sagari-ha" ("hanging leaves") may be

 an a l l u s i o n t o s h o r t , l o w - p i t c h e d songs i n Nohgaku (Malm,

1963:29) o r t h e i r r e l a t e d songs, Kami-gata, which use

shamisen t u n i n g s o f 2 P4*s (Malm, 1959:22).

6. Shishi: Sakae S h i s h i

Meguro S h i s h i

" S h i s h i " i s the m y t h i c a l l i o n (an a n c i e n t symbol o f

virility), m u s i c a l l y r e p r e s e n t e d i n f o l k f e s t i v a l s by

flutes (shinobue) and drums ( h a y a s h i ) • "Meguro" is a

p l a c e j u s t o u t s i d e o f Tokyo and "Sakae" means " p r o s p e r i t y " .

7. Ho-Sho-Su

T h i s c o m p o s i t i o n has a unique t i t l e b u t i s s i m i l a r i n

s t y l e t o Sokaku Reibo and S h i k a no Tone which a r e program-

matic (i.e., c o n t a i n performance t e c h n i q u e s t h a t a r e sup-

p o s e d l y onomatopoeic). The t r a n s l a t i o n , "Young Male Phoe-

nix", i s an a l l u s i o n t o t h e C h i n e s e l e g e n d i n which s p e c i a l

bamboo t u n i n g tubes (Lu Kuan) were a d j u s t e d so they would

reproduce the sound o f p h o e n i x b i r d s (see 2 : 1 ) . The Phoe-

nix (a Y i n symbol) and Dragon (a Yang symbol) represent

complementary symbols o f I m p e r i a l omniscience, and a r e

u s u a l l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h v e r t i c a l "Kuan "t (i.e., v e r t i c a l

bamboo p i p e s — e n d blown f l u t e , panpipe/, mouth organ) and

h o r i z o n t a l "Kuan"' (transverse f l u t e s ) respectively.

The f i r s t , second, and seventh "genres" a r e c o n s i d e r e d

sacred, while the t h i r d , fifth and s i x t h a r e s e c u l a r ("Gaiten

 1 8

Honkyoku"). The fourth "genre" consists of purely f u n c t i o n -

a l "preludes". Further research, beyond the scope o f t h i s

thesis, may determine whether the melodies i n each "genre"

have a common compositional denominator, but a s u p e r f i c i a l

examination reveals that they do not.

The two Fue-ondo are Shika no Tone and Tsuru no Sugo-

mori (a v a r i a t i o n of 'Sokaku R e i b o ) . J
Tsuru no Sugomori

(which a l s o t r a n s l a t e s as "nesting cranes") i s more rhythmi-

c a l l y constrained than Shika no T5ne and i s more responsorial

than canonic. Shika no Tone i s held i n the highest regard by

shakuhachi players and t h e i r audiences; Sato Harebi l i s t s i t

as a "Hikyoku" (Esoteric Honkyoku) because i t i s the f i n a l

and most s o p h i s t i c a t e d stage of learning and co-operation be-

tween sensei and student. I t i s a programmatic composition

d e p i c t i n g two deer c a l l i n g to each other i n Nara Park (a sym-

b o l i c garden i n Nara that reproduces the deer park i n Sarnath

(Benares), India, where Gautama Buddha gave h i s f i r s t sermon

8
a f t e r a t t a i n i n g enlightenment)•

The Juso and Seiso are arrangements of r e l a t e d Dokuso.

The Juso duets juxtapose d i f f e r e n t sections of t h e i r r e l a t e d

Dokuso, each section having been a r b i t r a r i l y defined as "Hon-

te" ( o r i g i n a l l i n e ) or "Kaede" (added l i n e ) . The r e s u l t a n t

harmony i s c o i n c i d e n t a l because the l i n e s never diverge from

the same"key"(see "Dan-awase" i n Malm, 1959:181-82). The

 19

heterophony i n the Seiso t r i o s was achieved by transposing

the Honte i n t o two d i f f e r e n t tunings r e l a t e d to the s i z e o f

the shakuhachi that performs them. The Seiso compositions

only used fragments of r e l a t e d dokuso, chosen i n an a r b i t r a r y

manner, whereas the Juso u s u a l l y employed a l l the r e l a t e d do-

kuso m a t e r i a l .

The t i t l e s of the duets and t r i o s are:

Juso: Koku Reibo Seiso: Koku Reibo

Koro Sugagaki Koro Sugagaki

Ginryu Koku (Reibo) Mukaiji Reibo

A k i t a Sugagaki Sakae S h i s h i

The " u n o f f i c i a l " Honkyoku are:

Kinuta Sugomori: a metric "shirabemono", u s u a l l y preceded by

one of two short preludes, Ashi no Shirabe (Reed (flute)

Prelude) or K o t o j i no Shirabe (Koto tuning-bridges Prelude).

Akebono Sugagaki: a metric shirabemono i n two sections (dan)

played i n Akebono (high) Choshi, performed on an isshaku-

hassun. Sometimes the two dan are played simultaneously

by two shakuhachi ( i . e . , Juso).

Akebono Shirabe: a Prelude which i s an Akebono Choshi o f Hi,

Fu, Mi, Hachi.:Kaeshi no Shirabe, performed on an isshaku-

sansun.

Nagai Shirabe: a Prelude (also named Kotobuki Shirabe) which

i s a lengthy i n s e r t f o r a point about half-way i n t o Hi,

 2 0

Fu,Mi,,Hachi K a e s h i no S h i r a b e , making t h e l a t t e r almost

t w i c e as l o n g ("Nagai").

Four Sakkyoku a r e R e n r i t s u no Mai and T a i H e i Raku by

Y o s h i d a I t c h o , and Y a c h i y o Sugomori and T s u k i no Kyoku by

A r a k i Kodo I I . These two composers were s t u d e n t s o f Kodo I

who h e l p e d c a r r y t h e t r a d i t i o n o f shakuhachi p l a y i n g from

the Edo P e r i o d t o t h e M e i j i Period.

There a r e two systems o f c l a s s i f y i n g t h e Honkyoku r e p e r -

t o i r e — t h e p e d a g o g i c a l system (see Weisgarber, 1968:340) and

the "Oraote ( I n t r i n s i c ) - - U r a (Extrinsic)" classifications (see

Sato, 1966). The l a t t e r system i s as follows:

Koten Honkyoku: 1 Mukaiji Reibo

2 Koku Reibo

3 Shin Kyorei (with B a n s h i k i no S h i r a b e )

Oraote Honkyoku: Gyoso no Te:

4 T a k i o c h i no W * u 7 Kyushu Re i b o
J

5 A k i t a Sugagaki 8 S h i z u no Kyoku

6 Koro Sugagaki 9 Kyo Reibo

S h i n no Te:
10 Kinsan Kyorei 15 Igusa Reibo

11 Y o s h i y a Reibo 16 Izu Reibo

12 Yugure no Kyoku 17 Reibo Nagashi

13 Sakae S h i s h i 18a Sokaku Reibo

14 Uchikae K y o r e i 18b T s u r u no Sugomori

Ura Honkyoku: 19/20 Akebono/Kumoi Choshi — Mukaiji Reibo

21/22 Akebono/Kumoi Choshi — Koku Reibo

23/24 Akebono/Kumoi Choshi — Koro Sugagaki

25/26 Akebono/Kumoi Choshi — Sakae S h i s h i

27 Sanya Sugagaki 31 Sayama Sugagaki

28 Shimotsuke Kyorei 32 Sagariha no Kyoku

30 Ginryu Koku 34 Ho Sho Su

Hikyoku:

35 Shika no Tone

Therefore, the t r a d i t i o n a l number of Honkyoku i n t h i s

system i s 35 (18 Omote plus 17 Ura). This c l a s s i f i c a t i o n does

not include the 2 Shirabe which are so i n t e g r a l to the t r a d i -

t i o n that t h e i r existence i s assumed, and the 4 Juso which

probably d i d not e x i s t independent of t h e i r r e l a t e d dokuso

u n t i l recently.

The Pedagogical L i s t has 29 t i t l e s . I t does not include

the 4 Akebono and 4 Kumoi choshi (or the 4 Juso) but i t does

include the 2 Shirabe. One important d i f f e r e n c e between the

Omote-Ura C l a s s i f i c a t i o n and the pedagogical l i s t i s that the

l a t t e r has a l l the Honkyoku arranged i n the sequential order

of l e a r n i n g . However, t h i s sequence does not begin with easy

pieces and progress through more d i f f i c u l t compositions. The

r a t i o n a l e f o r i t s order would require considerable a n a l y s i s ,

not within the parameters of t h i s thesis, but i n i t i a l impres-

sions suggest that the sequence i s a r b i t r a r y .

The two c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s are b a s i c a l l y a l i k e , as i n the

following:

Pedagogical L i s t Omote-Ura L i s t

Shoden (basic t r a d i t i o n ) 1 = (Hi, Fu, Mi...)

Shoden (basic t r a d i t i o n ) 2-7 = 4-9 Gyoso no Te

Shoden (basic t r a d i t i o n ) 8-11 = 1-3 Koten Honkyoku, plus

Banshiki no Shirabe

Chuden (intermediate " ) 12-28 = 10-18 Shin no Te

Oden (advanced " ) 21-29 = 27-35 Ura Honkyoku

The "San Koten Honkyoku", the focus o f t h i s thesis, are

"Three Sacred Melodies" that are considered the o l d e s t and most

venerable Honkyoku i n the r e p e r t o i r e . They were supposedly

acquired by Kinko I i n 1729 i n Nagasaki, Kyushu—the major p o r t

of trade f o r the Dutch and Chinese merchants since i t s founding

i n 1570, and an important centre f o r c u l t u r a l exchange. Be-

cause most temples i n Japan had versions o f one or more o f

these three melodies i n t h e i r small repertoires, i t may be

assumed that Kinko I had t r a v e l l e d s p e c i f i c a l l y t o Nagasaki

i n order t o f i n d the "true" San Koten Honkyoku.

The most important Koten Honkyoku i s Shin Kyorei, the

o

"true" Kyorei,* supposedly composed by Chang Po, the f i r s t

d i s c i p l e o f P*u hua (Fuke). I t i s the only Koten Honkyoku

that has i t s own s p e c i f i c p r e l u d e — B a n s h i k i no Shirabe. The

other two Koten Honkyoku are Koku Reibo (Sunyata Reibo) and

Mukai-ji Reibo (the "Flute of the Foggy Sea" Reibo). Tradi-

t i o n has i t that they were composed, or heard i n a dream by

Kyochiku, the f i r s t d i s c i p l e of Kakushin, while he was resi-

ding at Kokuzo-do temple i n Ise Province. Mukai-ji may be a

reference to the following legend quoted by Oga no Motomasa

(1077-1138) i n h i s Ryumeisho (see Harich-Schneider, 1973:254-

262): "The dragon sound came from the sea. To hear h i s voice

again, bamboo was cut and blown: i n olden times f i v e holes

(Shakuhachi ?); i n l a t e r times, seven (Ryuteki ? ) .

The " j i " i n Mukai-ji probably r e f e r s to the Chinese

transverse, end-blown f l u t e , "ch'ih" which was supposedly the

aural symbol o f the mythical water dragon (see Schafer, 1967:

217-221) and negative Y i n . The Ryuteki was i t s opposite as

the aural symbol o f the " a i r dragon" ( i . e . , thunder during

rain) and p o s i t i v e Yang. The extensive t r a d i t i o n of the an-

c i e n t Chinese "Lung-ti" and i t s Japanese counterpart, Ryuteki,

i n the l a t e r Heian Period i s w e l l documented but nothing i s

known about the repertoire of the "Ch'ih". I t does not seem

to have appeared i n Japan as the " J i " (although i t s name can

occasionally be encountered i n l i t e r a r y settings such as the

title, M u k a i - j i ) I t may be s i g n i f i c a n t , however, that the

water dragon legend comes from South China ( i b i d . ) , one of the

possible o r i g i n s of the shakuhachi (see 2:4:1).

 24

Rather than b e i n g an i s o l a t e d phenomenon, Honkyoku a r e

p a r t o f a t r a d i t i o n t h a t has f l o u r i s h e d throughout Japanese

music h i s t o r y — t h e " P r e l u d e " . U s i n g t h i s Western terminology

may d i s t u r b some r e a d e r s , but, i n the next few pages, i t s de-

n o t a t i o n w i l l be shown t o be q u i t e a c c e p t a b l e (see Meyer,

1959:239,247). F o r the purposes o f t h i s t h e s i s , the f o l l o w -

ing d e f i n i t i o n w i l l hold: a Prelude i s a " q u a s i - i m p r o v i s a t i o n "

based on the a c c o r d a t u r a o f a mode (and i t s " a f f e c t " ) . It i s

u s u a l l y arhythraic b u t examples o f rhythmic p r e l u d e s do exist.

The word " q u a s i - i m p r o v i s a t i o n " i s used because a s k e l e t a l no-

tation i s u t i l i z e d f o r each Prelude type b u t t h e i r performance

i s i n t e r p r e t e d i n a manner which a l l o w s the p e r f o r m e r t o impro-

v i s e w i t h i n t h e l i m i t a t i o n s imposed by h i s s k e l e t a l n o t a t i o n

u s i n g the i n f o r m a t i o n he has a c q u i r e d from o r a l / a u r a l tradi-

tion. (The r e a d e r may be reminded o f the " F r e e P r e l u d e s " f o r

h a r p s i c h o r d by L o u i s C o u p e r i n which are, i n f a c t , remarkably

s i m i l a r t o Honkyoku and o t h e r Japanese Preludes.)

There a r e two types o f P r e l u d e s i n Japan (and t h e West):

the f u n c t i o n a l P r e l u d e and the independent Prelude.The for-

mer i s more t r a d i t i o n a l i n t h a t i t always immediately precedes

a r h y t h m i c a l l y and a r c h i t e c t o n i c a l l y s t r u c t u r e d c o m p o s i t i o n i n

the same mode. In Gagaku, t h i s i n t r o d u c t o r y music i s g e n e r a l l y

r e f e r r e d t o as "Jo" (as i n "Jo, Ha, Kyu". See Malm, 1959:102).

The wind musicians r e f e r to t h e i r "Jo" music as "Jo-buki" or

"Netori", the s t r i n g players use the terms " J o - h i k i " or "Kaki-

awase", and the p e r c u s s i o n i s t s denote t h e i r s p e c i a l i z e d "Jo"

as "Uchi-awase" (Harich-Schneider, 1973:110,115-17). The popu-

l a r music of the Edo Period adopted several o f the Gagaku func-

t i o n a l i s t Preludes and named them "Mae-biki" (i.e., "Jo-hiki".

See Malm, 1963:34-35) which precede Koto Kumiuta, and "Shirabe"

which precede Koto Danmono (Adriaansz, 1965:65-67,219).

Independent Preludes are a hybrid of the functional Pre-

ludes i n that they stand on t h e i r own and do not introduce

other compositions. These have been c o l l e c t i v e l y c a l l e d "Cho-

shi" (see Chapter 4, Note 3). The kun-yomi (Japanese Reading)

of the Chinese character f o r Choshi i s pronounced "Shirabe",

which means " i n v e s t i g a t i o n " or "exploration", c l e a r l y implying

the study of a given mode accordatura. The e a r l i e s t Choshi

were Gagaku "Jo-choshi", and " I t t c h o s h i " (Harich-Schneider,

1973:557). During the l a t e Heian Period (987-1185), there are

frequent references to songs, dances, and instrumental p e r f o r -

mances performed i n the improvisatory s t y l e of the choshi (e.g.,

i b i d . , 1973:246). The Ryuteki, Wagon and Gakuso were the most

popular mediums, and the many i n s t r u c t i o n books which survive

from that period contain abundant Choshi (Harich-Schneider,

1973:193,263,272-73). Choshi a l s o entered the Buddhist temples

because the Emperors desired r i t u a l p r e l u d i a l music to accompany

 26

requiems (see Garfias, 1965:22).

During Japan's medieval period (1158-1600), the t r a d i -

t i o n o f Choshi was adopted by the Noh composers who wrote f o r

the Nohkwan (Noh f l u t e ) . From that r e p e r t o i r e come two extant

Choshi: "O-Shirabe" and "So-shidai" ("the mendicant buddhist

monk-style", as i n Mo-so and Komu-so). By the time o f the Edo

Period (1600-1868), the Choshi genre had come o f age with the

development o f the koto "Danmono" (also c a l l e d "Shirabe-mono",

see Adriaansz, 1965:10), a development o f the Kagura Kaki-awase

c a l l e d "Sugagaki" (see Adriaansz, 1965:68), and the shakuhachi

"Honkyoku" which may have sprung from the same source as the

Nohkwan Choshi.

Note that the Honkyoku category described as "Shirabe"

(see Number 4 i n the discussion concerning Honkyoku nomencla-

ture outlined e a r l i e r i n t h i s chapter) i s comprised o f "inde-

pendent Preludes" which can be performed by themselves, but

which usually precede other Honkyoku. The Meian-ha has two

famous independent Preludes which also precede performances o f

other Meian-ha Honkyoku. They are c a l l e d Choshi and Yamato

Choshi; they have never appeared i n the Kinko-ryu r e p e r t o i r e .

Nevertheless, they are the most frequently performed Honkyoku

i n Japan, and have been used i n countless s i t u a t i o n s as proto-

t y p i c a l examples o f the sound o f the meditative shakuhachi.

 27

1:4 The Kinko-ryu Musical Experience

"The Japanese c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a t t i t u d e towards music ( i s

that i t i s ) used as a means towards an extra-musical end."

(Harich-Schneider, 1973:515). This statement i s particularly

true of the Honkyoku of a l l the various ryu. The "end" o f

the Honkyoku learning process (see 3:1) i s enlightenment, an

"awakening of the consciousness" (De Ropp, 1968:21,51).

The word "enlightenment" i n t h i s context i s often con-

fused with the autonomous concept developed during the "Age

of Enlightenment". Eighteenth century "enlightenment" was

the "new" r e l i g i o n of Europe, founded on r a t i o n a l empiricism.

The men of the Enlightenment foresaw no end to the t r i -

umphant expansion of reason into a l l areas of s o c i a l
l i f e . But here too reason has foundered upon i t s oppo-
s i t e , upon the surd and unpredictable r e a l i t i e s . (The
"enlightened" society) requires of man only that he per-
form competently h i s own p a r t i c u l a r s o c i a l function.
(He) becomes i d e n t i f i e d with t h i s function, and the rest
of h i s being i s allowed to subsist as best i t c a n — u s u a l -
l y to be dropped below the surface of consciousness and
forgotten.

Barrett, 1958:35-36

Japanese Zen Buddhism, p a r t i c u l a r l y during the Edo Peri-

od (1600-1867) countered the problem of man as i n d i v i d u a l and

man as a contributing member of a community by developing Budd-

h i s t arts which were aimed at enlightening i n d i v i d u a l conscious-

nesses while not d i s t u r b i n g the s o c i a l order of the community.

Previous to t h i s period, the p r e r e q u i s i t e to a t t a i n i n g e n l i g h t -

 28

enment was to "drop out" o f s o c i e t y and j o i n a Zen Buddhist

establishment. This condition was revised and enlarged by

the o f f e r i n g o f two options: the i n d i v i d u a l could s t i l l aban-

don society and j o i n a monastery or, b e t t e r yet, he could pur-

sue the goals o f Zen Buddhism by studying one o f i t s a r t s

while remaining an a c t i v e member of the community and f u l f i l -

l i n g h i s s o c i a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s to h i s family and associates.

There are two perspectives on t h i s " s o c i a l " option which

o f f e r a kind o f p a r a l l a x of the Buddhist arts. On the p o s i -

t i v e side, t h i s new development was an evolutionary process o f

s o c i a l i n t e g r a t i o n which allowed Zen Buddhism t o be p r a c t i s e d

by laymen as w e l l as by monks and c l e r g y . This i s i n l i n e

with the b a s i c doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism, the source o f

Zen Buddhism, which states that the "bodhisattva'' concept o f

enlightenment includes lay people as well as the "sangha" (the

u n i v e r s a l order o f Buddhist monks). The prime example o f t h i s

Mahayana d o c t r i n e i s found i n the f i r s t century, A.D. V i m a l a -

k X r t i Nirdesa S u t r a (Jp. Yuimagyo) where the main character,

V i m a l a k T r t i , i s a layman who e x h i b i t s a l l the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

of a bodhisattva. This sutra exerted a profound influence on

Zen Buddhism and Japan (see Suzuki, 1959:410).

The " s o c i a l " option a l s o o f f e r e d an a l t e r n a t i v e t o the

harsh r e a l i t i e s o f the Edo Period s o c i a l order i n Japan. "Nei-

t h e r i n h i s own home or anywhere e l s e could the person do as he

 29

pleased; and the extraordinary person was under the s u r v e i l -

lance of zealous dependants whose constant duty was to reprove

any breach of usage." (Hearn, 1904:158). These repressive

conditions were p a r t i a l l y the r e s u l t of the Tokugawa national

p o l i c i e s of Bushido (Reischauer, 1958:617-18) and Shushigaku

(Chu Hsi, Neo-Confucianism) which were s t r i c t systems o f c l a s s

e t h i c s and morality (Sansom, 1943:509) that discouraged i n d i -

v i d u a l " e c c e n t r i c i t i e s " while s t a b i l i z i n g Edo Japan's p o l i t i -

c a l and s o c i a l order. Whereas the d i s s o l u t e world of Ukiyo

offered release for most urban Japanese, the Zen Buddhist a r t s

were the solace o f many upper c l a s s c i t i z e n s (notably ronin)

with the added advantage o f being sanctioned by the government.

1:4:1 Zendo

The "way" ("do") of meditation ("Zen") as a d i s t i n c t sect

of Buddhism was introduced to Kamakura Japan i n the l a t t e r h a l f

of the 12th century. At that time i t was i n i t s s i x t h century

of development from the time o f i t s founder, Bodhidharma (fl.

520), through the dominance o f the Southern o r Abrupt School

of Hui-neng (638-713), the s i x t h p a t r i a r c h , to the 9th century

dynasty branches of L i n - c h i (Jp. Rinzai) and Ts'ao-tung (Jp.

Soto). A f t e r arduous pilgrimmages to China, E i s a i (1141-1215)

established the former branch i n Japan, followed by Dogen

(1200-1253) who introduced the l a t t e r . During the Kamakura

 and Muroraachi Periods, Rinzai-shu rose to the most dominant

p o s i t i o n i n Japanese Buddhism because i t was officially en-

dorsed by the m i l i t a r y government. Later, however, Buddhism

i n general suffered a serious decline during the Tokugawa

Period o f r u l e (1600-1868) because of corrupt p r a c t i c e s (par-

t i c u l a r l y i n the o f f i c i a l Rinzai sect) and the Tokugawa govern-

ments' allegiance to Neo-Confucianism. One of the few excep-

tions to t h i s trend was Hakuin (1685-1768), "the founder of

the modern Japanese Rinzai school of Zen" (Suzuki, 1927:254),

who exerted a profound influence on a large segment o f Japanese

society. Most Rinzai masters trace t h e i r lineage d i r e c t l y to

Hakuin.

The essence and goal of Zen i s the e l i m i n a t i o n o f anguish

(Jp. Ku; Sk. duhkha) by experiencing " s e l f " r e a l i z a t i o n , "ken-

sho", through a unique emotional and i n t e l l e c t u a l catharsis,

"satori". The r e a l i z a t i o n per se i s r e s o l u t e l y i n e f f a b l e but

i t has been characterized as a discovery that the " s e l f " i s

immaterial (Jp. Kuy Sk. Sunyata) and impermanent (Jp. Mujo?

Sk. Anitya) because psychological r e a l i t y i s r e l a t i v e (Jp.

Mujin Engi? Sk. P r a t i t y a Samutpada). These f a c t s are equally

applicable to a l l "existents" (Matsunaga, 1969:7). This u l -

timate knowledge (Jp. Hannya Haramita; Sk. Prajnaparamita) i s

an awakened understanding of the true nature of "mind"—"mu-

shin no s h i n " — t h e mind of no mind.

 31

I t i s the b a s i c tenet o f Zen Buddhism that Kensho i s

not a r r i v e d at by d i a l e c t i c s because l o g i c i s time-oriented

and d i s c r i m i n a t i v e , while Kensho i s immediate and "non-

dualistic" (Jp. Funij Sk. Advaita). The l o g i c that does

e x i s t i n Zen Buddhism i s always paradoxical i n i t s conclu-

sions. Therefore, enlightenment i s derived from i n t u i t i o n

through action, "koi t e k i chokkan".

The n o v i t i a t e begins by learning Zazen—the act o f con-

centration and absorption. This i s done by assuming an advan-

tageous posture and p r a c t i c i n g passive meditation ("Shikan-

- — 12
taza" o f the Soto sub-sect) o r a c t i v e meditation (Rinzai

sub-sect). Both p r a c t i c e s are begun by developing the powers

of concentration by studied breath c o n t r o l , a u n i v e r s a l d i s -

c i p l i n e i n a l l s o c i e t i e s that p r a c t i c e meditation.

When the Rinzai n o v i t i a t e has developed h i s a b i l i t y to

concentrate, he i s then graduated t o "mondo"—dialogues with

h i s master over the understanding o f a paradox i n the form o f

a "koan" (e.g., "What i s the sound o f one hand clapping?").

The d i s c r i m i n a t i n g i n t e l l e c t i s purposely brought t o an i n -

tense impasse c a l l e d " d a i g i j o " . When the l e v e l of p e r p l e x i t y

and concentration are most intense, the p o s s i b i l i t y (but not

i n e v i t a b i l i t y ) o f "awakening" i s created through an e c s t a t i c

dissolution of "self". Through the e n t i r e process, and long

a f t e r , the guiding role o f the Roshi i s c r u c i a l .

 32

The p r i n c i p l e s of Zendo may be summarized i n the follow-

ing four l i n e s , u s u a l l y a t t r i b u t e d to Bodhidharma:

A s p e c i a l transmission outside the s c r i p t u r e s

No dependence upon words and l e t t e r s
Direct p o i n t i n g to the soul of man
Seeing i n t o one's nature and the attainment of Buddha-
hood

1:4:2 Takedo

Zen Buddhism of a l l r e l i g i o n s i s the one that most s p e c i -

f i c a l l y educates the aesthetic impulses, and for that
reason alone i t i s a r e l i g i o n that engages the i n t e r e s t
o f a r t i s t s everywhere, even i n the Western world.

Read, 1967:19

Almost since the advent of Zen Buddhism, various disci-

p l i n e s outside of the Zen temples have adopted "the way of Zen"

to great advantage. The f i r s t to do t h i s i n Japan were the

m i l i t a r y , who applied Zen d i s c i p l i n e to the m a r t i a l a r t s (e.g.,

bushido, kendo, judo, a i k i d o ) ; l a t e r , i t dominated almost every

Japanese form o f aesthetic expression, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n a r t s and

crafts. In e f f e c t , a r t i s t i c expression came to be equated with

r e l i g i o u s expression so that the former was a manifestation (Jp.

Suijaku; Sk, upaya) of the true nature of the l a t t e r (Jp. Honji;

Sk. prajfia; see Matsunaga, 1969:224-27).

The essence of Zendo i n the a r t s i s also " i n t u i t i o n i n

action". A f t e r developing immense powers of concentration and

technical d i s c i p l i n e under the guidance of a "sensei" (a master

 33

teacher whose r o l e i s the same as a Roshi), the a r t form be-

comes a koan. The p r e r e q u i s i t e paradox inherent i n t h i s koan

i s how to a t t a i n the "mind of no-mind" while consciously strug-

g l i n g with the t e c h n i c a l elements of the a r t .

While t e c h n i c a l t r a i n i n g i s of great importance, i t i s

a f t e r a l l something a r t i f i c i a l l y , consciously, c a l c u l a -
t i n g l y added or acquired. Unless the mind that a v a i l s
i t s e l f of the t e c h n i c a l s k i l l somehow attunes i t s e l f to
a state of the utmost f l u i d i t y or mobility, anything ac-
quired or super-imposed lacks spontaneity of natural
growth. This state p r e v a i l s when the mind i s awakened
to a s a t o r i .

Suzuki, 1959:14-15

Successful i n t u i t i o n of the true nature of the mind and the

s e l f may t r a n s p i r e during an a r t i s t i c action that i s sponta-

neous, e f f o r t l e s s , and "non-dualistic" ( i . e . , the a r t i s t i s

unaware of the p h y s i c a l or mental d i s t i n c t i o n between himself

and h i s medium). F a i l u r e r e s u l t s i n the u n i v e r s a l artistic

transgression—mimicry.

The koan for the shakuhachi performer i s h i s instrument.

In order to experience Kensho he must coincide three b a s i c

elements (Sanmi I t t a i ) of performance:

1. G i — t e c h n i q u e

The per forme reacquires

: lawless-• rudimentary - technique

by p e r f e c t i n g Sankyoku and Gaikyoku (see 3:1). When he per-

forms Honkyoku, h i s t e c h n i c a l concerns are concentrated on per-

formance p r a c t i c e s (see 3:2) and correct breathing. (The lat-

ter d i s c i p l i n e explains why f l u t e s have always been the c e n t r a l

 34

instrument i n a l l countries that p r a c t i c e meditation.) The

shakuhachi i s i d e a l l y suited to Zendo* because o f the fundamen-

t a l and rigorous emphasis on breath c o n t r o l required t o play

i t properly. E s s e n t i a l l y , the performer must breathe from the

diaphragm (Tanden). "The ancient Yoga concepts o f anthropolo-

gy and anatomy play a role, according to which the mind l i e s

a handbreadth below the navel where the home o f our true being

i s to be found." (Dumoulin, 1963:162).

2. Shin—mind

The "set and s e t t i n g " o f the mind i s p a r t i c u l a r l y d i f -

f i c u l t to a t t a i n . The performer must have a t r a n q u i l (Jaku)

13

composure, contrary t o such v i s i b l e d i s p l a y s o f "heart-

rending emotion" so common t o Japanese (and Western) p e r f o r -

mers. In addition, he must enter a n o n - d u a l i s t i c frame o f

mind by "non-doing" ("Mu-i"). In other words, he does not

s t r i v e for success or attainment, because the very act i t s e l f

is divisive. Also, he performs i n a "natural" (Shizen) man-

ner. The sound o f h i s shakuhachi may be rough and i n c o n s i s -

tent because i t s "natural sound" (Shizen no Ne) i s " S a b i — u n -

pretentious or archaic imperfection, apparent s i m p l i c i t y or

e f f o r t l e s s n e s s i n execution...and i n e x p l i c a b l e elements that

r a i s e the "medium" i n question to the rank o f an a r t i s t i c pro-

duction" (Suzuki, 1959:24). This l a s t c r i t e r i a i s r e f e r r e d t o

as "Yugen", or "profound mystery", the highest a e s t h e t i c i d e a l

 35

i n Noh (Harich-Schneider, 1973:424-25). "Shizen no Kyoku" i s

played in. a manner which i s seemingly improvisatory.: In es-

sence, the use o f many performance p r a c t i c e elements i s decided

upon a t random, p a r t i c u l a r l y " k i a i " . A Sabi Honkyoku melody

i s austere ("Shibui") and aloof, often interpreted as l o n e l i -

ness (Suzuki, 1959:253-57). For these reasons, Honkyoku do not

lend themselves e a s i l y to audience appreciation;. •.

3. Ken—-the instantaneous moment of S a t o r i

Ken, l i t e r a l l y translated, means "sword". ManjusrT (Mon-

ju), a common Buddhist deity, c a r r i e s a sword i n h i s r i g h t hand

and a sutra i n h i s l e f t , s i g n i f y i n g two d i f f e r e n t kinds o f

knowledge. "The mountain flowers are spread out l i k e gold bro-

cades. Here i s Manjusri s t r i k i n g r i g h t i n t o your eyes." (Suzu-

k i , 1955:199).

Rather than attempt to define or categorize the "inner

meaning" o f "Ken", Lao-tzu has i n d i r e c t l y suggested the best

explanation:

"Those that speak do not know

Those that know do not speak"

Tao Te Ching, Chapter LVI

 CHAPTER 2

A History of the Shakuhachi

Any h i s t o r y of Japanese music h i s t o r y i s troubled by

circumstantial evidence, biased c h r o n i c l e s , and large gaps

in chronological information. This i s p a r t i c u l a r l y true of

the h i s t o r y of the shakuhachi, which suggests a t r a d i t i o n

that extends back to the fourth millennium B.C. Despite

these a d v e r s i t i e s , a v e r i s i m i l a r h i s t o r y can be constructed

from the meagre f a c t s .

A broad o u t l i n e of the shakuhachi's h i s t o r y i n Japan

shows two periods of a c t i v i t y seperated by several hundred

years of obscurity. The f i r s t period (7th to 9th centuries)

i s associated with the music o f the Imperial Court, Gagaku,

while the second period (13th century to the present) i s

dominated by the l i v e s of Buddhist mendicants and middle-

class aesthetes. The prevalent view i s that each period of

a c t i v i t y was i n i t i a t e d by the a r r i v a l of v e r t i c a l f l u t e s from

China, but only the f i r s t importation from T'ang Dynasty

China (618-907) can be s u c c e s s f u l l y accounted f o r . The 16th

century v e r t i c a l f l u t e may have been imported from Ming

36
Dynasty China (1368-1644) o r the "Indonesian" i s l a n d s , or i t

may have been an i n d i g e n o u s r e n a i s s a n c e . A l l three p o s s i b i -

l i t i e s w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n the next few pages.

2:1 Ch'ih-pa

While t h e r e i s no doubt t h a t t h e Gagaku end-blown v e r -

tical f l u t e * and i t s Sino-Japanese nomenclature, "shakuhachi"

came from China, i t s Chinese p r e c u r s o r , the "Ch'ih-pa", i s

surrounded i n t h e same k i n d o f semantic c o n f u s i o n t h a t t h e

l a t e r Japanese shakuhachi endured. A l t h o u g h C u r t Sachs (1940

178-82) and S y b i l Marcuse (1975:575-77) have attempted t o un-

r a v e l the t a n g l e o f Chinese v e r t i c a l f l u t e etymology and o r -

ganology, t h e f o l l o w i n g pages r e l y more h e a v i l y on p r i m a r y

source m a t e r i a l s and a g r e a t e r range o f d e t a i l e d information.

The h i s t o r i c a l predominance o f t h e Ch'ih-pa seems t o

be c o n c e n t r a t e d d u r i n g the T*ang Dynasty (618-907). The word

appears r a r e l y , i f a t a l l , before or a f t e r t h i s period. Even

d u r i n g the T'ang Dynasty, i t e l u d e s some contemporary commen-

tators. Tuan A n - c h i e h ( c . 890) does n o t mention t h e Ch'ih-pa

i n h i s comprehensive music t r e a t i s e Yvieh-fu T s a - l u (Gimm,

1966), and Tanabe (1965-66:1,518) and K i s h i b e (1951:126) d i d

not encounter t h i s i n s t r u m e n t i n t h e i r study o f T'ang Dynasty

music s o u r c e s .
 38

Even the word i t s e l f i s somewhat of a mystery. Rather

than t r a n s l a t i n g as " v e r t i c a l f l u t e " , the Japanese and Chinese

nomenclature l i t e r a l l y means "1.8 feet". In the European-

language studies of Japanese music, only Tanabe (1959:25) has

suggested a possible explanation i n the form of a c o r r e l a t i o n

between the length of the Ch*ih-pa and the standard length of

the Huang-chung bamboo tube.

Josango (1971:7) o f f e r s a source which substantiates

Tanabe's statement and leads to a f u l l explanation of the

c o r r e l a t i o n mentioned above. L i u Hsu (887-946) noted i n h i s

records of the T'ang Dynasty, Chiu T'ang Shu (Liu, 1959:3338),

that Emperor T'ai-tsung ( r . 627-649) commissioned Lu t s ' a i (Jp.

Rosai) to "retune the Lu Kuan", a task he performed using a

Ch'ih-pa.

The Lu Kuan were bamboo tubes (Kuan) constructed to

sound the twelve standard pitches (Lu) within an octave.

Their construction was a c o u s t i c a l l y determined by a s c i e n t i f i c

process c a l l e d "San-fen Sun-i Fa" (The law of diminution and

augmentation by f r a c t i o n s of a third) which began with a funda-

mental generating tone c a l l e d "Huang-chung" (Yellow B e l l ) .

This tone was i n i t i a l l y sounded on a bamboo tube of "auspi-

cious" proportions and then "preserved" by tuning a b e l l

(chung) with sympathetic v i b r a t i o n s passed on through a mono-

2

chord (chu) from the Huang-chung Kuan (Needham and Robinson,

 39

1962:173,186,199).

The p i t c h o f the Huang-chung was a subject o f intense

concern because i t s frequency was a symbol of cosmological

sympathy as perceived by the governing authority embodied i n

the person of the emperor. This t r a d i t i o n stemmed from the

ancient Chinese concept of " c h ' i " which may be c i r c u i t o u s l y

defined as "pneuraatos".

The c h ' i of earth ascends.

The c h ' i of heaven descends;
Yang and Y i n meet,
Heaven and Earth i n t e r a c t
Thus ( i t i s that) music unites the two.

Shih Chi, "Yo Chi (3),

adapted from Needham
and Robinson, 1962:205.

In ancient times the p r e - h i s t o r i c shamans (Wu) and

l a t e r Taoist sages used t h e i r r e s p i r a t o r y f a c u l t i e s as meta-

p h y s i c a l "barometers" of the omnipresent c h ' i by blowing

into a v e r t i c a l f l u t e . I f t h e i r "wind" (Feng, i . e v personal

ch'i) was " i n tune" with the environmental c h ' i they would

produce the r i g h t "sound" (Ko). The assumption i n t h i s equa-

t i o n i s that the dimensions of the Kuan were "auspicious"

(i.e., c o r r e c t ) . When the Ko (i.e., pitch) became i d e n t i f i e d

as the imperial "Huang-chung" during the f i r s t millennium

B.C., the Kuan's dimensions became p a r t i c u l a r l y c r i t i c a l .

The f i r s t descriptions of the dimensions of the Huang-

chung Kuan date from the Ch'in and Han Dynasties (221 B.C.-
 40

220 A.D.) but for some unknown reason, only the length was

discussed (see Needham and Robinson, 1962:212-13). The most

complete discussion i s found i n the Ch'ien Han Shu by Pan Ku

(c. 32-92 A.D.), where i t i s recorded that i t s length i s .9

feet ( c h ' i h ) 3
and i t s volume equals 1 "Yo" (Dubs, 1938-44:

1,276). The Yo was a standard volume that could be occupied

by a s p e c i f i c number of m i l l e t seeds, and i t was a l s o an ab-

s t r a c t form of pre-dynastic v e r t i c a l f l u t e of the same name.

The Yo v e r t i c a l f l u t e (also pronounced Yuen) has been

i d e n t i f i e d as one of the e a r l i e s t instruments i n Chinese music

h i s t o r y , dating from the mythical Hsia Dynasty (2205-1766 B.C.

See Legge, 1885:11,274) and even e a r l i e r (ibid., II,35-36). 4

By the time of the Chou Dynasty (1027-249 B.C.) i t s r o l e as

a music instrument was superceded by i t s function as a Huang-

chung generator. The Shin Ching (Karlgren, 1950:24-25,161)

and L i Chi (Couvreur, 1950:112,387;II:2,59) describe the Yo

as a dancer's accoutrement i n the Dance of Peace (Wen Wu) sym-

bolozing p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y , imperial authority, and cosmo-

l o g i c a l sympathy i n the form of the o f f i c i a l Huang-chung Kuan.

The Wen Wu dance and i t s paraphenalia survived i n t o China's

recent past ( c f . Van A a l s t , 1884:31-33) allowing us to c l e a r l y

5

i d e n t i f y the Yo as an abstract form of a v e r t i c a l f l u t e .

Suggesting that the Yo became abstracted does not lead

to the conclusion that the v e r t i c a l f l u t e as a music instrument

 41

became e x t i n c t during the Chou Dynasty. Two passages i n the

L i C h i i n d i c a t e that another f l u t e c a l l e d "Kuan" was paired

with the Yo when discussing dance accoutrements (Couvreur,

1950:11:2,384-85) and accompaniments ( i b i d . . 11:2,59). Con-

temporary Kuan, also c a l l e d Pi>-li (Jp. H i c h i r i k i ) , are s i n g l e ,

v e r t i c a l bamboo tubes with double reeds inserted i n one end

and finger-holes placed along the length of the body. A l -

though there may appear to be an organological and semantic

contradiction between the L i Chi Kuan ( v e r t i c a l , f l u t e aero-

phone with finger-holes, S-H 421.111.12), contemporary Kuan

( v e r t i c a l , double-reed aerophone with finger-holes, S-H 422.

111.2) and the Lu Kuan ( v e r t i c a l , f l u t e aerophone without

finger-holes, S-H 421.111.11), a r e s o l u t i o n i s e a s i l y attained

by re-defining "Kuan". (It should be noted that a l l three

Kuan are indicated with the same Chinese character.)

The beginnings of a new d e f i n i t i o n of "Kuan" are hinted

at i n a c l a s s i c i l l u s t r a t i o n o f a T'ang Dynasty court orchestra

comprised o f females (see Rowley, 1969). Seven o f the orches-

t r a ' s eight p a i r s o f instruments are i d e n t i c a l , but the anoma-

lous p a i r i s comprised o f a v e r t i c a l , double-reed instrument

and a v e r t i c a l f l u t e instrument ( c f i Kishibe, 1965:116,fn.15).

Obviously, the p a i r i n g o f these instruments i s j u s t i f i e d i n

the fact that they are both v e r t i c a l , end-blown instruments

made from a s i n g l e tube o f bamboo.

 42

Further study o f the Kuan shows that the Kuan music

instrument mentioned i n the Chou Dynasty annals was e x c l u -

s i v e l y a f l u t e aerophone. In the Shih C h i (Karlgren, 1950:

245-46) and L i Chi (Couvreur, 1950:1:1,360;II:1,76,91-93)

the Kuan i s paired with the "Hsiao" i n enumerations o f i n -

strument p a i r s . Because these p a i r i n g s are according to

s i z e (e.g., large and small mouth organ, Yu and Sheng; large

A
and small z i t h e r , Se and Ch'in) one may s a f e l y assume that

Kuan and Hsiao are small and large v a r i e t i e s o f the same

instrument. However, the nature o f the instrument i s open

to two i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s .

The f i r s t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s the more t r a d i t i o n a l .

There i s ample evidence dating from the Han Dynasty and

e a r l i e r showing that the Hsiao were panpipes (i.e., several

v e r t i c a l f l u t e s arranged i n sequence and joined together).

Assuming that the Kuan and Hsiao are a p a i r , t h i s substan-

t i a t e s the theory that the e a r l y Kuan were the f l u t e type,

but i t also suggests that Kuan were panpipes. There are many

casual references to the fact that Hsiao had 16 to 24 pipes

(Couvreur, 1950:11:1,76) and the Kuan had two pipes (Needham

and Robinson, 1962:136,152) but a contemporary reference i n

the Chou-Li (Biot, 1851:11,34 and Chou L i , 1936:Ch.22,p.6)

c l e a r l y states that the Kuan was a s i n g l e tube. Further i n -

v e s t i g a t i o n reveals that Kuan were t r a d i t i o n a l l y thought o f

 43

as paired, single f l u t e s r e l a t e d according t o the a c o u s t i c a l

p r i n c i p l e of "San-fen Sun-i Fa". Each "superior" (Yang) Kuan

could generate an " i n f e r i o r " (Yin) Kuan or "Thung" (Needham

and Robinson, 1962:173). This d u a l i t y i s r e f l e c t e d i n the ex-

pression " f i v e sheng (pentatonic s c a l e ) , s i x Lii (superior p i t -

ches), 12 Kuan (12 pipes/notes)" (see Needham and Robinson,

1962:139).

A second, l e s s t r a d i t i o n a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n could be that

the Chou Dynasty Kuan and Hsiao were small and large v e r t i c a l

f l u t e s which became grouped into double and multiple panpipes

by the time o f the Han Dynasty. In contemporary Chinese par-

lance, the word "Hsiao" means v e r t i c a l f l u t e , while c l a r i f i -

cation of t h i s term i s offered i n the dual nomenclatures

"Tung; Hsiao" ( v e r t i c a l f l u t e ) and "P'ai Hsiao" (panpipes).

Therefore, Kuan may be defined as an end-blown, v e r t i c a l

bamboo wind instrument. In the Chou Dynasty i t was a f l u t e

aerophone that existed i n two forms, without finger-holes (i.e.,

Lii Kuan) and with finger-holes ( i . e . , music instrument, as i n

"Yo and Kuan" and "Kuan- and Hsiao"). Both Kuan types were

combined i n the form of the "Yo" (a s p e c i a l Lu Kuan, "Huang-

chung Kuan", which was also a music instrument). The double-

reed Kuan has a foreign name, " P i - l i " , which could be i n t e r -

preted as a melding of the e a r l y Kuan construction with an

imported sounding-device ( i . e . , a double-reed. See Garfias,

 44

1965:Table 1 ) . 6

During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), China's

expansive mood generated an intense amount of scholarship

and c r e a t i v e a c t i v i t y fed by new contacts with Western,

"foreign" cultures introduced v i a the newly-developed "silk

road". One o f the many a c t i v i t i e s i n i t i a t e d by t h i s c u l t u r a l

effluence was the re-establishment of the Imperial Huang-

chung, neglected during the d i s s o l u t i o n of the Chou Dynasty.

According to the author of Feng-su-t'ung (Ying Shao, c. 178

B.C.), Ch'iu Chung designed a f l u t e he c a l l e d " T i " and which

seemed to have functioned i n the same dual r o l e as the Chou

Dynasty Yo. During the Liang Dynasty (502-557), the T i be-

came synonymous with a l l the Lu Kuan (see T'ung Tien by Tu

Yu, 1935:746). The Chinese character f o r T i i s a combination

of "bamboo" ( t t , i . e . bamboo tube) and "source, median, mean"

(^). I t s synonym, " T i " (also "Chn" ), i s a combination o f

"bamboo" and "purge or cleanse" suggesting that the T i was

introduced to c l a r i f y and e s t a b l i s h the "true" p i t c h of the

Lu Kuan, e s p e c i a l l y the Huang-chung. The founding of the word

" T i " was probably necessitated by the fact that the o r i g i n a l

word f o r "Huang-chung/music instrument" Kuan, "Yo", had l o s t

i t s i n i t i a l meaning and had become a designate f o r a standard

measure of volume and length (see Dubs, 1938-44:1,276-79).

 45

Unfortunately, confusion a r i s e s from another meaning

of " T i " which i s " h o r i z o n t a l f l u t e " . This d e f i n i t i o n even-

t u a l l y became exclusive with the r e s u l t that Chinese t r a n s -

verse f l u t e s are now generally c a l l e d T i , while v e r t i c a l

f l u t e s are r e f e r r e d to by another name, Tung Hsiao. I sus-

pect that during the Han Dynasty, a transverse f l u t e newly

imported i n t o China (see Gimm, 1966:427) and the newly de-

signed v e r t i c a l f l u t e became associated and named a l i k e by

v i r t u e of the fact that they were both single-tube, f l u t e

aerophones.

A f t e r the Han Dynasty, v e r t i c a l f l u t e s could be general-

l y r e f e r r e d to as "Kuan" ( v e r t i c a l , single-tube aerophone),

"Hsiao" ( v e r t i c a l , f l u t e aerophone) or " T i " ( f l u t e aerophone),

but they d i d not have an a l l - i n c l u s i v e ( i . e . , exclusive) no-

menclature ( i . e . , a term which meant v e r t i c a l , single-tube,

f l u t e aerophone).

By the time o f the T'ang Dynasty (618-907), the three

synonyms f o r v e r t i c a l f l u t e had become completely diffuse.

"Kuan" became an exclusive synonym for " P i - l i " , "Hsiao" re-

ferred to "panpipes", and w

T i " meant transverse f l u t e even

though two of i t s three q u a l i f y i n g adjectives suggested the

meaning of v e r t i c a l f l u t e :

Lung-ti (Jp. Ryu-teki) — a f l u t e with a dragon's

head carved on the mouthpiece symbolizing the

 o f f i c e of the emperor;'

Huang-ti (Jp. O-teki) — a f l u t e which, sounds the

Huang-chung;

Heng-ti (Jp. O-teki) — a transverse Huang-chung

flute.

The nomenclatures that were eventually adopted f o r ver-

t i c a l f l u t e s were "Tung Hsiao" and "Ch'ih-pa". Organological-

l y the d u a l i t y of the terms probably stems from the d i f f e r e n c e

in- t h e i r mouth-piece construction: The Tung Hsiao has a

covering over the mouthpiece with a small opening over the

blowing edge which l i m i t s the tonal f l e x i b i l i t y o f the i n s t r u -

ment ( l i k e a pipe i n a P'ai Hsiao), while the Ch'ih-pa resem-

bles the Japanese Shakuhachi i n i t s open-throated mouthpiece,

o
allowing complete tonal flexibility.

Semantically, the Ch'ih-pa seems d i r e c t l y related to the

Han Dynasty T i and Chou Dynasty Yo„ As mentioned e a r l i e r , the

Ch'ih-pa was used by Lii t s ' a i to re-tune the Lii Kuan, a r o l e

strongly reminiscent o f Ch'iu Chung's T i . The t r a n s l a t i o n o f

Ch'ih-pa, "1.8 feet", i s probably a reference to the c r i t i c a l

length that i s required f o r the "correct" Huang-chung Kuan,

an obligatory element i n the d e f i n i t i o n s of " T i " and "Yo". 9

A f t e r the T'ang Dynasty, the term "Tung Hsiao" seems

to have been generalized to include a l l v e r t i c a l f l u t e s , i n -

cluding those o r i g i n a l l y referred to as "Ch'ih-pa". Even the

 47

Tung H s i a o i n s t r u m e n t seems t o have o v e r - t a k e n t h e Ch* i h - p a

i n nation-wide p o p u l a r i t y w i t h one important e x c e p t i o n . The

s o u t h e r n c o a s t a l c i t y o f Amoy ( i n F u k i e n P r o v i n c e ) r e t a i n e d

many T'ang and Sung Dynasty t r a d i t i o n s which had m i g r a t e d

south t o a v o i d t h e Mongol i n v a s i o n s o f t h e 1 3 t h and 1 4 t h c e n -

turies (see Lieberman, 1971:1). One o f these t r a d i t i o n s was

o r c h e s t r a l music c a l l e d "Nan-Kuan" (named a f t e r t h e "Southern

Kuan" [see Notes, Ch.2:10]) which i n c l u d e d a Ch'ih-pa flute

now c a l l e d "Tung H s i a o " . In t h e next pages, I w i l l show t h a t

t h i s instrument may have had an important r o l e i n t h e d e v e l o p -

ment o f t h e Japanese shakuhachi.

2:2 Indigenous Flutes

E v i d e n c e f o r an i n d i g e n o u s v e r t i c a l f l u t e t h a t may have

c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e development o f the shakuhachi i s scant, i f

not n o n - e x i s t e n t . A l t h o u g h Tanabe (1963:18) p r e s e n t s t h e con-

t r o v e r s i a l f l u t e h e l d by a Haniwa f i g u r e from t h e Japanese T u -

m u l i P e r i o d (3rd t o 7 t h c e n t u r y A.D.), i t i s most l i k e l y an

Ishibue ("Stone f l u t e " ) — a stone o c a r i n a o r w h i s t l e .

Second, a Kagura genre c a l l e d "Azuma A s o b i " , e n t e r t a i n

ment music from t h e i n d i g e n o u s Japanese "barbarians" o f the

e a s t e r n p r o v i n c e s ( a n c i e n t Azuma, now A i c h i and S h i z u o k a Pre-

f e c t u r e s ) , employed a "Chukuan" ( m i d d l e - s i z e d Kuan) — a term

more common t o v e r t i c a l f l u t e s than t r a n s v e r s e f l u t e s (usually

 48

c a l l e d " t e k i " or "bue"). The "discovery" of t h i s music i n the

8th century by the more s o p h i s t i c a t e d Yamato Clan of the wes-

tern provinces was followed by a peak of p o p u l a r i t y i n the

10th century, and then a rapid d e c l i n e . By the Muromachi

Period (1333-1573) the Chukwan had become unknown "and i n

performances of Azuma Asobi i t i s replaced by the Koma-bue

(the nearest i n s i z e ) " according to an entry i n the 16th cen-

tury Gagaku encyclopedia Taiqensho (Harich-Schneider, 1973:

392-93). Since then, no new information has come to l i g h t .

The "Yamato-bue" ("ancient Japanese f l u t e " ) has been

associated with the Wagon i n Kagura (music to accompany Japan's

indigenous Shinto f a i t h and i t s ceremonies) since the Yamato

Period (400-645). Emperor Sui Wen-ti (581-604) of the Sui

Dynasty (581-618) was informed of these two instruments by the

f i r s t envoy sent from Japan some time between 581 and 600

(Theodore de Bary,et a l . , 1958:9). However, the Yamato-bue

i s transverse and i t i s generally considered to be an e a r l y

importation from Korea (Harich-Schneider, 1973:10,12).

Another transverse f l u t e which i s t r a d i t i o n a l l y con-

sidered indigenous i s the instrument played by En no Gyoja

(634-707), the patron saint of Japan's mendicant Buddhists

and the founder of the Yamabushi. This legend i s t o l d i n a

Gagaku dance c a l l e d Somakusha, but recent research (see Harich-

Schneider, 1973:163,fn.58) has found the o r i g i n s of t h i s dance

 49

and legend i n Central A s i a v i a the imported entertainment of

T'ang Dynasty China.

A l l the a v a i l a b l e evidence to date seems to support

Harich-Schneider's conclusion (ibid.., 1973:12) that f l u t e s ,

v e r t i c a l or otherwise, were scarcely indigenous to Japan, i f

at a l l .

2:3 Gagaku Shakuhachi

During the Yamato Period (400-645) China was the w e l l -

spring of Japan's p r o l i f i c c u l t u r a l naissance e i t h e r d i r e c t l y

or through Korean intermediaries. Music, no l e s s than any

other a r t or science, fascinated the Japanese from i t s f i r s t

o f f i c i a l reception i n 453 A.D. (Garfias, 1975:7) to the end

of the Konin Period (794-894) when the l a s t o f f i c i a l ambassa-

d o r i a l v i s i t to China was cancelled (Reischauer and Fairbank,

1958:506-507). This bridge of exchange was not re-opened un-

t i l the E a r l y Muromachi Period (1336-1477) v i s - a - v i s the Ming

Dynasty (1368-1644) although there were f u r t i v e v i s i t s by

merchants and p i r a t e s ( i b i d . , 560-61) whenever China's turbu-

l e n t era under the Mongols would allow i t . Therefore, Japan's

early h i s t o r y f a l l s into two periods i n which the f i r s t i s

signaled by wholesale importation of Chinese culture followed

by a long period of respite during which the Chinese influences

 50

are assimilated before contact i s resumed.

In 701 A.D., the Japanese court founded the Gagaku-ryo

("Office of Gagaku") i n order to organize and codify the

wealth of music coming from the T'ang Dynasty centres of

music. I t i s i n t h i s f r e n e t i c and exuberant m i l i e u that the

"Ch'ih-pa" a r r i v e d to become the Japanese "Shakuhachi" i n

the Imperial Court Orchestra, Gagaku.

2:3:1 E a r l y Gagaku Shakuhachi (7th-8th Centuries)

The e a r l i e s t known references to the shakuhachi are as-

sociated with Buddhist temples because they were the centre

of Japan's new r e l i g i o u s celebrations and concomitant court

activities. Because many of these celebrations were unique

events, many of these temples would immortalize t h e i r c e l e b r a -

tions by r e t a i n i n g a l l the costumes, implements (including

music instruments), and records for future p o s t e r i t y . Judging

by the a v a i l a b l e material, t h e i r foresight has been amply j u s -

tified.

Seventh century evidence of the shakuhachi's presence

i s associated with Horyu-ji temple, founded i n 607 and most

active during the Asuka (552-645) and Hakuho (645-710) Periods

as a f o c a l point f o r Japan's early Buddhist devotions. Within

i t s confines are one extant shakuhachi (Tanabe, 1964:285-86)

 51

and a small, sculptured "angel" (Tennin) playing a shakuhachi.

The l a t t e r i s one of a group of s i x heavenly musicians (Aki-

yama, 1966:v.2,pi.10 and p.186) placed on a canopy above the

"Shaka Triad" i n the main h a l l (Kondo) and probably dating

from the Hakuho Period. The extant shakuhachi i s one of

several extant instruments stored i n the Treasure-house (Hoko)

of Horyu-ji.

During the eighth century the c a p i t a l moved to Nara,

where i t became the r e c i p i e n t of the majority of the Chinese

importations. Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , the evidence f o r the e x i s -

tence of the Gagaku shakuhachi i s strongest i n t h i s century.

The most extensive proof comes from the Shoso-in which

i s the treasure-house connected to the T o d a i - j i temple, the

Nara Period (710-794) equivalent of the e a r l i e r H o r y u - j i .

The extant evidence i s i n the form of eight shakuhachi, four

of. which- are. a c t u a l l y catalogued i n the contemporary Shoso-

i n catalogue, Kemmotsucho (see Harich-Schneider, 1973:59? Jo-

sango, 1971:7). They have been amply described by the Shoso-

in Office (1967) and many commentators (e.g., Harich-Schneider,

1973:59-61), so they need not occupy us here.

The Shoso-in also has a number of i l l u s t r a t i o n s of shaku-

hachi drawn on various objects within i t s c o l l e c t i o n . On the

famous Dankyu Bow (Shoso-in O f f i c e , 1967:pls.192-99; Harich-

Schneider, 1973:55-58) are line-drawings of two shakuhachi

 52

players, one standing and one s i t t i n g , and a b u c o l i c scene

painted on a biwa kambachi (plectrum guard) contains a young

man playing e i t h e r an extra-long h i c h i r i k i ( o - h i c h i r i k i ? ) or

a shakuhachi (Shoso-in O f f i c e , 1967:pls.8,182) .

Another iconographic source r e l a t e d to the T o d a i - j i i s

an eight-sided bronze lamp b u i l t i n c. 752 i n front o f the

enormous temple. On four o f i t s sides are "musical bodhisattva"

(i.e., buddhist " s a i n t s " ) , one of whom i s p l a y i n g a shakuhachi.* 0

(The other three are playing ryuteki, "sho" fmouth organ], and

"hachi" ([small cymbals] .)

Two contemporary catalogues document the existence o f

the shakuhachi i n various contexts. The inventory l i s t o f the

S a i d a i - j i temple, S a i d a i - j i Shizaicho (780) includes one mada-

radake (mottled bamboo) shakuhachi f o r a l a t e T'ang ensemble

and eight shakuhachi f o r e a r l y T'ang ensembles ( c f . Garfias,

1965:40,Table 2). Another catalogue, compiled by a "Grand

Council" (Daijokan) and l a b e l l e d Daijokanpu (809), l i s t s

twelve "Togakushi" (masters o f Togaku music) i n c l u d i n g a "Sha-

kuhachi-shi" (Josango, 1971:7).

F i n a l l y , a 12th century document, the S h i n z e i Kogaku Zu,

i s reputed to be a c o l l e c t i o n o f drawings and anecdotes from

Nara and e a r l y Heian times i l l u s t r a t i n g the many facets o f

contemporary Gagaku (Harich-Schneider, 1973:142-81; Garfias,

1975:fig.26-52). Line-drawings of a s o l i t a r y shakuhachi p l a y e r

 53

(copied from the Dankyu Bow?) and a procession of musicians

performing Rinyu-Gaku which includes a shakuhachi p l a y e r add

more evidence to the hypothesis that the shakuhachi was active

during the 7th and 8th centuries.

2:3:2 Heian Gagaku Shakuhachi (9th-10th Centuries)

During the Heian Period (794-1185) the Japanese began

the a s s i m i l a t i o n and adaption of imported Chinese c u l t u r e to

s u i t t h e i r own national character. For the shakuhachi t h i s

process was an anethema. References to the instrument are so

rare that one can only assume that i t d i d not survive the c u l -

t u r a l metamorphoses.

A document from the 12th century, Ryumeisho (1133), con-

t a i n s a b r i e f anecdote s t a t i n g that Sadayasu Shinno (870-924),

one of the sons of Emperor Seiwa (r. 858-876) and a famous

ryuteki (transverse f l u t e ) musician, attempted to revive the

shakuhachi part to the Togaku Kangen composition, "Oshokun"

(Josango, 1971:8).** Considering the time-gap between the

anecdote and the actual event, and the fact that t h i s anecdote

does not appear i n the other Ryuteki manuals written before

the Ryumeisho, t h i s curious piece of information i s not above

suspicion.

The author of the 10th century d i c t i o n a r y Wa Myo Ruiju

 54

Sho, Minamoto no Shitagu, l i s t s the shakuhachi among r e l a t e d

"oddities", 1 2
the "Yaku" ("a six-hole f l u t e " ) , "Cho-teki"

(long f l u t e ) , "Chukwan" (middle-size f l u t e , see 2:2) and "Tan-

teki" (short f l u t e , c f . Harich-Schneider, 1973:392-93, r e :

Taigensho entry f o r Chukwan). The entry f o r shakuhachi sim-

p l y states that i t i s opposite to the Tan-teki (Minamoto,

1968:v.l,p.289,595).

Murasaki Shikibu, a c o u r t i e r and n o v e l i s t w r i t i n g i n the

f i r s t years of the 11th century, vaguely mentions a "sakuhachi

(sic) no t e k i " i n her u s u a l l y p u n c t i l i o u s n a r r a t i v e , Genji

Monogatari ("Safflower", ch.6, see Josango, 1971:8). 13

Her

obtuse reference most l i k e l y stemmed from i t s r a r i t y .

Koma no Asakuzu noted i n h i s Gagaku encyclopedia Zoku-

Kyokunsho (1270) that i n 1158 a party was held i n a nobleman's

house at which the shakuhachi was played, no doubt as a c u r i o -

sity. " I t i s c e r t a i n that i n those l a s t days of Heian, the

a r i s t o c r a t i c s surrounding the i l l - s t a r r e d Goshirakawa (r. 1155-

1158) must have attained a rare a r t i s t i c p e r f e c t i o n , before

Heian f e l l " (Harich-Schneider, 1973:272). The r e v i v a l of the

shakuhachi probably played a part i n t h i s c u l t u r a l effluence

as a n o s t a l g i c reminder of greater times.

These few anecdotes convey the fact that the shakuhachi

had become v i r t u a l l y obsolete i n the Heian Period. On the other

hand, the " r y u t e k i " (also " o t e k i " and "yokobue") transverse
 55

f l u t e had become extremely popular. According to the Sandai-

Jitsuroku, one of the f i r s t great ryuteki performers was Oto

no Kiyogami (nee Seijo, f l . 833-850) who t r a v e l l e d to China

(and died on the return voyage) i n order to receive advance

i n s t r u c t i o n i n the T'ang f l u t e (Harich-Schneider, 1973:102).

Seijo i s the f i r s t name i n a t r a d i t i o n of d i s t i n g u i s h e d noble-

men, mainly from the Minamoto clan who pursued the technique

of the r y u t e k i . From the 11th century onwards, Gakunin (pro-

f e s s i o n a l musicians of Gagaku) from the Oga clan i n h e r i t e d

the reputation of s k i l l e d f l u t i s t s . The r e s u l t of a l l t h i s

a c t i v i t y was a number of extensive w r i t i n g s i n the ryuteki and

related subjects (Harich-Schneider, 1973:191-212,253-263,274):

Nanchiku-fu by Sadayasu Shinno (870-924) — not extant;

Chochiku-fu by Minamoto no Hakuga (918-80);

Kaichikusho by Oga no Koresue (1026-94);

Ryumeisho by Oga no Motomasa (1077-1138).

In conclusion, i t would seem that the transverse f l u t e

completely over-shadowed the shakuhachi when Gagaku and i t s

instrumentarium became a s s i m i l a t e d and adopted by the Heian

aesthetes. No doubt the extensive t r a d i t i o n of the imported

Chinese Lung-ti (Ryuteki) coupled with the early Japanese

penchant f o r "wagon" and " t e k i " mentioned e a r l i e r (see 2:2)

combined to e s t a b l i s h t h i s preference. A f t e r the f a l l of the

Heian court the transverse f l u t e was adopted by such diverse

 56

concerns as Buddhist temples (as tuning standards, see Harich-

Schneider, 1973:317,327) and folk ensembles (called "Hayashi",

see i b i d . , 254,414). Certain echoes o f the c o u r t l y transverse

f l u t e t r a d i t i o n also may have found i t s way i n t o the l a t e r

shakuhachi t r a d i t i o n , as w i l l be shown i n Chapter 4 (see 4:1:2).

2:4 Medieval Shakuhachi

Between the period o f the Gagaku shakuhachi and the ad-

vent o f the Komuso shakuhachi l i e s several hundred years o f

clouded h i s t o r y concerning v e r t i c a l f l u t e s . The period under

discussion i s concomitant with the Kamakura (1185-1333) and

Muromachi (1333-1573) Eras during which time Japan progressed

through p a i n f u l and d i s r u p t i v e changes from a monarchical to

a feudal s o c i e t y . Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , music i n general r e f l e c t e d

these changes so much that o l d forms disappeared or mutated

while new genres appeared i n t r a n s i e n t and rapidly.changing

forms. E s s e n t i a l l y , the c h r o n i c l e r s of Japanese a r t music

found the o l d Heian court music i n acstate o f attenuation,

while the music o f the new m i l i t a r y c l a s s , Nohgaku, and the

popular entertainments of the emerging merchant o f "middle"

c l a s captured t h e i r a t t e n t i o n .

Some o f the confusion surrounding the shakuhachi's h i s -

tory stems from i t s name. O r i g i n a l l y , the word "shakuhachi"

 (Ch. "Ch'ih-pa") was a s p e c i f i c denotation f o r the imported

Gagaku v e r t i c a l f l u t e , but i t s l a t e r meaning became general-

ized by Imperial c h r o n i c l e r s describing plebian v e r t i c a l flutes

long a f t e r the Gagaku instrument became e x t i n c t . When the

names of these l a t t e r f l u t e s f i n a l l y became acknowledged (i.e.,

"Tenpuku" and " H i t o y o g i r i " ) the term "shakuhachi" disappeared

u n t i l the advent of the Komuso who named t h e i r v e r t i c a l flute

"shakuhachi". I t i s t h i s f i n a l denotation which has come down

to us i n the present and which b e l i e s an h i s t o r i c a l c o n t i n u i t y

dating from the 7th century.

The most important d i s t i n c t i o n between the Gagaku Shaku-

hachi and Medieval Shakuhachi i s that the former was construc-

ted with s i x holes (sounding the Chinese Ryo mode i n the man-

ner of the Chinese Ch* ih-pa) while the l a t t e r was b u i l t with

5 holes, placed to sound the indigenous Japanese music scale

(Ritsu/Yo mode). This t r a d i t i o n has remained unchanged to the

present.

2:4:1 Komo-so* Shakuhachi

Throughout the h i s t o r y of Japan since i t s f i r s t contact

with China, there has always been a maverick c l a s s of Japanese,

the Buddhist mendicants. Their o r i g i n s may be roughly traced

to the 7th and 8th centuries when r u r a l shamanism, l o o s e l y

 58

associated with indigenous Shintoism, melded with Buddhism

to create the "Ubasoku-zenji" (Buddhist laymen masters). They

did not constitute one coherent c l a s s but instead were a l i k e

only i n t h e i r quasi-Buddhist shamanism (Kitagawa, 1966:38-45).

En no Gyoja, mentioned e a r l i e r (see 2:2), was t h e i r u n o f f i c i a l

patron s a i n t .

During the Kamakura Period, when Japan was embroiled i n

constant c i v i l wars and people's l i v e s were constantly d i s -

rupted, the number of wandering a s c e t i c s increased dramatical-

ly, d e c l a r i n g the a r r i v a l of "Mappo", (the t h i r d Buddhist

cycle when the Buddha's teachings, and consequently the world,

w i l l end), and paths to s a l v a t i o n . At t h i s time, the mendi-

cants were c a l l e d "shonin" or " h i j i r i " , (the l a t t e r being a

development within the Shingon Sect) and they had abandoned

shaman p r a c t i c e s some time e a r l i e r .

Watanabe (1970:35-37) has only the highest regard f o r

the "popular r e l i g i o n i s t s " but the author of the fourteenth

century Tsurezuregusa (Essays i n Idleness) speaks of the

h i j i r i or "boroboro" (men o f rags) i n a contemptuous tone

(Keene, 1967:66,98-99). Remnants of t h i s t r a d i t i o n still

e x i s t i n the form of "Yamabushi", or Men of the Mountains.

Prom the very beginning, the biwa played by b l i n d (Budd-

h i s t ) p r i e s t s (Mo-so) was a major element i n the ubasoku t r a -

dition. The o r i g i n s of t h i s genre are unknown, although

 59

Haniwa figurines show that the biwa was extant i n Japan's

p r o t o h i s t o r i c a l period and chronicles such as the Koj i k i

indicate kami (gods), emperors, and noblemen o c c a s i o n a l l y

used s t r i n g instruments during t h e i r shamanistic a c t i v i t i e s .

During the Heian Period the Moso were l o o s e l y organized i n t o

a g u i l d (be) and informally aligned with the Tendai Buddhist

sect, but t h e i r basic roles as mendicants remained largely

undisturbed.

At f i r s t t h e i r music only consisted of sutra r e c i t a -

t i o n s with b r i e f interludes played on the biwa. For t h i s

reason, pre-reforra Buddhist chant (bombai) figures prominant-

l y i n t h e i r musical background, although accounts of t h e i r

r e c i t a t i o n s described them as mystical incantations strongly

reminiscent of resident Shinto shrine shamans (Mikanko) and

t h e i r Imperial predecessors (Malm, 1959:42-43). When the

shonin and p o p u l i s t Buddhist sects increased t h e i r a c t i v i t y

during the v i o l e n t Kamakura period, the Moso created unique

v e h i c l e s f o r t h e i r eschatology i n the form of "Sekkyo-bushi",

Buddhist b a l l a d dramas, and "Saemon", Buddhist song-sermons.

The most important of these narratives was the Heike --

monogatari which evolved i n t o i t s own genre, the Heike -biwa.

Their shaman a c t i v i t i e s were completely replaced by t h e i r

evangelism.

The succeeding Muromachi Period saw the development of

 60

a group o f ubasoku musicians who fashioned themselves a f t e r

the Kamakura Mo-so. The "Komo-so", straw-mat (i.e., mendicant)

priests, adopted the v e r t i c a l f l u t e as a r i t u a l instrument f o r

t h e i r "takuhatsu", r e l i g i o u s alms-taking. Their movement does

not seem to have lasted beyond 1600 (the beginning of the Edo

Period) and contemporary references to them are scarce. Per-

haps the f i r s t mention of t h e i r existence i s i n the Sanjuniban

Shokunin Uta-awase (c. 1537) which contains a s l i g h t l y d i s -

14

paraging "Waka" ( 3 l - s y l l a b l e poem) about "Komo no Shakuhachi"

(Josango, 1971:9). Within f i f t y years the Komo-so were d i s -

placed by samurai and chonin (bourgeoisie) who adopted the

v e r t i c a l f l u t e as a medium o f expression and entertainment.

The reasons f o r t h i s turn of events and the shakuhachi*s rapid

r i s e through Japan's s o c i a l classes w i l l be explained presently.

The renaissance of the shakuhachi i n the hands o f the

Komo-so has provoked a considerable amount of discussion about

i t s origins. I t i s generally accepted that the Medieval Shaku-

hachi does not have a d i r e c t lineage to the Gagaku Shakuhachi

and that i t was re-introduced from China some time i n the 15th

century.

Impetus f o r the re-introduction theory stems from the

legend of R5an, a Chinese migrant who emigrated to Japan i n

the Bummei Era (1469-86) and s e t t l e d i n U j i (just outside

Kyoto) where he b u i l t a temple which he c a l l e d Kyuko-an. It

 61

i s s a i d that he introduced the v e r t i c a l f l u t e which was to

become named the " H i t o y o g i r i " (single-section bamboo cut

shakuhachi) one hundred years l a t e r . Kinko I i s supposed to

have acquired four Honkyoku (see Tanaka, 1956:303-304) nearly

250 years l a t e r , and another legend has i t that Pao Fu (Hofuku),

the f i r s t master of the Kinsen branch of the Kinko-ryu, founded

a hermitage i n U j i some 200 years e a r l i e r than Roan. Whatever

the a u t h e n t i c i t y of these legends, i t i s i n t e r e s t i n g that U j i

should be the common f o c a l point.

Tanabe (1954:218) says that according to t r a d i t i o n ,

Roan may have o r i g i n a l l y come from Foochow, a c i t y i n Fukien

Province. In a l a t e r book, Tanabe (1959:36) o f f e r s another

clue by saying that "In 1392, the f i r s t r u l e r of Ming Dynasty

China dispatched 36 families of the province of Fukien to the

Ryukyu Islands to make the islanders conform to the manners

of China." (At that time the Chinese introduced the "San-

hsien" which was to emigrate to Japan i n the 16th century to

become the "Shamisen".), The Ryukyu Islands became a major

trading l i n k between the newly formed Ming Dynasty i n China

(1368-1644) and the expansive Ashikaga Shogunate (1336-1477,

see Reischauer and Fairbank, 1958:331). Malm (1975) has o f -

ferred a f a s c i n a t i n g glimpse of music exchange between China

and Japan v i a Korean and Ryukuan intermediaries during the

Edo Period (1600-1828) but the preceding 150 years have not
 62

been w e l l documented. N e v e r t h e l e s s , i t would seem e n t i r e l y

p o s s i b l e t h a t the v e r t i c a l f l u t e d i d f i n d i t s way t o Japan

d u r i n g t h e 1 5 t h c e n t u r y when c o n t a c t between C h i n a and Japan

reached t h e same i n t e n s i t y as i t had some seven hundred y e a r s

earlier.

Tanabe (1954:218) c l a i m s t h a t the 15th c e n t u r y vertical

f l u t e p r o b a b l y came t o F u k i e n P r o v i n c e from Indo-China**

M
(e.g.,

the T h a i " k h l u i " ) o r even " Indonesia** where t h e A r a b i a n "nay"

was p r o b a b l y i n t r o d u c e d d u r i n g the Moslem i n c u r s i o n s (13th-

15th c e n t u r i e s ) t o become t h e Indonesian " s u l i n g " H e may

have come t o t h i s c o n c l u s i o n , r a t h e r than s u g g e s t i n g t h a t t h e

shakuhachi o r i g i n a t e d w i t h t h e n a t i v e Chinese Tung H s i a o , b e -

cause t h e Tung H s i a o and Shakuhachi a r e so d i s s i m i l a r . How-

ever, r e c e n t i n v e s t i g a t i o n s have r e v e a l e d t h e e x i s t e n c e o f t h e

Amoy Tung H s i a o which i s v e r y s i m i l a r t o t h e shakuhachi and

which i s p r o b a b l y r e l a t e d t o the T'ang Dynasty Ch'ih-pa (see

2:1). Amoy i s a major c i t y i n Fukien P r o v i n c e .

In c o n t r a d i s t i n c t i o n t o t h e t h e o r y o f i m p o r t a t i o n i s an

indigenous t h e o r y o f development. Using a s c a t t e r i n g o f o f t e n -

quoted r e f e r e n c e s , I would l i k e t o suggest a d i r e c t relation-

s h i p between t h e Komo-so and Mo-so v i s - a - v i s t h e v e r t i c a l flute.

In t h e 13 t h ce.itury, Koma no Chikazane reported i n h i s

KySkunsho (1233) t h a t b l i n d p r i e s t s ( S h i n h o s h i ) and Sarugaku

performers (the p r e d e c e s s o r s o f Nohgaku) p l a y e d t h e shakuhachi

(Josango, 1971:8). The author of Kojidan (1212), Minamoto no

Daiken, r e l a t e d a legend that says the Ennin (nee Jikaku

Daishi, 794-864) used the shakuhachi as a supplement t o h i s

Shomyo (Buddhist chant) p r a c t i c e s and the author o f Zoku-

Kyokunsho (1270), Koma no Asakuza, recorded another uncon-

firmed anecdote about the r e v i v a l of the shakuhachi i n 1158,

already described i n t h i s chapter ( i b i d . ) .

The 14th century l i t e r a t u r e seems to contain only one

glancing reference. Emperor Godaigo ( r . 1318-39), recoun-

t i n g h i s years o f e x i l e i n h i s diary, Yoshino-Shui (1336-39),

mentions that one of h i s entourage played the shakuhachi

(ibid.).

It i s i n the 15th century that the references begin t o

p r o l i f e r a t e , c o i n c i d e n t a l l y during the same century that Roan

i s supposed t o have a r r i v e d i n Japan. Emperor Gokomatsu

(r. 1392-1412) reported hearing "shakuhachi and haya-uta"

(one of the forms i n "Uta-awase" song f e s t i v a l s ) i n h i s Yama-

shina Kyogen Kyorikki (1408, i b i d . ) . Prince Sadanari (nee

Gosukoin, 1372-1456) noted i n h i s d i a r y Kammongyoki (1417-

1449) that he watched i t i n e r a n t biwa and " f l u t e " players

taking part i n Uta-awase (Harich-Schneider, 1973:411).

Moving i n t o the 16th century, we note that the Gagaku

encyclopedia Taigensho has more information about the shaku-

hachi than the 13th century encyclopedias, Kyokunsho and

 64

Zoku-Kyokunsho Harich-Schneider, 1973:394). F i n a l l y , the most

t e l l i n g evidence i s a p i c t u r e o f a Moso i n the Shokunin Zuku-

shi Uta-awase by Tosa Mitsunobu (1434-1525; see Harich-

Schneider, 1973:pl.17b). At h i s feet l i e two v e r t i c a l f l u t e

types: panpipes (RitsushS) and a small shakuhachi (Dosho?).

As t h i n as t h i s evidence i s , I would l i k e to propose

that the Moso (nee Shinhoshi) o f the Heian Tendai Sect ( c f .

Ennin) adopted two kinds of tuning devices f o r t h e i r biwa

performances, the Ritsu-sho and Do-sho (a common synonym f o r

shakuhachi). Unlike the Gagaku Shakuhachi, the tuning shaku-

hachi would have been much simpler and smaller i n c o n s t r u c t i o n

(for p o r t a b i l i t y ) and tuned to the indigenous scale (Ritsu/Yo

mode) more f a m i l i a r t o the Moso. Hence, the development o f

f i v e finger-holes rather than s i x . No doubt the tuning notes

used by the Moso became s t y l i z e d , a t r a d i t i o n long established

i n the Gagaku tuning "preludes" c a l l e d "Netori" and i n the

prelude improvisations performed by c o u r t i e r s (cf. Genji-

mohoqatari, see Harich-Schneider, 1973:246).

:
During the 15th

and 16th centuries the Moso probably u t i l i z e d t h e i r s t y l i z e d

tuning preludes during t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the popular Uta-

awase. Another group of Buddhist mendicants probably r e a l i z e d

the value o f the shakuhachi and i t s "preludes", and adopted

i t as t h e i r own medium, naming themselves "Komo-so" to d i s -

t i n g u i s h themselves from the "Mo-so".

 65

One f i n a l hypothesis can be drawn to support the above.

The imported Fukien v e r t i c a l f l u t e would have had s i x holes

and an a l i e n scale which would probably not have captured the

i n t e r e s t of the Japanese, just as the Gagaku Shakuhachi d i d

not.

As mentioned e a r l i e r , the Komo-so seemed to have d i s -

appeared from 16th-century Japanese s o c i e t y a f t e r only fifty-

odd years o f existence. No reasons are given i n contemporary

l i t e r a t u r e but one can e a s i l y imagine that the development of

the "Tenpuku", "Hitoyogiri", and "Fuke Shakuhachi" (to be d i s -

cussed next) fostered the Komo-so's d i s s o l u t i o n . The former

v e r t i c a l flutes ( a l l simple v a r i a t i o n s on the shakuhachi) were

played by samurai and chonin (bourgeoisie) who would insure

that v e r t i c a l f l u t e s be r e s t r i c t e d to t h e i r c l a s s (the Komo-

so were people from the lower c l a s s ) . In the l i g h t of Japan's

r i g i d code of s o c i a l ethics and t h e i r enforcement, p a r t i c u l a r l y

in the Edo Period, t h i s r e s t r i c t i o n would be easy to impose.

A second suggestion may be that Komo-so were one and the

same with Mo-so, and the v e r t i c a l f l u t e d i d not achieve an i n -

dependant music and genre status u n t i l i t moved into the upper

classes.
 66

2:4:2 Tenpuku (16th Century)

Rather than a p p e a r i n g on the main i s l a n d o f Honshu, the

Tenpuku o r i g i n a t e d i n the s o u t h e r n i s l a n d o f Kyushu. In the

9th century, the town o f D a z a i f u was established i n northern

Kyushu t o a c t as an a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c e n t r e f o r the newly-

emerging "Nine Southern Provinces". Between 901 and 903,

Sugawara no M i c h i z a n e , a renowned s c h o l a r and statesman, was

v i r t u a l l y e x i l e d t o D a z a i f u a f t e r v a r i o u s a l t e r c a t i o n s a t the

c o u r t i n Kyoto. D e s p i t e the f a c t t h a t he was only there f o r

three years, h i s c u l t u r a l i n f l u e n c e , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n music,

i s . s t i l l f e l t i n the e n v i r o n s (Harich-Schneider, 1973:417).

Some o f the n o t a b l e music genres from N o r t h e r n Kyushu a r e the

Chikuzen Moso-biwa (12th century) and the T s u k u s h i - g o t o (17th

century).

In the southern end o f the i s l a n d , c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t y was

dominated by the Shimadzu c l a n . In the 12th c e n t u r y , Shimadzu

T a d a h i s a e s t a b l i s h e d the c l a n i n the s o u t h e r n p r o v i n c e o f S a t -

suma. D u r i n g the same c e n t u r y , the Shimadzu sponsored the

Satsuma Moso w i t h the i n t e n t i o n o f u s i n g them as s p i e s ..because

o f t h e i r u n s u s p i c i o u s demeanor and unhampered t r a d i t i o n of

p e r e g r i n a t i o n s a l l o w i n g them t o f r e e l y c r o s s b o r d e r s and over-

hear c o n v e r s a t i o n s (Malm, 1959:135).

The f i r s t mention o f the "tenpuku" i s i n the 16th century.

when Shimadzu Tadayoshi (1492-1568) encouraged the develop-

ment o f " l i g h t c l a s s i c s " among h i s samurai retainers by i n -

s t r u c t i n g them to learn how to play the Satsuma-biwa and

tenpuku. In 1587 the e n t i r e clan was disbanded and d i s s i -

pated by Hideyoshi (1536-1598), with the r e s u l t that nothing

more was heard about the Tenpuku.

In the only thorough study o f the tenpuku, Shirao

(1969:153-69) has concluded that very l i t t l e can be said

with c e r t a i n t y about the instrument and i t s h i s t o r y . One

reason f o r t h i s unfortunate paucity of information may be

that the disbanding of the clan j u s t twenty years a f t e r Tada>

yoshi's death may not have allowed enough time f o r the i n -

strument to e s t a b l i s h i t s e l f .

Extant tenpuku resemble miniature shakuhachi, u n l i k e

h i t o y o g i r i which are constructed with ornamental fixtures

resembling ryuteki (Malm, 1959:155). The co-incidence o f

the Satsuma biwa and small v e r t i c a l f l u t e i s worth noting i n

17
the context o f t h i s chapter.

2:4:3 H i t o y o g i r i (Late 16th-l7th Centuries)

The name " H i t o - y o - g i r i " means "single section cut" be-

cause the v e r t i c a l f l u t e of the time was made o f one section

of bamboo with the mouthpiece cut obliquely on the bottom of

the section. Like the shakuhachi, the nomenclature does not

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a c t u a l l y name the instrument, b u t r a t h e r d e s c r i b e s i t . It

was measured i n Japanese f e e t (shaku) and m i c r o - i n c h e s (bu)

r a t h e r than i n c h e s (sun), making i t s h o r t e r than i t s p r e -

decessor. The f l u t e e x i s t e d i n many d i f f e r e n t s i z e s , so i t

was a l s o i d e n t i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o the lowest note i t sounded.

F o r example,-a h i t o y o g i r i t h a t sounded "A" was called "oshiki-

giri". During the h e i g h t of i t s p o p u l a r i t y , i t was construc-

ted i n the same manner as the h i c h i r i k i and S t e k i w i t h strips

of d a r k - c o l o r e d wood or twine wrapped around i t s body between

the f i n g e r - h o l e s (Malm, 1959:155).

Omori Sokun (1568-1625) i s the f i r s t major f i g u r e i n

the h i s t o r y o f the h i t o y o g i r i . He was o r i g i n a l l y i n the ser-

v i c e o f Nobunaga, u n t i l the l a t t e r * s death i n 1582, a t which

time Omori became a r e c l u s e p l a y i n g the h i t o y o g i r i . His skill

became so h i g h l y r e p u t e d t h a t the Emperor 'Goyozei (1586-

1611) r e q u e s t e d h i s presence and a s e t o f h i s i n s t r u m e n t s .

Omori compiled seven s o l o h i t o y o g i r i melodies, Tanteki Hidenfu

(1608) which were supposedly q u i e t and i n t r o s p e c t i v e i n

character. A l a t e r anonymous c o l l e c t i o n I k a n o b o r i c o n t a i n e d

f i v e more c o m p o s i t i o n s . I t has been i m p o s s i b l e t o reproduce

the melodies w i t h any c e r t a i n t y because t h e r e i s no way of

knowing what the a c t u a l p i t c h e s o f the n o t a t i o n s y l l a b a r y a r e .

The t i t l e s do not appear i n any l a t e r r e p e r t o i r e s o f known

shakuhachi music, i n c l u d i n g the K i n k o - r y u (Josango, 1971:8).

 69

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e Doshokyoku, two " s c h o o l s " o f p l a y i n g

developed, t h e Shusa-ryu and N i s h i m i - r y u ; they performed with

each o t h e r i n t h e same manner as t h e Uta-awase. Illustrations

and e x p l a n a t i o n s about h i t o y o g i r i p l a y e r s p e r f o r m i n g i n p a i r s

(Fuku-awase) a r e found i n t h e S h i c h i k u Shoshinshu (1664) and

the J i n r i n Kimmo Z u i (1689). In t h e Yamato Kosaku E i s h o , t h e

h i t o y o g i r i i s shown b e i n g p l a y e d i n an ensemble c o n s i s t i n g o f

shamisen, t a i k o and ko-tsuzumi, accompanying a B o n - o d o r i dance

(ibid.).

The h i t o y o g i r i reached t h e peak o f p o p u l a r i t y d u r i n g t h e

Genroku E r a (1688-1703) and then q u i c k l y f e l l i n t o d e c l i n e be-

cause o f a new b e r t i c a l f l u t e t h a t was r a p i d l y becoming more

popular — t h e l a r g e r "Nedake" Shakuhachi p l a y e d by t h e s u c c e s -

s o r s o f t h e Komo-so, t h e "Komu-so".

2:4:4 Komuso Shakuhachi (17th-19th C e n t u r i e s )

D u r i n g t h e Momoyama P e r i o d (1573-1600), Japan was s t e e p e d

i n n a t i o n a l w a r f a r e which g e n e r a t e d a d i f f i c u l t s i t u a t i o n i n

the f o l l o w i n g Edo P e r i o d (1600-1868). Thousands o f samurai who

had been t r a d i t i o n a l l y a l i g n e d t o c l a n s found themselves with-

out employment because t h e i r c l a n s had been d e f e a t e d and d i s -

banded. These "r3nin" c o n s t i t u t e d a dangerous, volatile ele-

ment i n t h e e a r l y p a r t o f t h e Edo P e r i o d . A group o f t h e s e

 70

ronin took up the shakuhachi and became wandering mendicant

musicians i n the komosS t r a d i t i o n . However, they c a l l e d

themselves "Komu-s5" ("empty nothingness — p r i e s t s " ) to

d i f f e r e n t i a t e themselves from the decidedly lower class of

komoso*.

The Komuso were alleged to be members of a r a d i c a l Zen

sect c a l l e d the Fuke-shu, which was a l l i e d to the Rinzai-shu.

They claimed that t h e i r founder was Kakushin (nee S h i n j i ,

Hotto-zenji, Hotto-emmyo-Kokushi) who l i v e d i n the e a r l y

years of the Kamakura-jidai (i.e., 1207-1298). Between the

years 1249 and 1254, he studied Buddhism i n Sung Dynasty

China in: much the same manner as E i s a i (1141-1215) and Dogen

(1200-1253), the founders of Rinzai-shu and Soto-shu, respec-

t i v e l y , i n Japan. While i n China, Kakushin studied with Wu-

men Hui-k'ai (1184-1260) who had compiled the Wu-min Kuan

(Mumonkan), a c o l l e c t i o n o f Rinzai-shu koans that have become

an i n t e g r a l part of Zen Buddhism i n Japan (see Miura and

Sasaki, 1966:199-203).

A document written i n 1779 (published i n 1795) and en-

t i t l e d "Kyotaku Denki" Kokujikai — a Commentary on the "Bio-

graphy of Kyotaku" i n Japanese — purported to be a h i s t o r y

of the Fuke-shu. The author, Yamamoto Morihide, based h i s

commentary on a copy of the biography, the o r i g i n a l being

"lost" (see Ongaku J i t e n , V o l . XL, p.777).

 71

Kakushin i s s a i d t o have s t u d i e d w i t h Chang Ts'an (Cho-

17

san), the 16th p a t r i a r c h o f the Fuke s e c t i n C h i n a extending

back t o P'u-hua (Jp. Fuke), the source o f t h e Fuke t r a d i t i o n

and second g e n e r a t i o n from Ma-tsu T a o - i (Baso D o i c h i — 707-

786).

P'u -hua was one o f the most e c c e n t r i c Ch*an (Zen) monks

of T'ang Dynasty C h i n a as e v i d e n c e d by the koans b u i l t around

his association with Lin-Chi ( R i n z a i , see Moore, 1967:106-107,

fn.19). I t i s s a i d t h a t he wandered through g r a v e y a r d s , feign-

ing madness and s h a k i n g a h a n d - b e l l (Jp. R e i ) , a common r i t u a l

implement o f Buddhism. A t t h a t time, Chang Po (Cho Haku) asked

P'u-hua i f he might be h i s t e a c h e r , b u t P'u-hua r e f u s e d . Unde-

t e r r e d , Chang Po f o l l o w e d h i s master's footsteps, but instead

of ringing a b e l l , he blew a s i n g l e note from a v e r t i c a l flute.

Renaming h i m s e l f Hsixto ("Kyotaku"), he became the f i r s t patri-

a r c h o f the P'u-hua-tsung (Fuke-shu).

Kakushin supposedly met Chang Ts'an a t Hu-kuo-ssu Temple

where Wu-men was r e s i d e n t p a t r i a r c h , and the two o f them s t u d i e d

under Wu-m^n t o g e t h e r . One day, a f t e r h e a r i n g Chang Ts'an p e r -

form a c o m p o s i t i o n named a f t e r the f i r s t p a t r i a r c h , Kyotaku (or

" K y o r e i " ) , Kakushin asked t o be i n i t i a t e d i n t o t h e s e c t .

A f t e r r e t u r n i n g t o Japan i n 1254, Kakushin founded

S a i h o - j i Temple ( l a t e r c a l l e d K o k o k u - j i ) i n wakayama P r e f e e -
 72

ture where he resided f o r most of h i s remaining life. Within

i t s confines he a l l e g e d l y b u i l t a small temple c a l l e d Fuke-an

for four Chinese l a y d i s c i p l e s of Chang-Ts'an who had accom-

panied Kakushin on h i s return voyage. One of the laymen, Pao

Fu (Hofuku), i s said to have founded a hermitage at U j i some

time l a t e r . The Kinsen branch of the Fuke-shu trace t h e i r

o r i g i n s to t h i s source.

Among Kakushin's Japanese d i s c i p l e s was Yoritake Ryoen

(d. 1298) who became i n i t i a t e d i n the way of the shakuhachi

and renamed himself Kyochiku Z e n j i . He i s c r e d i t e d with ini-

t i a t i n g the t r a d i t i o n s of the mendicant p l a y e r / p r i e s t s and

composing "Mukai-ji" and "Koku-ji" ( l a t e r c a l l e d "Koku Reibo")

a f t e r hearing them i n a dream at Kokuzo-do Temple i n Ise Pre-

fecture. Many t r a d i t i o n a l h i s t o r i a n s confuse Yoritake Ryoen

with another, l a t e r legendary figure named Roan.

Kyochiku*s successor was Tengai Myoan who founded Kyo-

reizan Meian-ji i n the 13th century. Thereafter, Meian-ji

became the head temple of the Komuso with the statue of Kyo-

chiku enshrined within i t . Meian-ha's p a t r i a r c h s are numbered

from Kyochiku Z e n j i , so that the current " p a t r i a r c h " , Fukumoto

Kansai Kyoan, i s 39th successor.

In 1614, (Keicho 19), Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) sup-

posedly issued a proclamation (okitegaki) which eventually

became known as the Keicho Okitegaki. Under the b r i e f terms

 73

o f the p r o c l a m a t i o n , Komuso were allowed to "incorporate" and

govern t h e i r own affairs. The o r i g i n a l document was destroyed

in a f i r e ; only copies exist.

A critical study o f the above two documents conducted by

Nakatsuka Chikuzen, who r e p o r t e d h i s f i n d i n g s i n an a r t i c l e en-

t i t l e d Kinko-ryu Shakuhachi Shikan ( c f . Tanabe Hisao, 1963:147-

48). Nakatsuka was c u r i o u s about the h i s t o r i c i t y o f t h e "Kyo-

taku Denki" K o k u j i k a i , prompting him t o v i s i t K o k o k u - j i t o study

i t s archives. He found t h a t Kyochiku Z e n j i and the shakuhachi

were not mentioned i n Kakushin's w r i t i n g s . ^ - 9

He then discovered

t h a t d u r i n g the Kamakura P e r i o d , M e i a n - j i d i d n o t e x i s t as a

temple but as a h o s t e l f o r monks who were v i s i t i n g t h e greater

temple complex, T o f u k u - j i , w x t h i n which M e i a n - j i i s s i t u a t e d .

F i n a l l y , Nakatsuka found d i s p a r i t i e s i n the v a r i o u s c o p i e s of

the K e i c h o O k i t e g a k i . H i s c o n c l u s i o n was t h a t t h e Fuke-shu

komuso o r g a n i z a t i o n was a c t u a l l y founded sometime d u r i n g the

4th Tokugawa Shogun's (1651-1680) r e i g n . 2 0

A f t e r d i s c o u n t i n g the t r a d i t i o n a l h i s t o r y o f the Komuso,

h i s t o r i a n s have found i t almost i m p o s s i b l e t o p r o v i d e an alter-

n a t i v e based on new evidence. Conjecture on my p a r t l e d me to

the thought t h a t the Komuso/ronin were ex-members o f the S h i -

madzu c l a n which was d i s b a n d e d i n 1587. These w a r r i o r s would

have been f a m i l i a r w i t h the v e r t i c a l f l u t e (i.e., Tenpuku) and

the k i n d o f underground a c t i v i t y performed by the Satsuma Moso.

 74

This would also explain why H i t o y o g i r i melodies d i d not find

t h e i r way into the Komuso (and then Kinko-ryu) r e p e r t o i r e s ,

because the l a t t e r instrument and i t s music was clearly dif-

ferentiated from the music of the Tenpuku. There i s no way

of knowing what influence the Komoso exerted on the Komuso

other than e s t a b l i s h i n g a precedent, and supplying a ready-

made nomenclature, "shakuhachi", to replace t h e i r own terra,

"Tenpuku", which would have thrown suspicion on them.

The Tokugawa government was aware of the newly-estab-

l i s h e d sect and t h e i r suspicious o r i g i n s . Nevertheless, they

allowed the Meian temple organization to e x i s t and proli-

ferate because i t was to the advantage of the government to

exercise nominal c o n t r o l over the p o t e n t i a l l y dangerous ronin.

In 1677, the government issued a "Reitatsu", an " o r d e r - i n -

council", formally organizing and r e s t r i c t i n g the growth and

movement of the Komuso". C i t i z e n s other than "bushi" (an Edo

Period synonym f o r the samurai class) were not allowed to j o i n

or to play the shakuhachi. C e r t i f i c a t i o n of the Komuso was

drawn up and standardized and "passports" f o r unimpeded t r a v e l

were issued. This l a s t s t i p u l a t i o n stemmed from the f a r -

ranging, e x t r a - l e g a l a c t i v i t i e s many of the ronin conducted

as spies for the government. The role of clandestine spying

became a major f a c t o r i n the Komuso organization, so much so

that they began wearing hats c a l l e d "Tengai", which e n t i r e l y

 75

covered t h e i r heads ( c f . Malm, 1959:pl.51). Although the

"tradition" s t a t e s t h a t these h a t s symbolized m e t a p h y s i c a l

"emptiness" (sunyata), they were a c t u a l l y a d i s g u i s e f o r the

s p i e s from the 18th c e n t u r y u n t i l the a b o l i t i o n o f the move-

ment i n 1871. P r e v i o u s t o t h i s time, t h e i r d r e s s i n c l u d e d

a simple, s h a l l o w h a t . T h i s can be seen i n the illustration

o f two Komuso p l a y i n g i n f r o n t o f a t y p i c a l urban house i n

J i n r i n Kimmo Z u i (1689; see Josango, 1971:12).

The Komuso o r g a n i z a t i o n r a p i d l y expanded t o o t h e r p a r t s

o f Japan, e i t h e r because i t was t o the government's advantage

t o expand t h e i r network o f s p i e s , or because the concept of

wandering monks p l a y i n g shakuhachi appealed t o many d i s s o l u t e

ronin. No doubt b o t h reasons were c u r r e n t b u t the p r o p o r t i o n

o f s p i e s t o s i n c e r e komuso w i l l never be known. Two temples

which f i g u r e d p r o m i n e n t l y i n the e a r l y d i s s e m i n a t i o n o f the

Komuso o r g a n i z a t i o n were R e i h o - j i i n Ome and Ichigetsu-ji in

Musashi, b o t h o f which were c l o s e t o Edo (Tokyo). Each temple

would v e n e r a t e the "San Koten Honkyoku" (Three S a c r e d M e l o d i e s )

nnd add a few c o m p o s i t i o n s drawn from the l o c a l i t y . A l l music

was memorized and l e a r n e d through an o r a l / a u r a l tradition.

2:4:5 Chonin Shakuhachi

D u r i n g the 18th c e n t u r y , the shakuhachi was adopted by

 76

widely disparate groups of the urban "chonin" (bourgeoisie)

class (see Josango, 1971:12-14).

Despite the fact that the shakuhachi was supposedly

r e l i g i o u s i n nature, i t became part of the world of the

Japanese demimonde (Ukiyo). On the one hand, the instrument

succeeded the weaker H i t o y o g i r i i n "popular" music (Zokugaku)

ensembles. More important, however, was the fact that Komuso

became regular v i s i t o r s to the Ukiyo i n order to spy f o r the

government. The costume and l e g a l immunity of the Komuso were

often taken advantage of by the Edo "mafia". At t h i s time,

the Nedake Shakuhachi developed into i t s f i n a l form with rem-

nants of the roots of the bamboo l e f t i n t a c t on the end of

the instrument to become a deadly club. Moreover, the i n s t r u -

ment became a synonym for f e l l a t i o , and to t h i s day, women

"of proper breeding" w i l l not even say the word "shakuhachi",

21

l e t alone play the instrument. D i a m e t r i c a l l y opposite to

the v u l g a r i z i n g of the shakuhachi was a movement i n i t i a t e d by

Kurosawa Kinko (1710-1771). Born i n Fukuoka Province, Kyushu,

into a samurai family attached to the Kuroda clan, Kinko I

moved to the Tokyo area where he became the c h i e f d i r e c t o r of

shakuhachi playing at I c h i g e t s u - j i and R e i h o - j i . His most

important contribution was the a c q u i s i t i o n o f several Honkyoku

which he added to the repertoire of h i s own temples. In a l l ,

he enlarged t h e i r c o l l e c t i o n to a t o t a l of 21 t i t l e s . His son

and successor added 6 more Honkyoku and arranged 4 Honkyoku

into t r i o s .

Kurosawa Kinko II (nee Koemon, 1747-1811), succeeded

h i s father at the two temples and continued to propagate the

repertoire compiled by h i s father and himself. Sometime

during the l a t t e r part of Kinko I's l i f e , a clandestine move-

ment at R e i h o - j i was begun, supposedly by Kinko II, c a l l e d

"Suichikumei" — a system of i n s t r u c t i o n and certification

for laymen (ubasoku). Despite the pleadings of R e i h 5 - j i o f -

f i c i a l s that t h e i r lay organization was harmless, the Tokugawa

government issued Reitatsu i n 1759 and 1774 reaffirming their

p r o s c r i p t i o n of laymen i n the Fuke-shu. Therefore, a c l a n -

destine movement of "Fuku-awase" (performances of shakuhachi

music) was i n i t i a t e d , and i n 1792 the school had 19 teachers

including Kinko I I . Kinko Kurosawa III (nee Masajiro, 1772-

1816) d i d not succeed h i s father's place at the two temples

but, instead, l i v e d i n Nihombashi, Tokyo, devoting himself

e n t i r e l y to p l a y i n g the shakuhachi. His most famous student

was Hisamatsu Fuyo, who w i l l be mentioned i n context present-

ly. The younger brother of Kinko I I I , Kurosawa Kinko IV (nee

Otojiro, d. 1860) was apparently lacking i n t a l e n t , so the

Kinko p a t r i l i n e a g e ended with him, but the i d e a l s and reper-

t o i r e of the Kinko-ryu continued to f l o u r i s h . However, the

only concession made by the m i l i t a r y government was to allow

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men o t h e r t h a n s a m u r a i i n t o t h e r a n k s o f t h e Komuso* i n 1847.

I n a p p o s i t i o n t o t h e K i n k o l i n e was the Ikkan-ryu line,

begun by M i y a g i Ikkan, a s t u d e n t o f K i n k o I . Miyagi's suc-

c e s s o r was Ikeda I k k i (Senzuke) who also studied with Kinko

II. The lineage then passed f r o m I k e d a t o Yamada J o d o and

t h e n t o T o y o d a K o d o I ( K a t s u g o r o ) who was contemporary with

Hisamatsu Fuyo. T h e s e l a s t two "sensei" ( t e a c h e r s ) were ac-

tive j u s t p r i o r t o Japan's great watershed, the M e i j i Resto-

ration.

Before proceeding t o the shakuhachi i n the M e i j i Era, i t

is important t o discuss the m o t i v a t i n g force that sparked

t h e e n t h u s i a s m o f s o many B u d d h i s t l a y m e n d u r i n g t h e 18th

century;

Tokugawa u r b a n s o c i e t y may be d i v i d e d i n t o two roughly-

defined groups. One group c o n s i s t e d o f members o f t h e afflu-

ent merchant c l a s s , dissolute s a m u r a i , "demimonde" characters,

and t h e l i k e who p o p u l a t e d and e n l i v e n e d t h e p l e a s u r e g u a r - :

t e r s o f "UkiyO" ( f l o a t i n g w o r l d ) i n Edo, O s a k a , K y o t o , . and'

c o u n t l e s s m i n o r c e n t r e s a t c r o s s - r o a d s , and T o k a i d o hostels.

The o t h e r g r o u p was c o m p r i s e d o f members O f t h e w a r r i o r and

middle class who"aspired t o the l o f t y e t h i c s and:morality en-

couraged, by the bakufu (Tokugawa j u n t a ) ; This idealistic

c o d e o f b e h a v i o r stemmed f r o m a s t u d y o f " s h u j i " (Chu H s i ,

(1130-1200), a Sung D y n a s t y s c h o l a r : who created a renaissance

 of C o n f u c i a n s t u d i e s t h a t was e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y a d o p t e d b y t h e

C h i n e s e and Japanese. The f i r s t important manifestation t o

arise f r o m t h i s a c t i v i t y was " b u s h i d o " — t h e way o f t h e w a r -

rior. I t was d e v e l o p e d p a r t l y a s a n a r t i f i c i a l control of

the thousands o f s a m u r a i who f o u n d t h e m s e l v e s anachronistic

in their society, and p a r t l y as a s i n c e r e attempt t o p r e s e n t

the w a r r i o r s w i t h a new c o d e t h a t t h e y c o u l d l i v e b y . Many

townsmen f o l l o w e d s u i t so t h a t a group o f a r t s common t o b o t h

groups a r o s e w h i c h were a n t i t h e t i c a l t o the Ukiyo a r t s . The

idealistic a r t s o f t h e s e p e o p l e were c o l l e c t i v e l y c a l l e d Do

(Tao), because each a r t r e f l e c t e d t h e Zen B u d d h i s t emphasis

o n a p e r s o n a l s e a r c h f o r t h e way (Do) t o e n l i g h t e n m e n t . Many

of t h e a r t s were m a r t i a l - o r i e n t e d , s u c h a s "kendo" ( t h e way

of t h e sword) and " j u d 5 " ( t h e way o f t h e w r e s t l e r ) , w h i l e

o t h e r p o p u l a r a r t s were t h e t e a ceremony (Cha no Y u , o r " c h a -

do"), w r i t i n g and p a i n t i n g w i t h India I n k a n d a bamboo b r u s h

("shodo"), and f l o w e r a r r a n g i n g ("kado"), t o name o n l y a f e w .

The p l a y i n g o f t h e s h a k u h a c h i became " T a k e d o " , t h e way o f t h e

bamboo f l u t e (see 4 : 3 ) .

The immediate source o f t h e a e s t h e t i c s i n h e r e n t i n each

Do was t h e a u s t e r e p r i n c i p l e s found i n Ashikaga a r tw i t h i t s

melding o f Heian s e n s i b i l i t y t o Zen metaphysics and f r u g a l i t y .

D u r i n g t h e Tokugawa p e r i o d , t h e "Do" a r t s w e r e i n f u s e d with

a m u l t i t u d e o f moral o b l i g a t i o n s (giri) t o o n e s e l f and t o

 80

one's sensei and peers which became the foundation of the Ryu,

q u a s i - p a t r i l i n e a l organizations that were exclusive and often

internecine despite t h e i r s e l f l e s s i d e a l s .

2:5 The Shakuhachi A f t e r the M e i j i Restoration (1868)

In a sweeping e f f o r t to eliminate the abuses of the pre-

vious regime, the M e i j i government disbanded and outlawed a l l

i t i n e r a n t music guilds including the Komuso. This p r o h i b i t i o n ,

known as the " M e i j i P r o s c r i p t i o n " , only lasted ten years (1871-

1881) but i t e f f e c t i v e l y ended the existence of the Komuso. On

the other hand, the l i f t i n g of the p r o h i b i t i o n was contingent

on the Komuso temples allowing laymen to study t h e i r music and

form lay organizations within t h e i r j u r i s d i c t i o n s . In 1883,

the most famous of these temples, Meian-ji, became the f o c a l

point for a new lay organization c a l l e d "Meian Kyokai" headed

by Prince Kujo. This democratization movement also allowed

the many clandestine shakuhachi organizations and t h e i r inde-

pendant teachers to come out of h i d i n g .

One of the c e n t r a l figures i n the metamorphosis of the

Komuso t r a d i t i o n was Araki Kodo II (nee Hanzaburo, then Chikuo),

1823-1908). He studied with Hisamatsu Fuyo and Toyoda Kodo I,

allowing him to combine the teachings of the Ikkan and Kinko

schools. In an e f f o r t to keep the t r a d i t i o n a l i v e , he insti-

tuted a whole new body of l i t e r a t u r e c a l l e d "Gaikyoku" (see

 81

1:3) which i n c o r p o r a t e d the p o p u l a r music o f the time into

the e s t a b l i s h e d K i n k o - r y u system o f i n s t r u c t i o n and certifi-

cation. The "Honkyoku" became e s o t e r i c i n t h a t the n o v i t i a t e

was o n l y a l l o w e d t o study them a f t e r g a i n i n g h i s t e c h n i c a l

background p l a y i n g Gaikyoku and h i s r e q u i s i t e r e s p e c t o f the

s e n s e i by e s t a b l i s h i n g a r a p p o r t .

The shakuhachi had a l r e a d y been used i n p o p u l a r music

f o r some time b u t A r a k i Kodo I I o f f e r r e d two incentives to

draw a t t e n t i o n t o h i s own repertoire. First, he was more

s y s t e m a t i c i n h i s approach t o t h e i r m u s i c a l arrangements. In

p a r t i c u l a r , he d i s p l a c e d the Kokyu i n the t r a d i t i o n a l Sankyoku

ensemble (Kokyu", Koto, and Shamisen) by r e p l i c a t i n g i t s r o l e ;

an arrangement which was h i g h l y s u c c e s s f u l as e v i d e n c e d by

the almost t o t a l l a c k o f Kokyu i n today's t y p i c a l Sankyoku

22

ensemble. Second, he d e v i s e d a rudimentary n o t a t i o n system

which proved t o be r e v o l u t i o n a r y f o r the shakuhachi (see 4:1:2).

, Uehara Kyodo (1848-1913) and Kawase Junsuke (1870-1959)

were two prominent s t u d e n t s o f A r a k i Kodo I I who a s s u r e d the

shakuhachi a p l a c e i n modern Japan. Uehara Kyodo d e v i s e d a

system o f rhythmic d i a c r i t i c a l s i g n s f o r Kodo I I ' s n o t a t i o n

and p u b l i s h e d a book i n 1896 e n t i t l e d Zokugaku S e n r i t s u Ko

which c o n t a i n e d a study o f " P o p u l a r Music" t h e o r y p a r t l y

based on h i s e x p e r i e n c e s w i t h the s h a k u h a c h i . Kawase Junsuke

founded a movement which e v e n t u a l l y became a s e p e r a t e b r a n c h

 8 2

o f the K i n k o l i n e a g e devoted t o the p o p u l a r i z i n g o f t h e K i n k o -

ryu by p u b l i s h i n g Uehara Kyodo's n o t a t e d music (Harich-

Schneider, 1973:591).

A r a k i Kodo I I was succeeded by h i s son, A r a k i Kodo I I I

(nee S h i n n o s u e ) . One o f the l a t t e r ' s s t u d e n t s was Notomi

Judo (1895-1974) who was d e s i g n a t e d a National Living Treasure

i n 1963. H i s son and s u c c e s s o r , Notomi Haruhiko, h a v i n g died,

he a p p o i n t e d Ikeda Kodo h i s s u c c e s s o r . The l i n e a g e then ex-

tended t o the f i n a l and c u r r e n t s u c c e s s o r , Tanaka Yudo (nee

Motonobu). This p a r t i c u l a r l i n e of succession i s o n l y one o f

many.

The p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f the Kinko s c h o o l , and a l l t h e o t h e r s

as w e l l , has r e s u l t e d i n a t a n g l e d web o f r e l a t i o n s h i p s and

l i n e a g e s which i s almost i m p o s s i b l e to s a t i s f a c t o r i l y o u t l i n e .

Rather than b e i n g d i s c o u r a g i n g , i t o n l y p o i n t s t o f u r t h e r de-

m o c r a t i z a t i o n o f t h e t r a d i t i o n and the f a s c i n a t i n g c r o s s -

fertilization i t should produce.

 CHAPTER 3

KINKO-RYU MELODIC THEORY

The t r a d i t i o n a l music theory of Honkyoku consists o f r u -

diments and performance p r a c t i c e s taught i n the l i g h t o f "the

Way o f the Bamboo Flute", Takedo. Rudiments consist o f basic

information concerning the notation and fingerings, while per-

formance p r a c t i c e s are a more advanced stage o f knowledge con-

cerning the techniques and ethos ("Shin") o f performing Honkyo-

ku. The former i s r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e i n p r i n t but the p e r f o r -

mance p r a c t i c e s are only acquired from a "sensei" through o r a l /

aural transmission. Therefore, rudiments w i l l be referred to

as exoteric, while performance practices s h a l l be described as

esoteric.

3:1 Rudiments

Beginner students are e x c l u s i v e l y concerned with impro-

ving, t h e i r understanding of rudiments by p r a c t i c i n g progres-

s i v e l y more d i f f i c u l t compositions from the Sankyoku l i t e r a -

ture. Concommitant with the i n s t r u c t i o n i s the gradual foun-

ding o f a student-teacher r e l a t i o n s h i p acceptable to the sensei.

83
 84

A f t e r a t t a i n i n g a prescribed l e v e l of rapport and t e c h n i c a l

p r o f i c i e n c y (far above what i s required for Honkyoku), the

student graduates to Honkyoku.

3:1:1 Contemporary Sources

For the purposes of t h i s paper, three sources of r u d i -

ments have been u t i l i z e d . The most accessible source i s the

Japanese-language p u b l i c a t i o n Kinko-ryu Shakuhachi Kaisetsu

by Judo Notomi (1968), a beginner's i n s t r u c t i o n manual for

learning Gaikyoku.

Second, the Honkyoku music per se i s a v i a b l e source f o r

the ethnomusicologist who can extract rudiments and organize

them i n meaningful groups. A f t e r s u c c e s s f u l l y completing the

study of one Honkyoku, the student or "Hipkin's Ethnomusicolo-

gist" (Hood, 1971:90-93) i s "awarded" a copy of the score from

which he has just learned. The more conservative and tradi-

t i o n a l the sensei, the more authentic the student's copy. The

author has c o l l e c t e d a number of the Honkyoku, i n c l u d i n g the

SKH studied i n the following analyses, from Tanaka Yudo.

Another source of music i s a published c o l l e c t i o n c a l l e d

Kinko-ryu Shakuhachi Honkyoku (ed., Sato Harebi, 1966), which

contains the e n t i r e r e p e r t o i r e plus several precursors and an

extensive glossary. Where the scores are at variance with the

e d i t o r ' s version, alternate sequences once played by e i t h e r

 85

Kodo II, Ikeda Senzuke, or Yoshida Itcho have been d i a c r i t i -

c a l l y added. Material found i n t h i s thesis originates from

both the Tanaka Scores (henceforth c a l l e d TS) and the Sato

Scores (SS). In most respects they are i d e n t i c a l .

3:1:2 Honkyoku Notation

The notation of Honkyoku i s e s s e n t i a l l y a tablature

using solmization s y l l a b l e s supplemented by d i a c r i t i c a l marks

(including rhythmic information). The notation vocabulary may

be divided into three groups:

1. s y l l a b l e s which denote p i t c h ;

2. s y l l a b l e s and "kanji" (Chinese characters) which

indicate pitch repetition;

3. signs, s y l l a b l e s , numbers and k a n j i which are

diacritical.

The s y l l a b l e s are derived from one of the syllabaries

i n the Japanese language, "katakana". In the following com-

plete l i s t of notation s y l l a b l e s , underlined s y l l a b l e s are

p i t c h r e p e t i t i o n signals (see 3:1:2:2).

^ RA <) Rl 1W- RU RE Q RO

/ >^HA C HI ^? U 3 KO

4" CHI P
H
TSU
 86

The s y l l a b l e s are printed or handwritten i n a semi-

cursive s t y l e . For example, shakuhachi students not f a m i l i a r

with t h i s s t y l e of w r i t i n g are often confused by the s i m i l a r i -

ty of the s y l l a b l e s TSU, Rl and U.

TSv U
In the context of a l l the Japanese music notation sys-

tems, shakuhachi solmization must be l i s t e d i n the tablature

solmizations rather than "shoka" solmizations. The former

category consists of i n d i v i d u a l fingerings represented by s y l -

l a b l e s while the l a t t e r represent various melodic c e l l s . Sho-

ka were devised as a mnemonic a i d which had to be mastered be-

fore the student was allowed to a c t u a l l y play the given melody

on h i s instrument.

The i n d i v i d u a l shoka systems f o r a l l the wind instruments

i n Gagaku are supplemented with d i a c r i t i c a l tablature solmiza-

tions but Nohkan shoka are not (Minagawa, 1957:194-95). The

koto "shofu" and shamisen "kuchi-shamisen" shoka have become

almost redundant since the inception of t h e i r tablature systems.

Although the s y l l a b l e s i n shakuhachi music represent d e f i n i t e

fingerings rather than abstract melodic contours, they strong-

l y resemble Gagaku shoka because of t h e i r marked s i m i l a r i t y to

the Gagaku Shoka vocabulary (see Garfias, 1965:68-71).

According to Gekkei (1971:18-19), the e a r l i e s t score of

 87

shakuhachi notation i s dated Ansei 4 (1858) and o r i g i n a t e s

from Meian-ji. I t i s written i n the older FU-HO-U solmiza-

t i o n which was changed to the current RO-TSU-RE system a f t e r

the M e i j i Restoration (1861). Kodo II (1832-1908) i s c r e d i -

ted with the o r i g i n a t i o n of the l a t t e r solmization. A com-

parative chart of both systems i s shown i n Malm (1959:271):

the "Meian-ji" l i n e i s p r e - M e i j i notation (note that RO should

be HO) and the Kinko and Tozan l i n e s (the l a t t e r copied the

former) i s the post-Meiji solmization. Uehara Kyodo (1848-

1:913) i s c r e d i t e d with devising a complementary system of

rhythmic notation based on "ura" and "oraote" "byoshi" (rhyth-

mic apostrophes).

The e a r l i e s t extant notation for v e r t i c a l f l u t e i s the

Tanteki Hiden-fu (1608) by Omori Sokun, but there seems to be

no d i r e c t connection between h i s solmization for h i t o y o g i r i

and the l a t e r shakuhachi notation (see Gekkei, 1971:19).

D i a c r i t i c a l marks i n shakuhachi music are mnemonic aids

for r e c a l l i n g e s o t e r i c performance p r a c t i c e s , s p e c i a l f i n g e r -

ings, rhythms, p i t c h t e s s i t u r a s , and general melodic arabiti.

Although they resemble Gagaku d i a c r i t i c a l marks such as the

signs found i n Hakuga's Chochiku-fu glossary (Harich-Schneider,

1973:212,319), they are strongly reminiscent of shomyo vocal

techniques. For example, p i t c h o s c i l l a t i o n ("yuri") i s par-

t i c u l a r l y common to shSmyo melodies (Malm, 1959:67).

 88

The following l i s t has a l l the d i a c r i t i c a l marks f o r

Honkyoku categorized according to t h e i r s y l l a b i c and k a n j i

2

symbols. The d i a c r i t i c a l numbers ("suji") that represent

s p e c i a l fingerings are l i s t e d i n Appendix C. ,

Syllables;

/ me(ri) — flattened p i t c h (i.e.,]? )

(Note: meri-kari ("temporary lowering")

meri-komu ("permanent lowering")?

77. k a ( r i ) — normal p i t c h (i.e.,4p;

% su(ri) — portamento glissando from a lower to a

higher p i t c h ;

ko(mu) — portamento movement downwards to meri p i t c h

(Note: 1) meri-komu
2) yuri-komu);

Z*j y u r i p i t c h o s c i l l a t i o n s i n logarithmic succes-

sion;

shakuri a single o s c i l l a t i o n downward ( i . e . , porta-

<
mento mordent);

3 komi hushed, excited breath pulsations (Because

komi i s performed at meri p i t c h , t h i s nota-

t i o n i s sometimes seen as "merikomi");

/ tsuki hushed, excited interruptions of a tone pro-

duced by shaking the shakuhachi against the

Daw;
 89

^ muraiki — sforzando breath a r t i c u l a t i o n .

Kanji;

tj? chu(meri) — f l a t t e n e d p i t c h by one h a l f tone (i.e.,[?)

(i.e., same as m e r i ) ;

^ dai(meri) — f l a t t e n e d p i t c h by one whole tone (i.e.,bl?);

g ro 1 2

— lower o c t a v e (c - d )j
ZJ otsu
— lower o c t a v e (c* - d ) ; 2

9 kan
— higher octave ( c - e^ ) ;
2 3

7^ d a i - k a n
— h i g h e s t notes (d - e^ );
3 3

Bff a k a r u i
2 3

— r a i s e the p i t c h o f c or c one whole tone

* -
chu a k a r u i (i.e.,X);
2 -s

— r a i s e the p i t c h o f c or c J
one h a l f tone
minna
(i.e.,#).

— perform c 2
" H A " b e f o r e " R O " w i t h one f u l l
|7 u ( t s u )
beat (byoshi)?

— ("tap") i n v e r t e d mordent ( a l s o seen as

o(su)
"utsu meru");

— ("press")Vmordent

z e n j i hayaku — sempre a c c e l e r a n d o

dandan hayaku — progressively more

accelerando

hajime hayaku — "begin f a s t " (then

ritardando)
 90

3:1:2:1 Individual Pitch Notations

The following survey of p i t c h notations i s confined to

the "isshaku-hassun ( i . e . , "shakuhachi") because i t i s commonly

understood to be the "standard" instrument. However, each no-

t a t i o n within the Kinko-ryu tablature system r e f e r s to a s p e c i -

f i c fingering rather than a s p e c i f i c p i t c h . Therefore, music

composed or arranged for d i f f e r e n t - s i z e d shakuhachi must be

transposed (see 1:2, Example 5).

Because of the many s i g n i f i c a n t differences, the nota-

tions i n both the SS and TS w i l l be outlined (see Examples 1

and 2). These differences mainly stem from Sato Harebi's ab-

s t r a c t d i a c r i t i c a l marks which have replaced the standard signs.

In the SS, a h o r i z o n t a l l i n e across a s y l l a b l e indicates "chu"-

meri", while an oblique l i n e across a s y l l a b l e represents

"meri". For example, the notations f o r C, B^, and Bb i n the

TS and SS appear as follows:

c
 91

Example 1. Ro Octave Pitch Notations

—— •- — — 1
—
r-
o —frr if-
_#s>

l"s
< -a-
<D o 7 *7
< o

J- f
—— i^. _ ^* -H- ^ — o

i o
<;
T S
s f c

Meri RO and meri TSU tend to be ambiguous pitches but

the s k i l f u l musicians play them as low i n p i t c h as possible,

r e s u l t i n g i n the pitches "c" and "eb" r e s p e c t i v e l y . The U

notation fluctuates i n p i t c h from a f l a t AI? to a G, depending

on whether i t i s i n an ascending or descending passage, r e -

spectively. When the c p i t c h i s i n an ascending melodic

movement i t i s notated HI. In p r a c t i c a l l y a l l cases, i t c u l -

2

minates i n d ( a l l fingers o f f ) , appropriately marked akarui

HI ( i . e . , "opened" HI). If c 2
i s followed by a lower p i t c h

(usually U), i t i s notated RI. The c p i t c h i s also found i n

a whole-step progression from RO octave "c " to KAN octave d

( a l l fingers down), referred to as "the break" i n Western mu-

 92
2
sic. In t h i s case, c i s notated HA (see Example 2 ) .

The reader may have noticed a curious discrepancy i n the

scale outlined by the "basic" ( i . e . , n o n - d i a c r i t i c a l l y marked)

s y l l a b l e s i n the previous example. In a s i m p l i f i e d form (and

discounting the U s y l l a b l e because i t i s a variant o f A^ com-

mon to both notation systems), the scale and s y l l a b l e s f o r both

systems appear as follows:

TS/SS

TS D E* 7
G A* C D

SS D F G A C D

These two scale forms w i l l be discussed at length i n the

next chapter (see 4:2). For now, i t can be stated that the TS

tablature i s based on the In "Scale" while the SS tablature i s

founded on the Yo "Scale" ( i . e . , the "natural" scale o f the

shakuhachi, see 1:2).

The notations i n the KAN octave are, for the most part,

the same as those i n the RO octave, except for the s y l l a b i c no-

tations outlined i n Example 2.

Example 2. KAN Octave P i t c h Notations with Alternates

TS / \ O /
^ ' x £ 7
/
SB
E9
 93

\> a
9

TS
SS

The top l i n e i n Example 2 shows three forms o f the HA-RO

pattern which i s e s s e n t i a l l y a cadence pattern. (Hence, the

use of arrows i n the patterns shown.) The pattern on the l e f t

i s the standard notation?which: indicates standard fingerings

and pitches. The pattern i n the middle c a l l s for the same p i t -

ches, but with alternate fingerings which change the timbre o f

the f i n a l d pitch. The pattern on the r i g h t has the same a l -

ternate fingerings as the pattern i n the middle (although the

f i r s t HA i s not blown "meri") but i t i s over-blown into the

next harmonic s e r i e s , r e s u l t i n g i n a descending "cadence" ending

on a d3 p i t c h which has a d i f f e r e n t timbre than the standard d 3
2 "3

produced by fingering akarui HI. Both the alternate d and d

pitches are perceived by the Kinko musicians as " f a l s e " sounds

which have the same impact as the " f a l s e " cadence i n Western

music.
Another " f a l s e " p i t c h i s produced by U i n descending pas-
1
sages. Although i t "sounds" g or g , i t s timbre i s markedly
1 2
d i f f e r e n t from the g or g p i t c h produced by f i n g e r i n g RE.
 94

The alternate fingering f o r B!? shown on the r i g h t o f

2

the standard fingering (which i s the same i n the RO octave),

i s more "open-sounding" than the l a t t e r . I t i s also considered

" f a l s e " even though i t i s considerably more "stable" than meri

HI.

3:1:2:2 Pitch Repetition Notations

Example 3 has representative examples o f the three Kanji,

RU, RA, and RO, and the three symbols, k i r i , o d o r i j i , and naya-

shi, which s i g n a l the r e p e t i t i o n o f the preceding p i t c h .

Example 3. Pitch Repetition Notations

The s y l l a b l e RU, preceded by a lower grace note, may f o l -

low TSU, CHI, or U, and i s performed i n a hushed manner with a

s p e c i a l fingering (see Weisgarber, 1968:324). Whereas "TSU-RU"

 95

and "U-RU" seem to be natural combinations (see Garfias, 1965:

68), "CHI-U" i s awkward and i s considered "deviant". Odoriji

may follow any of the eight b a s i c pitches and i t i s u s u a l l y

preceded by grace notes unique to the performer. For example,

Goro Yamaguchi precedes o d o r i j i by upper grace notes while Ta-

naka Yudo adds "changing tones" before o d o r i j i . Kiri is a

s p e c i a l form of RU that follows akarui HI. KO(RO) i s a rapid

t r i l l pattern that u s u a l l y i s found on d pitch. When i t i s

used on any other p i t c h , i t appears as a d i a c r i t i c a l mark with

one consonant change, 21 ZJ ( i . e . , GORO). KORO i s an onomato-

poeic term which i s sometimes pronounced "koro, koro, koro, ko-

ro", etc., i n rapid succession.

Nayashi i s a s p e c i a l cadential figure that may follow RE

or RO, acting as an iambic, " a r s i s - t h e s i s " portamento cadence.

I t i s almost always preceded by g or d.

Example 4. Nayashi Cadences

also ?v<x.

There are three s p e c i a l notations which may be viewed

as variants of nayashi: " y u r i " , "yuri-komu" and "hiku" (see

Example 5). Y u r i i s played as a sequence of slow, wide ; r

 96

nayashi which accelerate and diminuendo into a" c o n t i n u o u s meri

sound that is then subjected to " t s u k i " (shaking of the inst.ru

ment) and "komi" (breath spasms), and then a calm nayashi to

the o r i g i n a l (kari) pitch, Yuri-koam ends in meri and .does

not involve the f i n a l tsuki, komi or nayashi. Hiku is a naya-

shi in reverse; i t can also be followed by.an inverted Hiku

(as in the right hand i l l u s t r a t i o n ) .

Example 5. Nayashi Variants

 97

3:1:2:3 Rhythm Notation

Two elements are employed to delineate rhythm: vertical

l i n e s and "byoshi" (rhythmic "commas").

Rhythm patterns are indicated by v e r t i c a l l i n e s j o i n i n g

s y l l a b l e s within melodic c e l l s (senritsukei). Although the TS

and SS use d i f f e r e n t l i n e groups, the meanings are e s s e n t i a l l y

the same, i n d i c a t i n g one-half, one-quarter and one-eighth the

value of a "beat" (in the following Example 6, one h a l f note).

Note that the f i n a l note always has the value of one complete

"beat", g i v i n g each s e n r i t s u k e i a d i s t i n c t i v e a r s i s - t h e s i s ,

rhythmic cadence. A "beat" i s understood to be a "byoshi"

which i s s i m i l a r to the medieval Western "tactus". Its fluc-

tuating value depends on the spontaneous f e e l i n g s of the per-

former. Therefore, the l i n e s merely i n d i c a t e the r a t i o s of

time values (see 3:2:3),

Example 6 Line Patterns

SS TS Rhythm

1. h a l f - v a l u e :

2. quarter-value:
14-
1*
7

3. eighth-value:
 98

The word "byoshi" i s also used to describe d i a c r i t i c a l

marks that e s t a b l i s h meter within the rhythmic groups d e l i n e -

ated by the l i n e s (see Berger, 1969:48-72). Strong beats (o-

mote) are on the r i g h t side o f s y l l a b l e s and weak beats (ura)

are shown on the l e f t . A l l Honkyoku are i n duple rhythm.

The only byoshi found i n TS are the omote-byoshi that

elongate TSU i n a common v a r i a t i o n o f TSU-RE (see Example 7 ) .

A l l other metric values are synonymous with the rhythmic r a -

tios. Values which are one-half or one-quarter following

values are weaker beats.

Example 7. TS byoshi

(As i n the t r a d i t i o n o f the nayashi, a breath i s taken on the

reprise, despite the fact that i t i s not notated.)

In the SS, byoshi are used constantly, i n contrast t o

t h e i r sparse presence i n TS, although the time values are exact-

l y the same i n both scores. White byoshi are equal t o one beat

while black byoshi equal one-half beat, arid:combinations o f the

two can appear as Ura or Omote. Example 7 would appear i n the

SS as follows:
 99

Example 8. SS byoshi

7 ^

One technical c r i t i c i s m may be made o f the SS byoshi.

Rather than progressing through a s e r i e s o f weak and strong

beats, l i n e d patterns are successions o f weak beats followed

by one strong beat ( i . e . , a r s i s - t h e s i s cadences). For example,

i f four s y l l a b l e s are joined by a s i n g l e , l i n e , the pulse would

be v*v*N// rather than v / u / .

A more important c r i t i c i s m can be made on an aesthetic

level. The performers purposely i n t e r p r e t the rhythmic nota-

t i o n i n the most free manner possible and often s t r e t c h the

rhythms to the point o f almost a l t e r i n g t h e i r r a t i o s . The TS

notation allows f o r t h i s necessary freedom by i t s sparcity,

but the SS seemingly does not because o f i t s pedantic.appear-

ance. When Uehara Kyodo (Rokushiro) devised the byoshi d i a -

c r i t i c a l marks before the turn o f the century, he designed

them f o r Gaikyoku. Their l a t e r incursion i n t o Honkyoku has

been a mixed b l e s s i n g .
 100

4:1:3 Articulation

In Western music, a r t i c u l a t i o n i n wind instruments i s

achieved by beginning the sound o f each note with a sharp

release o f a i r caused by a f r i c a t i v e action o f the tongue. In

e f f e c t , sounds are i n i t i a t e d by consonants such as t ( o 6 ) " .

w

A r t i c u l a t i o n i n shakuhachi music i s executed by pre-

ceding an assigned p i t c h with an inverted mordent played i n

fast succession and i n i t i a t e d by an aspirate, "h" (see Berger,

1969:43). The upper note moving to the assigned p i t c h r e s u l t s

in a finger slap which adds an imperceptible percussion. The

inverted mordent sometimes does not even sound because o f i t s

rapidity.

The following patterns i n Example 9 i l l u s t r a t e common

a r t i c u l a t i o n s f o r "natural" (kari) and "chromatic" (meri)

notes (see Appendix I I I ) . The performer has the option o f

varying these patterns or omitting them altogether, depending

on h i s spontaneous aesthetic impulses during a performance.

Example 9. A r t i c u l a t i o n s f o r Natural Notes

KAN Octave

\ 2 3 «/ S* 4 7 ?•
 101

RO O c t a v e

ft
• o

1 2 3 4 5" 6 7 S
K A N O c t a v e , p a t t e r n 1, i s i n b r a c k e t s b e c a u s e i t s e x e c u -

t i o n i s s o c e n t r a l t o H o n k y o k u t h a t i t i s t h e o n l y i n s t a n c e o f

a n o t a t e d a r t i c u l a t i o n , H A - R O ( s e e E x a m p l e 2).

P a t t e r n s 4 a n d 7 a r e v a r i a n t s o f 3 a n d 6 r e s p e c t i v e l y .

P a t t e r n 4 o c c u r s a t t h e e n d o f p h r a s e s , w h i l e P a t t e r n 3 u s u a l -

l y o c c u r s i n i s o l a t e d p a s s a g e s . P a t t e r n 7 i s u s e d t o a r t i c u -

l a t e t h e n o t a t i o n R l . P a t t e r n 8 i s o n l y a p p l i e d t o H I .

E x a m p l e 10. A r t i c u l a t i o n s f o r C h r o m a t i c N o t e s

i n B o t h O c t a v e s

a l s o 8 v a

4-

^
9 so 11 \2

A l l t h e u p p e r c h a n g i n g n o t e s i n t h e s e p a t t e r n s a r e

f l a t t e r i n p i t c h t h a n t h e i r n o r m a l , " f i n g e r e d " s o u n d , b e c a u s e

t h e s e p a t t e r n s a r e p l a y e d i n m e r i p o s i t i o n . T h e a c t u a l p i t c h

o f t h e u p p e r n o t e s i s c o n s i d e r e d i m m a t e r i a l .
 102

Example 11. Dai-KAN Octave A r t i c u l a t i o n s

9-

The r i g h t hand index finger that covers hole 2 i s the

only a c t i v e element i n t h i s set, moving from an open to a

closed p o s i t i o n with a quick inverted mordent in-between.

HA, and any notation i n one-eighth value, i s not a r t i -

culated with an inverted mordent: these two exceptions con-

s t i t u t e notated a r t i c u l a t i o n .

A r t i c u l a t i o n s within s e n r i t s u k e i are performed by soun-

ding the upper changing note of the inverted mordent of each

assigned p i t c h . Note that the portamento e f f e c t i n the des-

cending step-wise motions i s sometimes interrupted with "preg-

nant" , split-second silences (kiai) j u s t a f t e r each changing

tone has sounded. These s i l e n c e s are optional according to

the mood of the performer.

 103

Example 12. Step-wise Melodic A r t i c u l a t i o n s

i n Both Octaves

also 8va — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

There are several v a r i a t i o n s o f the preceding maxims.

Some o f these v a r i a t i o n s are notated d i a c r i t i c a l l y while

others are found i n the o r a l / a u r a l t r a d i t i o n s .

Diacritically-marked v a r i a t i o n s f a l l into two general

groups. The f i r s t group i s comprised o f s i n g l e grace notes.

"Osu" may denote upper or lower grace notes but "utsu" i s a l -

ways a lower grace note pattern. Both are reminiscent o f RU,

RA and k i r i . Example 13 shows "osu" and "utsu" i n t h e i r most

common context.

Example 13. Special Inner-phrase A r t i c u l a t i o n s

 Variations o f the o(su) and u(tsu) technique are used

on RI, HI and U to create moments of heightened melodic ten-

sion. The following examples (in Example 14) are the most

common. Note the s t y l i z e d o d o r i j i following the notated

p i t c h and the two accelerando and one ritardando d i a c r i t i c a l

indications. The "u(tsu)-meru" i s the same as u ( t s u ) " . n

(Note that the following example i s a s t y l i z e d representation;

the number o f repeated pitches i s purely a r b i t r a r y . )

Example 14. Special Inner-phrase A r t i c u l a t i o n s

T? Iff i 9
*S
- *

b
0
-*»
+ *L * ~ *
-a - » 0
m

v b \> ID Iv
m
0 m
* ^- —
& pT

en ii UA.VA<XUV» C a e c a I.)

3C_ P ft. -ft " * £ft'-fr -fr -ft -M ff> ,&

f *
I I 1 >l 1> b Ii> k k1

j ft j5f - f a r — &

^ A—

One other s p e c i a l e f f e c t , muraiki, can be l i s t e d with

the preceding group because o f i t s s i m i l a r nature. It i s a

technique involving explosive breath attacks (muraiki) and

 105

v i o l e n t shakuhachi motions (tsuki-yuri) (see Weisgarber, 1968;

317,321,326).

Example 15. "Muraiki"

1frttr T £ —
^ muraiki / kan, ka (kan octave, k a r i pitch)

The second group of inner-phrase d i a c r i t i c a l l y - m a r k e d

a r t i c u l a t i o n s has " s u r i " i n i t s format. The technique of

s u r i i s a very sophisticated form of portamento phrasing with

the fingers r o l l i n g o f f the holes? no actual a r t i c u l a t i o n oc-

curs.

Example 16. "Suri"

 1^4.

The number o f variants that are part o f the o r a l / a u r a l

t r a d i t i o n i s i n c a l c u l a b l e because o f t h e i r v a r i e t y and number.

The following examples are common to the San Koten Honkyoku.

Example 17. SKH Oral/Aural Inner-

phrase A r t i c u l a t i o n s

~TfUortTrVc<».l Actual ^ .

d
hu
 1 0 7

3:2 Performance Practices

The multitudinous techniques of performing Honkyoku

l i e w i t h i n the realm of the o r a l / a u r a l pedagogy of each sen-

sei. They vary between teachers and even between performances

o f one teacher, so i t i s impossible to s t a t e i n v i o l a t e rules

regarding performance techniques. The p r a c t i c e s o u t l i n e d i n

the following pages are part o f the r e p e r t o i r e of Tanaka Yudo,

compiled i n 1973.

Performance techniques may be l o o s e l y categorized under

the headings of i n f l e c t i o n , amplitude, timbre and tempo.

Each o f these tonal c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w i l l be defined and de-

scribed i n the next pages.

3:2:1 Melodic I n f l e c t i o n

The Japanese term for tonal i n f l e c t i o n i s utaguchi,

"song-mouth", which i s also synonymous with the mouthpiece

of the shakuhachi. The technique involves a r a i s i n g or

lowering of the jaw which raises (kari) or lowers (meri) the

p i t c h i n a portamento manner. 3
Hence, another term f o r t h i s

technique i s "meri-kari". E s s e n t i a l l y , the i n f l e c t i o n s put

the finger a r t i c u l a t i o n s i n t o high r e l i e f .

Melodic i n f l e c t i o n i s one of the most d i s t i n c t i v e cha-

r a c t e r i s t i c s of Japanese vocal music, e s p e c i a l l y the slowly

 108

paced forms. The source f o r t h i s technique may be Shomyo,

which has the most elaborate system of vocal ornamentations

c a l l e d "embai". Gagaku music also employs meri-kari tech-

niques (Harich-Schneider, 1973:224), as do a l l the Shomyo-

derived genres such as Noh and Biwa-gaku. One may even en-

counter s p e c i a l i z e d meri-kari techniques i n s t r i n g and per-

cussion techniques where s e l e c t s t r i n g s are pushed or

squeezed i n order to increase the tension of the plucked

s t r i n g or drum-head and r a i s e the p i t c h .

The SS has eleven types of melodic i n f l e c t i o n by em-

ploying nine abstract, d i a c r i t i c a l l i n e s (see Sato, 1966:

9-10). Although Tanaka Yudo performs a l l these nuances, h i

score has only one d i a c r i t i c a l mark ( i . e . , " m e r i - s h i t a " ) .

One can only acquire the knowledge of h i s other nuances by

taking part i n h i s a u r a l / o r a l i n s t r u c t i o n .

A l l melodic i n f l e c t i o n s are o p t i o n a l . That i s , the

performer i s free to use them or not, depending on h i s aes-

t h e t i c i n c l i n a t i o n s at the very moment he i s performing.

Like the SS byoshi, the SS notated melodic i n f l e c t i o n s tend

to m i l i t a t e against t h i s spontaneous musical behavior.

In the following pages, the melodic i n f l e c t i o n s (in

i d e a l i z e d form) w i l l be presented i n three groups according

to t h e i r b a s i c d i r e c t i o n : downward (meri); upward (suri);

and combinations of both d i r e c t i o n s . The diagrams that pre

 109

cede the explanations i n each group are s p e c i a l staves with

each l i n e representing a h a l f step, except the bottom l i n e ,

which represents approximate time marked, i n quarter-seconds.

Note that the s o l i d black l i n e s represent sound duration.

The grace notes representing finger a r t i c u l a t i o n s are not

placed on stave or leger l i n e s because they may vary accor-

ding to t h e i r context. Each diagram i s numbered f o r i d e n t i -

f i c a t i o n ; on t h e i r l e f t i s drawn t h e i r representative SS d i a -

c r i t i c a l marks. Note that the s i z e of the d i a c r i t i c a l marks

i s quite small i n r e l a t i o n to the s y l l a b l e s . For example,

meri-kari between TSU and RO would appear as follows:

3:2:1:1 Meri In f l e c t i o n s

Example 18. Meri Inflections

| 1 -T 1 J T 1 1 1 1 ; r
0 / 0. 3 H 5 o I * 3 S
 110

Graphs l a and l b i l l u s t r a t e two d i f f e r e n t examples of

"meri-kari". This i n f l e c t i o n i s so b a s i c to shakuhachi that

i t has acquired another name, "shakuri". The contour of graph

l a i s slow and deliverate, a common technique o f Kinko-ryu

performers, whereas the meri-kari i n graph l b i s rapid and

almost inconsequential, a common performance p r a c t i c e i n the

Meian-ha. Graph 2 i s also an inner-phrase i n f l e c t i o n , but i t

i s a v a r i a t i o n of meri-kari i n that the k a r i i s non-existent.

Graph 3, meri-komu, shows the f i n a l resolution of many sen-

ritsukei. Malm singled out t h i s technique as the most charac-

t e r i s t i c sound of shakuhachi Honkyoku (1959:159-60).

There are two v a r i a t i o n s of meri-komu that occur on d 1

and d pitches. One form i s a d i a c r i t i c a l mark c a l l e d "meri-

s h i t a " while the other i s the k a n j i c a l l e d "hiku" (see 3:1:

2:2).
 Ill

Example 19. Meri-komu Variations

r> —^ ..

4s — L — u 1 1
1
V
1
._<? o11
3:2:1:2 Suri Inflections

Example 20. Suri I n f l e c t i o n s

1 1 1 s 1 1 • 1 r- 1 1 »
0 l Z * H 5 ° i 2- 3 v s
3
i r

I rA\—s « « 1 •
O I 6 -7 ?
As i n the description of Meri i n f l e c t i o n s , Graphs 1 and

2 are inner-phrase i n f l e c t i o n s between two notes, while Graph

3 i s the i n f l e c t i o n used at the end of p a r t i c u l a r phrases.

Graph 1 i s an i l l u s t r a t i o n o f " s u r i - k a r i " ; i n essence,

i t i s an i n t e n t i o n a l emphasis of the upper changing tone be-

 112

tween two s y l l a b l e s .

Graph 2 i l l u s t r a t e s a v a r i a t i o n of " s u r i - k a r i " i n which

the k a r i i s replaced by a caesura of silence c a l l e d " k i a i " .

"The pause i s never a lessening of i n t e n s i t y , but on the con-

trary, the projection of highest i n t e n s i t y i n t o the empty

space o f the pause" (Harich-Schneider, 1973:435).

Graph 3 i s a diagram of "suri-ageru", which i s performed

as a decrescendo to an inaudible pitch.

3:2:1:3 Meri-Suri Combinations

Example 21. Meri-Suri Combinations

T j , , 1 1 — i ; : ~ :

O i Z. 3 ¥ S ' o « * 3 *f ?J

i T i 1 i r
O 1 2 3 ¥ 5
 113

Graphs 1 and 2 are inner-phrase i n f l e c t i o n s , while

Graph 3 i s a phrase ending. Graph 1 shows a "meri-kari-

suri-kari*' i n f l e c t i o n which i s e s s e n t i a l l y a meri-kari tech-

nique which has the following upper changing tone drawn out

and emphasized. The s u r i - k a r i - m e r i - k a r i i s the exact oppo-

s i t e o f the movement i n Graph 1 and i t i s found f a r l e s s f r e -

quently. Graph 3 i s a v a r i a t i o n o f suri-ageru c a l l e d "meri-

suri-ageru" which occurs on s e n r i t s u k e i endings.

3:2:1:4 Summary

The following chart summarizes micro-tonal i n f l e c t i o n s

and the notes that they follow. Certain i n f l e c t i o n s connect

notes within s e n r i t s u k e i , while others are found a t the end o f

senritsukei. Of t h i s l a t t e r group, I have further divided the

i n f l e c t i o n s into movements that proceed upward and downwards.

Sevw-Vhsukei
Cohne-ctiVes Eh.oLtlriqs

Pttctas Doujiaujairci

u
c c a 3
<t <TT> -C 3
ohVi) u d
a' a 2
b d
4 d t
I 2 u c
i' y < u 6 d
d d.
A- d •'"
 1 1 4

3:2:2 Amplitude and Timbre

Melodic i n f l e c t i o n and metre i s supplemented by ampli-

tude and timbre which are i n e x t r i c a b l y r e l a t i v e to each other.

The most eloquent statement o f t h i s b a s i c r e l a t i o n was composed

by Malm:

From a whispery, reedy piano, the sound swells to a r i n g -

ing, m e t a l l i c forte, only to sink back into a cotton-
wrapped softness, ending with an almost inaudible grace
note, seemingly as an after-thought.
(1959:160)

In other words, timbre becomes r i c h e r i n harmonics as the ampli-

tude increases, and v i c e versa. The Kinko-ryu performer does

t h i s with a highly sophisticated technique o f adjusting the f o -

cus o f h i s a i r stream with h i s embouchure.

Despite the extreme v a r i e t y o f amplitude and timbre, a

few generalizations can be made. As the Honkyoku melody moves

from low to high t e s s i t u r a the dynamic l e v e l g e n e r a l l y increases.

Meri notes are performed with a soft, focused dynamic l e v e l

which creates a muted timbre. Alternate fingerings (see Ex-

ample 2) produce a d i f f e r e n t timbre although they are blown at

the same dynamic l e v e l as pitches indicated by the standard f i n -

gerings. Meri and Suri i n f l e c t i o n s are u s u a l l y blown decrescen-

do, e s p e c i a l l y i n moments o f " k i a i " . Melodic movements u s u a l l y

are played crescendo i f they progress to G o r D,. Accelerando

motifs l i k e " y u r i " are decrescendo figures, played l i k e fading

 115

echoes. F i n a l "theses" on G and D are played exactly as de-

scribed by Malm above.

3:2:3 Tactus

The tempo of a l l Honkyoku i s determined by "byoshi" (as

i t i s understood i n Shomyo practice) and "breath cadences".

Shomyo and Shakuhachi "byoshi" have almost exactly the

same meaning as the Gregorian Chant "tactus" (Apel, 1969:832).

The tempo i s sub-consciously determined by the heart-beat of

the performer, and because the performer purposefully assumes

a meditation posture (Zazen) when he performs, h i s pulse rate

i s slower than usual. The dynamic tension that e x i s t s between

the exertion of performing and the calmness of mind and body

r e f l e c t s the aggressive d i s c i p l i n e encouraged by the Rinzai

Zen sect.

"Breath cadences" were f i r s t described by Malm (1972:

98) i n order to account f o r the caesuras that occur at the

end of phrases i n Gagaku and Noh. The pauses are j u s t long

enough to take one deep breath but t h e i r exact time l i m i t i s

almost impossible to notate because each breath i s unique.

Small breaths may also occur w i t h i n phrases but they are a l -

ways taken "in-tempo".

 116

In the SS, caesura and minor "in-tempo" breaths are i n d i -

cated by short, h o r i z o n t a l dashes on the l e f t and r i g h t side,

respectively, of a column of s y l l a b l e s . Only major caesura

pauses are indicated i n TS, using small c i r c l e s .

3:3 Conclusion

The s k i l f u l performer of Honkyoku b a s i c a l l y s t r i v e s f o r

"organic melody". That i s , melody which i s c o n t i n u a l l y e v o l -

ving and s h i f t i n g from one dynamic state to another. This ba-

s i c p r i n c i p l e of dynamism, aptly referred to as "becoming

sound" by Smith (1969:248) i s the sublime a s p i r a t i o n of every

Kinko-ryu musician (as well as every other ryu performer).

The e s s e n t i a l q u a l i t y of organic Honkyoku i s expressed

i n a meticulous devotion to melodic d e t a i l . Within the l i m i -

tations imposed by the rudiments and performance practices,

the performer i s at l i b e r t y to modify any moment of the Honkyo-

ku he i s performing to s u i t the immediate requirements of h i s

aesthetic judgment about i t s "becoming-ness". To t h i s end, the

notation (as best exemplified by the Tanaka Yudo score) and

o r a l / a u r a l t r a d i t i o n i s eminently s u i t e d . The w r i t t e n music

i s purposely " s k e l e t a l " while the performance practices (i.e.,

the "flesh") are consciously designed to be f l e x i b l e . The words

which describe the f u l l musical experience are "quasi-improvi-

sation",
 CHAPTER 4

SAN KOTEN HONKYOKU MELODIC ANALYSIS

4;1 Introduction

The hypothesis o f the following analysis i s that the

c e n t r a l element that governs Honkyoku melodies i s p i t c h h i e r -

archy and p r o c l i v i t y . * The hierarchy o f a given p i t c h i s de-

termined by i t s "tendency" ( i . e . , p r o c l i v i t y ) to resolve t o

another s p e c i f i c p i t c h (see Meyer, 1956:34,54). Further, i f

the r e s o l u t i o n i s r e a l i z e d , the melodic movement i s considered

"normative"; i f the tendency i s i n h i b i t e d by a rhythmic caesura

or a resolution to another, unexpected p i t c h , the movement i s

perceived as "deviant". On an aesthetic l e v e l , these moments

of deviancy "heighten l i s t e n e r expectations" and stimulate.af-

f e c t i v e tension (see Meyer, 1956:1-42). The preceding princi-

ples are only understood at an i n t u i t i v e l e v e l by members and

followers of the Kinko-ryu, but t h e i r features are r e a d i l y ap-

parent when the written music i s analysed i n the l i g h t o f the

t r a d i t i o n a l o r a l and written elements o f "Honkyoku music theory"

(see Chapter 3 ) .

The melodic constituents o f the Honkyoku melodies are

117
 11.8
2
"senritsukei" ("melodic patterns"), phrases, and sentences.

A l l the s e n r i t s u k e i used i n t h i s analysis are found i n Appen-

dix B where they have been arranged i n "sets" according to

t h e i r f i r s t note and shared, inherent melodic movement.

In the following pages, the pitches which are utilized

i n the San Koten Honkyoku (and Honkyoku i n general) w i l l first

be described i n the framework common to recent Japanese music

studies, a scale ("onkai") outlined i n terms of i t s t r a d i t i o n a l

modality ("senpo") and tonal transpositions ("choshi"). 3

Then

t h e i r hierarchy and p r o c l i v i t y w i l l be defined by describing

how they i n t e r a c t within t h e i r contexts ( i . e . , the melodic con-

stituents) . F i n a l l y , the arrangement of the melodic c o n s t i t u -

ents of the San Koten Honkyoku w i l l be discussed with a view to

describing possible melodic forms.

The "sample" that has been examined for the purposes of

t h i s chapter i s the three Honkyoku, Mukaiji, Shin Kyorei, and

Koku Reibo, which are c o l l e c t i v e l y c a l l e d the "San Koten Honkyo-

ku", hereafter referred to as SKH. Generations of performers

have acknowledged the SKH as the "three most venerable Honkyo-

ku" i n the e n t i r e repertoire (see Malm, 1959:161). In the fol-

lowing pages, numbers following references to any of the SKH

r e f e r to locations notated i n the t r a n s c r i p t i o n s i n Appendix A.

 119

4:2 San Koten Honkyoku Scale

The SKH " p r a c t i c a l scale", o f a l l the SKH tones (see

Hood, 1971:324), i s simply derived by cataloguing a l l the p i t -

ches that are c a l l e d for i n the written music of the SKH. (The

TS and SS are equal i n t h i s regard.) The following l i s t i n -

cludes the frequency of t h e i r occurence, i r r e s p e c t i v e of octave

placement:

D E ^ F G A^ A B C

80 186 (14) 192 142 24 27 2 127

+ (44)
171

(%) 9.5 22.2 1.7 22.9 16.9 2.9 3.2 .2 20.5

The bracketed numbers indicate pitches that are only

heard as the f i r s t note i n the portamento "nayashi" cadence

(see 3:1:2:2). The A^ sum includes a l l pitches indicated by

U and meri CHI.

A perusal of the t r a n s c r i p t i o n s i n Appendix A and Exam-

ples 2 to 21 i n Chapter 3 shows that the notes E, F^, and C^

indicated i n the notation equivalents drawn i n Example 1 of

Chapter 3 ( i . e . , "the t h e o r e t i c a l scale", see Hood, 1971:324)

do not e x i s t i n Honkyoku. These notes are most l i k e l y used i n

the Kinko-ryu Gaikyoku and Shinkyoku which share the same nota-

tion. The note C* (as D^) also appears i n the "Kumoi Choshi"
 120

which w i l l be discussed i n the next few pages.

A l l authors are agreed that the "scale" of Honkyoku i s

4

"In", u s u a l l y i l l u s t r a t e d as:

D E^ (F) G A B 1
' (C) D

The bracketed notes indicate the two hennon. Comparing t h i s

u

scale with the previous SKH p r a c t i c a l scale, the notes A and

B\ may be considered "foreign tones".

Looking at the previous chart of the SKH p i t c h d i s t r i -

bution, B^f can e a s i l y be seen as a "foreign tone" merely by

its rarity. However, the ample existence of A ^ and A7* pitches,

and the substantial majority of the former over the l a t t e r , i s

problematical. One of these two tones must be a candidate f o r

the nomenclature of "foreign tone" i f we are to formulate a

heptatonic scale appropriate f o r the SKH.

The notation used i n the TS suggests the A ^ i s more ap-

propriate than A H . A S shown i n Example 1, the former does not

require d i a c r i t i c a l information. (Note that the symmetrical

equivalent of A** i n the r i g h t hand, E ^ , also does not have

d i a c r i t i c a l information added to i t s notation).

Example 1. TS Notation, Honkyoku Scale
 121

When A^f (and F) i s c a l l e d for i n the TS notation, as i n

the following example o f the "natural" s c a l e ^ of the shaku-

hachi ( i . e . , A and F are not blown "meri"), a s p e c i a l d i a c r i -

t i c a l notation, KA (kari), i s required.

Example 2. TS Notation, "Natural" Scale

-<S3 a O ° ° O o ~~

... o*"? r t ')\^2 h_

The A^ i s so i n t r i n s i c to descending passages (see Ex-

ample 1) i n both the TS and SS notation systems that i t rates

i t s own unique notation, U, (which i s never subject t o " k a r i "

alteration). Therefore, there are two notations which draw

attention to A , men CHI and U.

The preceding evidence suggests that the heptatonic scale

of the SKH (and Honkyoku i n general) i s :

D E^ (F) G A b
B k
(C; D

The d i s p a r i t y between the In scales with I& and A*? can

be e a s i l y explained by re-defining "scale" as "mode" (senpo).

Assuming that the heptatonic In "scale" outlined by a l l authors

( i . e . , the scale with A*!) has a configuration o f tones and

semi-tones which i s basic t o Japanese music written i n that

scale, i t may be l a b e l l e d Kyu-senpo. Considering that hennon

are never used for modal "tonics" (Adriaansz, 1973:31), the

 122

following d e s c r i p t i o n can be e s t a b l i s h e d :

Kyu-senpo S T T T S T T

Sho-senpo T T T S T T S

Kaku-senpo T S T T S T T

Chi-senpo S T T S T T T

U-senpo T S T T T S T

Brpn represents "tone", while "S" represents "semi-tone".

Assuming that the scale outlined f o r the SKH ( i . e . , the

u

scale containing A ) i s correct, the next step i s t o decide

which p i t c h i n i t s arrangement i s the fundamental tone. The

choice c l e a r l y centres on D and G because o f the emphasis they

receive,as outlined i n the previous chapter. For example,

these two notes are the only pitches which receive constant

cadential emphasis with the use o f "nayashi", "hiku" (see 3:

1:2:2), and "meri-shita" (see 3:2:1:1).

I f G i s the fundamental tone, the SKH mode w i l l be Kyu-

senpo and appear as follows:

G A B ' b b
C D E* F G
S T T T S T T

I f D i s the fundamental tone, the scale w i l l be Chi-senpo:

D E F G A B C D
S T T S T T T

In the SKH, two factors i n favor of G are i t s frequency,

( i t occurs more than twice as often as D) and the three sets o f

finger a r t i c u l a t i o n s (see 4:1:3) which constantly emphasize i t s

 123

presence. However, D receives more c a d e n t i a l treatment than

Gy the nayashi cadence which signals a major c a d e n t i a l reso-

l u t i o n occurs more often on D than G (44/13) and the major

meri-komu i n f l e c t i o n s , hiku and raeri-sh-ifca, only occur a f t e r

D. A l l three SKH end on D, a f t e r an anacrusis on G.

C o r r e l a t i v e evidence i n favor of the D fundamental tone

may be c u l l e d from several other examinations. A cursory study

of the e n t i r e Kinko-ryu repertoire finds 20 Honkyoku (68%) that

end on D i n the same manner as the SKH. Another 7 Honkyoku end

on G a f t e r cadencing on D. (Hi, Fu, Mi, Hachi Kaeshi no Shirabe

best exemplifies t h i s pattern with i t s "HA-RO, HA-RE" echoes i n

i t s f i n a l motifs.) Of the l a s t three Honkyoku to be accounted

for, Banshiki no Shirabe (ending on c * ) , and Sanya Sugagaki

(ending on g*) have the following inherent scale s t r u c t u r e :

Example 3. Sanya Sugagaki Scale

s_ o

-k. 9 — & -
0
»

F i n a l l y , Sokaku Reibo ( f i n a l cadence on d ) has yet another,

1

and unique, inherent scale system:

Example 4. Sokaku Reibo Scale

 124

The SKH scale with D fundamental tone f i t s the d e s c r i p -

t i o n o f the most popular In mode, Chi-senpo, according to K U -

DO* s study. Also the natural scale o f the shakuhachi with D

fundamental tone i s the most popular Yo mode, Chi-senpo (Kita-

hara, 1966:282).

F i n a l l y , D i s used as the fundamental tone equivalent

when the shakuhachi plays with the Koto and Sharaisen (Adriaansz,

1973:472). The equivalent modes are c a l l e d "Honjoshi" i n sha-

kuhachi and koto music, and " H i r a j o s h i " i n shamisen music; i n

each case the f i r s t word means "basic, premier".

A l l the preceding evidence strongly suggests that the

fundamental tone o f the SKH (and Honkyoku i n general) i s D .

Therefore, the inherent scale system i s Chi-senpo^ and B -"J and

A*T are foreign tones. The other scale, o u t l i n e d on page 1 2 0

i s e i t h e r an expedient but obtuse i l l u s t r a t i o n o f the Honkyoku

In "scale" per se,or an example o f a common but mistaken as-

sumption that the mode o f Honkyoku i s Kyu-senpo.

The scale found i n Sanya Sugagaki i s Chi-senpo, G cho,

( i . e . , sojo), and i n Sokaku Riebo, Kyu-senpo, D cho ( i . e . ,

ichikotsu-cho). The modality o f Banshiki no Shirabe (see 1 : 3 ,

No. 4 ) may be explained as a Chi-senpo, D cho ( i . e . , ichikotsu-

cho) Honkyoku which also explores the tensions created by s i -

multaneously r e i t e r a t i n g the two "leading tones", c and f .

The 7 Honkyoku that end with D and then G are examples o f

 125

Honkyoku t h a t end on a P5 i n v e r s i o n o f t h e t y p i c a l G-D (RE-

RO) P4 cadence. I n o t h e r words, t h e i r f i n a l cadence, HA-RO,

HA-RE i s a c t u a l l y RO-RE, D t o G.

Chi-senpo has e x a c t l y t h e same c o n f i g u r a t i o n as t h e

"gamme p l a g a l e " o u t l i n e d by P ^ r i (1934:61). Several authors 7

have found t h i s mode t o be l a b e l l e d "Iwato", b u t Malm, G a r f i a s ,

A d r i a a n s z and H a r i c h - S c h n e i d e r make no mention o f i t . Malm

(1963:84) o u t l i n e d Iwato drum p a t t e r n s i n Kabuki Nagauta and

Harich-Schneider (1973:594) i m p l i e d an Iwato s c a l e structure

i n h e r diagrams o f t h e In-senpS*. Weisgarber (1968:331) iden-

t i f i e d t h e Iwato mode i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h one s p e c i f i c Honkyo-

ku, Sanya Sugagaki, b u t he d i d n o t g e n e r a l i z e i t s use. The

standard Japanese r e f e r e n c e , Ongaku J i t e n . d e f i n e s Iwato as

a genre o f f o l k music, b u t no s p e c i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n i s given.

Obviously, a thorough s t u d y o f t h e Iwato senpo would reveal

a v i t a l Japanese music system t h a t has, u n t i l now, o n l y been

hinted a t .

The Honkyoku Chi-senpo i s m a n i f e s t i n t h r e e d i f f e r e n t

choshi (tunings):

Akebono A B^ C D E^ F G A

Hon D E^ F G A b
B^ C D

Kumoi G A* ' C D b
E^ F G
 126

The Chi-senpo A cho and G cho are found i n the Honkyoku t r i o

l i t e r a t u r e , and Sanya Sugagaki i s obviously composed i n Kumoi

choshi,although i t i s not s p e c i f i e d i n the t i t l e . A l l other

Honkyoku are i n "Hon choshi" (more properly, Honjoshi) except

Sokaku Reibo, which i s the only Honkyoku composed i n Kyu-senpo,

D cho.

Rather than dismissing G as inconsequential,now that D

has been established as the fundamental tone, the evidence

that i s ; i n favor of G substantiates i t s importance i n the am-

b i t u s o f the SKH senpo. I t s s p e c i a l treatment i s i l l u s t r a t e d

i n Honkyoku melodic theory and i t s p o s i t i o n , a Perfect Fourth

above D and a Perfect F i f t h below D 1

can be interpreted as a

"mid-way" point i n the ambitus. The r e s u l t i n g " a r t i c u l a t e d "

senpo creates a juxtaposed tetrachord and pentachord (see Ex-

ample 5) which w i l l prove to be pertinent to the following

discussion of p i t c h hierarchy.

Example 5. Tetra-Pentachord A r t i c u l a t i o n
 127

A l l other pitches (including "foreign tones") w i l l be

shown to be a u x i l l i a r y to t h i s b a s i c configuration.

The elaborate emphasis given to c 2

and c 3
(i.e., three

d i f f e r e n t notation s y l l a b l e s ) suggests a tetra/tetrachord ar-

t i c u l a t i o n juxtaposed on the tetra/pentachord configuration

just o u t l i n e d (see Goro, 1975:60-87). .

Example 6. Tetrachord A r t i c u l a t i o n

i — i 1

1
" I * » I„

4:3 SKH Melodic Constituents

A f t e r e s t a b l i s h i n g the SKH senpo and i t s t o n i c and t e t r a /

pentachord configuration, the hierarchy and p r o c l i v i t y o f the

pitches can be determined by examining t h e i r manifestation,

Honkyoku melodic constituents.

4:3:1 SKH Senritsukei

Because the "various melodic germs ( i . e . , senritsukei)

do not have d e f i n i t e names as they do i n biwa music and some

of the forms already studied," (Malm, 1959:162) several Western

authors have taken i t upon themselves t o catalogue and l a b e l

 128

them. Weisgarber (1968:318) has i n h i s possession a catalogue

of some 300 or so s e n r i t s u k e i .

On f i r s t hearing, Honkyoku s e n r i t s u k e i appear to be simi-

l a r to the stereotyped and modular s e n r i t s u k e i which are rep-

resented by shoka (see 3:1:2). This impression i s reinforced

by the slow tempo and the r e l a t i v e l y few number of s y l l a b l e s

i n the notation, r e s u l t i n g i n a l i m i t e d number of s y l l a b l e s i n

each Honkyoku s e n r i t s u k e i . However, the v a r i e t y of Honkyoku

s e n r i t s u k e i that o u t l i n e any given general melodic movement

(see Appendix B:) and the presence of anomalies i n those "sets''

b e l i e s any stereotypography. The stereotyped melodic behavior

i s not among the s e n r i t s u k e i , but among the p r o c l i v i t i e s , and

hierarchy of the pitches.

The main d i s t i n g u i s h i n g feature of s e n r i t s u k e i i s t h e i r

cadential structure suggested by t h e i r iambic rhythm (see 3:

1:2:3), supplemented by performance p r a c t i c e s such as the melo-

dic i n f l e c t i o n s (see 3:2:1). In other words, each note i n a

s e n r i t s u k e i seems to cadence ( i . e . , resolve) to the l a s t note

in i t s s e r i e s .

The f i r s t fact to emerge from an examination of the sen-

r i t s u k e i i n the SKH i s the large number which c a d e n t i a l l y r e -

solve to D or G: 80 s e n r i t s u k e i end on G; 105 end on D; and

85 end on other notes. No SKH s e n r i t s u k e i begin with D, and

only 6 begin with G. A l l 6 of the l a t t e r cadences end on D.

 129

A c l o s e r study o f D and G shows that they are comple-

mented by "leading tones" from below (C t o D, and F t o G) and

even from above (E ^ t o D, and A^ t o G). The leading tones

from below are e a s i l y recognizable i n the form o f nayashi,

but the "upper leading tones" (see Kicahara, 1966:282) are

not r e a d i l y apparent i n the SKH s e n r i t s u k e i . However, t h e i r

presence i s c l e a r l y evident i n the context o f "melodic i n f l e c -

tions" (see 3:2:1). An examination o f the examples (Chapter 3,

Nos. 18-21) and the summary (3:2:1:4) shows that the meri and

s u r i i n f l e c t i o n s are " a n t i c i p a t i o n s " o f the lower tone r e s o l u -

t i o n which normally follows. This process occurs on E^ and A^

(U and meri CHI), as well as A, and C ( s p e c i f i c a l l y on RI,

which anticipates a r e s o l u t i o n on a lower note, i . e . , A^ (see

3:1:2:1)).

Example 7 shows the matrix o f the p r o c l i v i t i e s o f a l l

the notes j u s t o u t l i n e d i n the previous paragraph. Note that

C p o i n t i n g to A** i s notated RI and the same C p o i n t i n g to D

can be notated HI or HA (see 3:1:2:1). The RI notation i s

only found i n the low (RO) octave. The HA notation represents

C i n the low octave and E^ i n the high (KAN) octave (see 3:1:

2:1, Example 2 ) .
 1 3 0

Example 7. Tonal P r o c l i v i t i e s

i 1—i 1 1 '
G AT"

I 1—i 1 ' r

G &

When melodic movement within or between s e n r i t s u k e i r e -

solves the tension o f a note by moving according t o i t s pro-

c l i v i t y , such movement may be c a l l e d "normative". When the

opposite occurs, i t may be r e f e r r e d to as "deviant". The f o l -

lowing "sets" o f downward and upward deviant movements are

c u l l e d from the SKH s e n r i t s u k e i which e x h i b i t more deviant

movements than normative movements. This curious s i t u a t i o n

w i l l be explained i n the next few pages.

 131

SKH Deviant Upward Progressions:

Deviant Movement Normative Movement

9 i/7 ^ 9 -

This deviant melodic movement (also found i n the RO oc-

tave) i s the most common i n Honkyoku. Note the e s o t e r i c

i n t e r j e c t i o n of F which i s a leading tone of RE.

9—kr

The TSU-U deviant melodic movement e x i s t s i n a multitude

of variant forms (see Appendix Bl).

/ VP-?

The deviant HA i s marked "minna * ( " f u l l value") so that

1

i t s extended sound heightens the l i s t e n e r ' s expectations.

4. 9- 9-
m 3:
 132

In t h i s case, the deviance i s not i n the melodic progres-

sion as such, but i n the f i n a l sound o f D. Instead o f a

standard f i n g e r i n g o f RO, an alternate f i n g e r i n g i s sub-

s t i t u t e d which "sounds'* d 2
but with a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t

timbre which i s considered "deceptive" (as i n "deceptive

cadence", [[see Ghapter 3, Example 2} ).

fee
9-

/\-C7
The KORO figure i s almost as common as the meri TSU-RE

figure. I t i s always followed by a downward deviant r e -

s o l u t i o n o f HA.

f
_ f

^—f
The deviant movement on the l e f t delays the r e s o l u t i o n

to RE (G) by v a c i l l a t i n g from the low A ^ to regular A K

The introduction o f the foreign tone A...*} from the A^ serves

to expand the melodic framework of the Honkyoku. I t s most

common context i s i n the following "phrase" (Example 8 ) .

 133

Note how the i s "cancelled" almost immediately by

the introduction o f a normative melodic movement con-

taming A .

Example 8. KORO Resolution

<

In e f f e c t , a new tetrachord i s introduced i n t o the pan-

theon o f Honkyoku tetrachords. 10

Example 9 . Honkyoku Tetrachords

IT
~1 1
i 1
G AH e O
j

Examples o f A ^ - A'] melodic movements can be seen i n Koku

Reibo, 27-29, 45-47, 53-55 and 103-105.

8. 7*
rfc <2_

K-7 —>9

This deviant movement i s quite rare (see Koku Reibo, 6 5 -

66).
 1 3 4

9.
9-

The f i n g e r i n g for the i n the deviant r e s o l u t i o n i s

a more •"open'' sound than the f i n g e r i n g f o r the i n the

r i g h t hand example (hence, the d i f f e r e n c e i n notation),

but the normative r e s o l u t i o n f o r the former i s s t i l l A *T

although i t never seems to occur.(see Koku Reibo, 65-66).

SKH Deviant Downward Progressions:

Deviant Movement Normative Movement

also ^va. also 5-

vo

9- ft

(5 by*
3-«5 f—"j?

9-

/\-0
This deviant melodic progression u s u a l l y follows another

deviant progression, HA-(RO), i n quick succession. In

both cases, the HA i s "altered'' t o heighten l i s t e n e r ex-

pectation. I t i s also subject to v a r i a t i o n i n the fol-

lowing KORO r e s o l u t i o n :
 135

/
4
f- nr \ s :
+ r
(<

7-

The meri CHI-U cadence shares the same c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

as the HA-(RO) cadence i n that the f i n a l note i s a "false**

sound because i t i s a d i f f e r e n t timbre than the expected

resolution. The U i s always "blown" as "meri" as possible

so i t w i l l sound G, but i t s timbre i s markedly muted,

whereas the G sounded by RE i s very open.

f S "V 0-
(/ r)
.-I

v.J 7i

This p a r t i c u l a r deviance i s very rare i n the Honkyoku

l i t e r a t u r e (see Koku Reibo 30-31, 56-57). I t i s not

brought i n t o high r e l i e f l i k e the foreign tone A \ (see

SKH Deviant Upward Progressions, 7) so i t i s not con-

sidered a moment of melodic expansion but a v a r i a t i o n

of the "meri-skita-" i n f l e c t i o n .

The preceding l i s t s of upward and downward deviances have

not taken i n t o account the v a r i a t i o n s that e x i s t f o r each example,

 136

Most o f these v a r i a t i o n s take the form of rhythmic delays o f

resolution brought about by p i t c h r e p e t i t i o n and rhythmic

pauses (see 3:1:2:2 and 3:1:2:3). A perusal o f Appendix B

w i l l r e a d i l y show the many forms that e x i s t .

The number of deviancies i n the SKH f a r outweigh the

normative movements, thereby creating a sense o f constant ex-

pectancy and i n t e r e s t on the part o f the l i s t e n e r .

4:3:2 SKH Phrases

Even though a l l s e n r i t s u k e i are cadential, the s e n r i t s u -

k e i that end on D or G seem to have a greater sense o f "com-

pleteness" or resolution than other s e n r i t s u k e i . This i s par-

t i c u l a r l y obvious i n the l i g h t of the s p e c i a l finger a r t i c u l a -

tions (see 3:1:3), tonal dynamics (3:2:2) and cadential figures

(3:1:2:2) which occur on D and G. Therefore, a group of sen-

r i t s u k e i which consist of cadential figures comprised o f sub-

s i d i a r y tones and progressing through a sequence o f normative

and deviant p i t c h p r o c l i v i t i e s u n t i l they come t o rest on D or

G, may be c a l l e d a "phrase" (a word used f o r the:purposes of,

t h i s thesis, but unknown to the Kinko-ryu). Each phrase, con-

s i s t i n g o f two o r more senritsukei, follows on the heels o f

another phrase, r e s u l t i n g i n the fact that D and G act as " p i -

vot tones".
 137

P r a c t i c a l l y a l l phrases begin with one of four "incipits M

or t h e i r v a r i a n t s . By f a r the most common i n c i p i t i s meri

TSU-RE, followed by KO-RO. Although both contain p i v o t tones

i n t h e i r cadential movement, t h e i r melodic "deviancy" creates

a sense of melodic tension that "demands" a r e s o l u t i o n by one

or more normative cadential movements to p i v o t tones i n the

following s e n r i t s u k e i . RO octave RI-U and i t s equivalent i n

the KAN octave, Hl-meri CHI, i s an i n c i p i t which i s a norma-

t i v e melodic movement but which does not contain a p i v o t tone.

These senritsukei, and t h e i r many variants (e.g., Shin Kyorei,

40,43,50,63,73), s i g n a l the beginning of a downward melodic

progression to a G p i v o t tone. This also holds true f o r the

fourth i n c i p i t , akarui HI. Although i t i s a normative s e n r i -

tsukei, i t s usual context i s between a phrase which has com-

pleted i t s e l f and melodic progressions which move down t o g*

or g 2
(e.g., Koku Reibo, 60,82,87).

Phrases end with normative melodic movements t o p i v o t

tones which are sometimes r e - i t e r a t e d to insure t h e i r sense

of r e s o l u t i o n (see 3:1:2:2). A second possible ending f o r

phrases i s the " f a l s e cadence" which i s a deviant s e n r i t s u k e i

where a normative s e n r i t s u k e i i s expected. The most common

v a r i e t y i s the meri TSU-RE s e n r i t s u k e i (see Example 10) and

deviant resolutions based on HA-RO (see Example 11).

 138

Example 10. Mukaiji, 29-32

Example 11. S h i n K y o r e i , 25-26

(=M——Vif
/ • f L be*
L L$ *<* VA
L * to
l
l>

7 I i -TTI—\—i—i— i bJ i
* p —
1— 1

F a l s e cadences u s u a l l y a c t as " b r i d g e s " between p h r a s e s (e.g.,

Mukaiji, s e e Example 23, l i n e 2 ) . Occasionally, HA and TSU

o c c u r i n i s o l a t i o n w i t h no r e s o l u t i o n a t a l l (e.g., Mukaiji,

16-17,50-51). The t o n a l a f f e c t i s akin t o the incompleted

cadence which l e a v e s t h e l i s t e n e r w i t h a f e e l i n g o f "suspen-

s i o n " and e x p e c t a t i o n .

4:3:3 SKH Sentences

I t i s a t t h e l e v e l o f t h e sentence t h a t "g" p i v o t tones

are d i r e c t l y r e l a t i v e t o t h e more dominant "d" p i v o t tones,

which r e p r e s e n t t h e t o n i c o f Honkyoku m o d a l i t y . This relation-

s h i p i s b o r n o u t by t h e e a r l i e r d i s c u s s i o n o f Honkyoku m o d a l i t y
 139

(4:2) and the relevant t r a d i t i o n a l melodic theory that sur-

rounds the "d M

tonic.

A d e s c r i p t i o n of the construction of a t y p i c a l Honkyoku

sentence may be i l l u s t r a t e d by o u t l i n i n g the "themes" of the

three Honkyoku i n the SKH. Despite the capacity for p r o l i f i c

v a r i a t i o n , the actual sound materials of Honkyoku are quite

l i m i t e d , r e s u l t i n g i n a sameness that permeates the e n t i r e

repertoire (see Weisgarber, 1968:332). To counter-balance

t h i s homogeneity, each Honkyoku has a "theme" which i s u n i q u e . ^

Although each theme has some generative melodic material which

establishes "inter-opus norms" (see Meyer, 1956:140), they do

not act as a point of departure f o r melodic development, but

rather as unique sentences which individuate t h e i r respective

Honkyoku.

In the following Examples (14-16), the s e n r i t s u k e i are

i l l u s t r a t e d i n t h e i r basic form, b e r e f t of p i t c h r e p e t i t i o n s

and t r a d i t i o n a l performance p r a c t i c e s . The context of the

themes within t h e i r Honkyoku w i l l be shown i n the next section

concerning Honkyoku "forms".

The Koku Reibo theme i s p a r t i c u l a r l y d i s t i n c t i v e f o r i t s

conspicuous lack of " v i r t u o s i c " s e n r i t s u k e i and i t s uncommon

symmetry. I t i s also one of the longest themes i n the Honkyoku

repertoire, c o n s i s t i n g of 22 s e n r i t s u k e i .
 140

Example 12. Koku Reibo theme (see Koku Reibo, Appendix I, 1-21)

/ 1+, JSL 3.- -r 6 7 y

ID 16
B. ±

17 ID
I?

Sentence A i s almost exactly the same as Sentence B, with

one minor exception. Both sentences are comprised o f two phra-

ses, a and b; the a*s are the same but B,b has one extra sen-

r i t s u k e i which adds a z e n i t h a l climax to the second sentence.

The two phrases i n C are codas, the second being more elaborate

than the f i r s t , which f i n a l i z e Sentence B and the e n t i r e name-

theme i n general.

The complete theme r e f l e c t s a normative and uncomplica-

ted approach to melodic progression, thereby e s t a b l i s h i n g

inter-opus norms f o r the rest of the composition and perhaps

a l l Honkyoku i n general, considering the s p e c i a l status of

Koku Reibo.
 141

The theme f o r Mukaiji i s one long sentence followed by

three cadential phrases. The sentence i s a complex v a r i a t i o n

of "HA-RO" i n a t y p i c a l four note, two s e n r i t s u k e i phrase,

e^-d, c-d (TSU-RO, HA-RO), which i s then "completed" by three

short "codas" ( i . e . , phrases which are "cadences" f o r the

previous sentence) that act as inter-opus norms confirming

the normative r e s o l u t i o n o f TSU-RE and RI-U i n c i p i t and the

r e s o l u t i o n o f HA-RO and TSU-RO f i n a l i s . (Note that KORO f i g -

ures do not appear i n t h i s Honkyoku).

Example 13. Mukaiji theme (see Mukaiji, Appendix I, 1-16)

S
V S C 7
+ „ I> +J I I f-
~ /*? — T /} JL— <Q
jn Of *

10 (2-

.0 *s9

13 w IS
-f-
T 0~

|6
-A-
a1
 142

Shin: Kyorei's theme resembles Mukaiji i n that i t i s a l s o

a complex v a r i a t i o n o f a simple normative s e n r i t s u k e i , HA—RO.

However, i t i s placed within the context o f a normative reso-

l u t i o n o f KORO. The f i r s t sentence contains the theme bracketed

by d i s t i n c t i v e TSU-RE-RO, normative s e n r i t s u k e i . The KORO f i g -

ure i n the theme i s r e i t e r a t e d f i r s t without the HA-RO v a r i a t i o n

but also without r e s o l u t i o n , and then f i n a l l y with the normative

r e s o l u t i o n pattern.

Example 14. Shin Kyorei theme (see Shin Kyorei, Appendix I, 1-16)

3H
' A 1
h-_
1 S€
' I i
7 —

1 lo 12
0 +

14 IS
 143

Like the theme i n Mukaiji, the Shin Kyorei theme appears

a second time but i n the context of the normative r e s o l u t i o n

of a RI-U phrase.

4:4 San Koten Honkyoku Melodic Forms

A study o f Honkyoku "form" (see Meyer, 1956:45-47) may

be drawn from t r a d i t i o n a l cues and melodic analyses. There

are several elements o f d i a c r i t i c a l information within each

Honkyoku "score" which i n d i r e c t l y suggest large d i v i s i o n s .

Further, the melodies can be analysed by d e f i n i n g t h e i r melo-

d i c constituents and comparing t h e i r configurations.

4:4:1 SKH T r a d i t i o n a l Formal Indications

Formal a r t i c u l a t i o n i n many Honkyoku may be seen i n the

use o f double bar l i n e s (found i n the new, p r i n t e d r e p e r t o i r e

of the Kinko-ryu and Meian-ha) and paired numbers that bracket

sections o f Honkyoku melody (found i n SS and TS). Out of a

t o t a l of 30 Honkyoku, 18 have double bar l i n e s and 16 have

paired number sections.

No t r a d i t i o n a l explanation seems t o e x i s t f o r the func-

t i o n o f double b a t l i n e s , b u t the paired numbered sections are

u t i l i z e d as e s o t e r i c v a r i a t i o n s . In the exoteric manuscript

version of a Honkyoku the paired numbers are not i n sequence,

 144

so the performer has the option of playing the Honkyoku se-

q u e n t i a l l y i f he wishes t o perform the e s o t e r i c v e r s i o n . This

p r a c t i c e i s extremely rare.

Koku Reibo i s a r t i c u l a t e d with four double bar l i n e s and

eight numbers forming f i v e sections. The f i n a l section i s only

one s e n r i t s u k e i long, so t h i s Honkyoku i s e s s e n t i a l l y divided

i n t o four major u n i t s . Note that the four double bar l i n e sec-

tions and four large numbered sections do not coincide exactly.

Example 15. Koku Reibo Sections

Z 3

JL -HL- 1 T£

Re-arranged sequentially, the Honkyoku becomes:

3 *

1
In other words, sections I I and IV are interchangeable but the

d i v i s i o n s o u t l i n e d by double bar l i n e s are not disturbed. In

both the TS and SS, part I I i s c a l l e d Zendan and part IV, Ko-

dan, which mean "former section" and " l a t t e r section" respec-

 145

tively. Also, both sections have the added d i a c r i t i c a l i n -

formation, Kawa-teru, which means the performer has an option

of being accompanied at the unison by another shakuhachi. In

the analyses to follow, parts II and IV w i l l be shown to be

s i m i l a r i n melodic information.

In Shin Kyorei there i s no over-lap between the double

bar sections and numbered sections but the numerical sequence

i s h i g h l y complex, r e s u l t i n g i n repeated numbered sections i n

the e s o t e r i c arrangement. The o r i g i n a l version appears i n the

following manner:

Example 16. Shin Kyorei Sections

1
6

XL
ill XL

The e s o t e r i c re-arrangement has a curious symmetry:

\TL ill
Mukaiji has no double l i n e s but i t does have numbered

sections. The numbers are supplemented by s y l l a b l e s which are

derived from the f i r s t s i x s y l l a b l e s of a d i d a c t i c poem that i s

u n i v e r s a l l y known i n Japan (see Nelson, 1966:1014).

 146

Example 17. Mukaiji Sections

ro
2. 3
TS.

The e s o t e r i c version i s :

Sections II and I I I are interchangeable codas and they have

s i m i l a r melodic m a t e r i a l . Further, section I I I i s a newly

composed addendum—"ireko no t e " . The composer i s anonymous

4:4:2 SKH Formal Analyses

The SKH sample has been analysed from comparative,

a r c h i t e c t o n i c and contour perspectives i n order t o present

three complementary p i c t u r e s of SKH s t r u c t u r e s .

4:4:2:1 SKH Comparative Analysis

Because Koku Reibo and Mukaiji e x i s t i n duet (seiso) and

t r i o (juso) versions as w e l l as solo (dokuso), several conclu-

sions may be drawn by comparing the former with the l a t t e r .

The Koku Reibo seiso (duet) i s constructed i n four con-

t r a s t i n g parts (see Example 18), two of which are unison (A

and D) and two of which are "Fuku-awase" (B/E and C/F). The
 147

G s e c t i o n o n l y c o n s i s t s o f one senritsukei. The entire seiso

i s a composite o f most o f the dokuso. (Note t h a t the numbers

i n Example 18 are the same numbers used t o i d e n t i f y moments

i n the dokuso t r a n s c r i p t i o n s i n Appendix I.) Two segments o f

the o r i g i n a l s o l o are m i s s i n g : the r e p e a t o f t h e first sen-

t e n c e i n the theme and the s e n t e n c e between the second num-

b e r e d s e c t i o n and the t h i r d double b a r section (i.e., 54-59).

Example 18. Koku Reibo Duet Sections

OA ' 3% a* gem

-j6
6 0 0
ii. 53
/o6 IJ2

Using t h i s information i t i s possible to further c l a r i f y the

s t r u c t u r e o f Koku Reibo as o u t l i n e d earlier.

Example 19. Koku Reibo, S e c t i o n s Clarified

in

ft D

.1
The Zendan (II) and Kodan (IV) are not o n l y interchangeable

but apparently are even symmetrical and complementary enough

t o have t h e i r i n t e r n a l p a r t s i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e as w e l l .

The trio (juso) v e r s i o n s o f Koku Reibo and Mukaiji do

 148

not f a l l i n t o neat d i v i s i o n s . The following diagrams include

wavy l i n e s which i l l u s t r a t e those sections of the solos which

are used i n the t r i o s .

Example 20. T r i o Sections

Koku Reibo

AAA*
"T
6 71 1» ^itX (ol
(It H I

Mukaiji

• " T i
1? a« ?a Ho
—f
US

No consistent use of material i s obvious. For example, the

Mukaiji theme appears both times but the Koku Reibo t r i o does

not even contain the dokuso theme. B a s i c a l l y the t r i o s are

constructed of perfunctory fragments which are mostly high-

l i g h t s , of t h e i r respective solo Honkyoku.

4:4:2:2 SKH A r c h i t e c t o n i c Analysis

Using a l l of the previous information regarding s e n r i t s u -

k e i , phrases, sentences, and t r a d i t i o n a l formal i n d i c a t i o n s , i t

i s possible to draw composite p i c t u r e s of each o f the SKH, illus-

 149

t r a t i n g t h e i r " a r c h i t e c t o n i c structure" ( i . e . , form). In the

diagrams to follow, a number of symbols w i l l be used which are

defined, using the schematic t h e o r e t i c a l diagram i n Example 21,

i n the following manner:

Example 21. Theoretical Melodic Line

r •f

1
A N

T t
ex.
b c T

a, e melodic section indicated by a p a i r of c i r c l e d numbers

double bar l i n e

phrase ending i n an incomplete manner (e.g., f a l s e cadence)

a-b
b-c ^phrases (defined by " i n c i p i t " and f i n a l note)
c-d
d-e I n c i p i t s : T meri TSU-RE s e n r i t s u k e i
t meri TSU (unresolved by RO)
K KO-RO s e n r i t s u k e i
R RI-U s e n r i t s u k e i
(R) v a r i a t i o n of RI-U s e n r i t s u k e i
H akarui HI
h HA (unresolved by RO)

a-d sentence

f phrase (d-e) which acts as a coda to the previous sentence

a-b phrase, repeated exactly i n another part of the Honkyoku

b-c phrase, appearing i n s i m i l a r form i n another part of the

Honkyoku, i d e n t i f i e d by a c a p i t a l l e t t e r
 150

c-d phrase, repeated exactly i n the r e l a t e d T r i o

a-e complete melodic l i n e c o n s i s t i n g of r e l a t e d sentences

and codas

h the number denotes the sentence

Shin Kyorei

1. This l i n e begins with a s e n r i t s u k e i ( i d e n t i f i e d by a short,

heavy, black l i n e ) which occurs seven times throughout the

Honkyoku. Although i t creates a sense of unity, i t s occur-

rences are h i g h l y v a r i e d contextually and are never i d e n t i -

f i e d as symmetrical "brackets". The e n t i r e l i n e i s the

theme sentence (see 5:4:2:2) with the core o f the sentence

being a repeated, elaborate yuri-komu statement.

2. A f t e r a TSU-RE i n c i p i t (D), a dramatic v a r i a t i o n of HA-RO

(bracket 1) i s presented and then resolved with m a t e r i a l

s i m i l a r to A, and then new cadential material (E).

3. Beginning with a TSU-RE i n c i p i t variant of D, melodic ma-

t e r i a l vaguely s i m i l a r to Line 1 i s presented, but i n the

context of a RI-U motif.

4. An incomplete TSU-RE i n c i p i t acts as a bridge between Lines

3 and 4, and introduces the RI-U motif from Line 3. What

follows, however, i s new introductory material leading to

a re-statement of the core of the theme.

5. Bridge. A s i n g l e phrase introduces the three numbered para-

meters which a l l have s i m i l a r material reminiscent of B i n

 Example 22. Shin Kyorei

k
4 7-si
t

8
l5
iC i«|

1 5L 3
i = ,
a
1 9 «£||h ,*

0 A
1 .3.3.
17

If'l A *o

R
(JI
X7

t
LLK.
-3-
33. I 31

m
1 6 B
k ft) T df
44 13 f? [ H 1

BRIDGE

>
so
6
VI
k !K
CO
a 6 6?
\ I

W J ft) Td ! 1
k d a

E 6 7f 7!fj 77
 152

L i n e 1.

5 and 6. These two i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e l i n e s c o n t a i n s i m i l a r ma-

t e r i a l which i s p r o g r e s s i v e l y made more complex. Between

59 and 62 t h e r e i s an e l a b o r a t e TSU-RE m o t i f which i s

unique i n t h e e n t i r e r e p e r t o i r e . In t h e f i n a l sentence,

. the m e l o d i c development reaches a p e n u l t i m a t e climax a t

55-56 where t h e p e r f o r m e r i s admonished i n t h e SS t o

" s e i z e t h e moment'* ("ki-o t o r u " ) which i s d e s c r i b e d as

" t r a d i t i o n a l nothingness" ("oko mu"). Bracket 2 i s an

extended coda i n t r o d u c e d b y KO-RO.

7. The e n t i r e l i n e i s an e l a b o r a t e coda t h a t completes t h e

Honkyoku w i t h c a d e n t i a l m a t e r i a l s i m i l a r t o m o t i f s from

L i n e 1.

Mukaiji

1. A f t e r a s h o r t i n t r o d u c t i o n , t h e theme and f o u r codas a r e

presented, f o l l o w e d by an u n r e s o l v e d "HA* s e n r i t s u k e i which

a c t s as a b r i d g e t o t h e next l i n e . T h i s e n t i r e l i n e has

a l r e a d y been d i s c u s s e d a t l e n g t h (see 4:4:2:2).

2. An e x t r e m e l y l o n g and complex sentence t h a t i s b i - p a r t i t e

i n form f o l l o w s sentence 1. Their c e n t r a l motif (C) i s

a melody i n arched form f o l l o w e d by two complementary c o -

das. The whole sentence i s completed by two cadences (A)

which echo a major c a d e n t i a l formula found i n L i n e 1. A

suspended TSU-RE cadence, (t...), l i n k s L i n e 2 t o t h e next

 Example 23. MukaiJi

r ;
v.

21
Ik
D
'nsjy
*3
T
3i| "(6
D w; o

1
1
"I
h s
CO
 154

sentence. Note the i r r e g u l a r o c c u r r e n c e of a s p e c i f i c

TSU-RE s e n r i t s u k e i which appears e i g h t t i m e s throughout

the e n t i r e H o n k y o k u — f o u r times i n L i n e 2, twice in 5 and

t w i c e i n 6. T h i s f i g u r e a c t s as a m o t i f t h a t c o n s t a n t l y

re-appears i n new contexts, c r e a t i n g a sense o f u n i t y .

The dramatic "muraiki" s e n r i t s u k e i t h a t r e c e i v e d such

prominance i n S h i n K y o r e i i s a l s o used i n the second C

m o t i f i n t h i s sentence, c r e a t i n g a h i g h l y d r a m a t i c moment.

3. The theme i s r e - i n t r o d u c e d and repeated, but i n the con-

t e x t o f RI-U. I t i s completed by a coda s i m i l a r t o the

one found a t the end o f L i n e 1.

4. A simple l i n e c o n t a i n i n g two sentences which a r e b o t h

v a r i a t i o n s on t h e m a t i c m a t e r i a l presented i n L i n e 2. The

second v a r i a t i o n , b e i n g more e l a b o r a t e than the first, is

completed by an echo from L i n e 1 (A).

5 Bridge. This i s simply a RI-U senritsukei that creates a

sense o f o v e r - l a p p i n g sentence s t r u c t u r e s between the

numbered parameters i n 5 and 6.

5. T h i s l i n e i s comprised o f new material (E) which contains

v a r i a t i o n s on RI-U s e n r i t s u k e i t h a t seem t o complete the

e n t i r e Honkyoku.

6. The " I r e k o no Te", which can exchange p o s i t i o n s w i t h Line

5, i s a l s o comprised o f coda v a r i a t i o n s based on falling

s e n r i t s u k e i which a r e themselves v a r i a t i o n s on the b a s i c

 155

RI-U s e n r i t s u k e i .

7. The f i n a l c l o s i n g cadences s i g n a l the end o f the composi-

tion.

Koku Reibo

Because Koku Reibo f a l l s so neatly i n t o t r a d i t i o n a l and

comparative parameters, the following resume w i l l be presented

according t o the sections o u t l i n e d i n 4:4:2:1. Letters i n d i -

cate exactly repeated material within the t r i p a r t i t e sections.

A. Theme (discussed i n 4:4:2:2)

B. A f t e r a TSU-RE i n c i p i t , contrasting melodic material i s

introduced by a new i n c i p i t , RI-U. The two KORO codas a t

the end o f Lines 4 and 5 are deviant resolutions i n com-

parison t o the KORO resolutions presented i n the theme.

The curious suspension i n Line 5, 30-32 re-appears i n r e -

solved form i n Line 13. The f i n a l s e n r i t s u k e i at the end

of the t h i r d l i n e are p a r t i c u l a r l y c a d e n t i a l because o f

the s k i l f u l use o f hiku.

C. The f i r s t sentence and the immediately following phrase

a c t as a bridge between B and C. The two KORO codag r e -

appear i n new, deviant forms. Note the repeat signs i n

the second and t h i r d l i n e s , and a s i m i l a r sequence, w r i t -

ten out instead o f repeated, i n the equivalent section (F)

i n Lines 18, 19 and 20. The f i n a l two l i n e s (Koku Reibo,

54-59), already discussed i n 4:4:2:1, d i s r u p t the apparent

E x a m p l e 24. Koku Reibo
 157

symmetry o f the two t r i p a r t i t e d i v i s i o n s (A, B,C and D,E,F).

Note that i t i s a d i r e c t repeat o f the t h i r d and fourth

phrases i n B, but with one important d i f f e r e n c e — t h e sus-

pended E a t 32 i s f i n a l l y resolved. To add t o the ambi-

guity, t h i s l i n e acts as a coda t o the f i r s t tripartite

d i v i s i o n and a bridge between the two d i v i s i o n s .

D. The f i r s t and second phrases constitute the penultimate

climax preceding the c l i m a c t i c apogee i n E. The next

three phrases echo the c l o s i n g phrases i n A.

E. The f i r s t h a l f o f the sentence i s an intense introduction

to the c l i m a c t i c melodic material which occurs i n the s e -

cond h a l f . The e n t i r e sentence i s unusually long and i s

f i n a l i z e d by the dramatic TSU RO cadence/coda l a b e l l e d "x".

F. Mirroring section C i n o u t l i n e , section F i s a complex de-

nouement with unique KORO figures which c l o s e l y resemble

the t r i l l i n European a r t music.

g. The RE-RO cadence culminates the e n t i r e Honkyoku.

One general comment can be made about the preceding i n -

formation. At f i r s t glance, the analysis o f the e n t i r e Hon-

kyoku might lead one t o assume that i t i s symmetrical. How-

ever, a c l o s e r examination reveals that the apparent symmetry

i s e n t i r e l y disrupted by the melodic material that i s not r e -

peated. A rough graph o f the contour o f the melodic i n t e n s i t y

(as a function o f t e s s i t u r a ) i l l u s t r a t e s t h i s f a c t .
 1 5 8

Example 25. Koku Reibo Form

8 C 0 '
SECTION $

Although there are many repeated phrases, they are constantly

presented i n new contexts, discouraging the l i s t e n e r from ap-

prehending large u n i t s i n symmetrical r e p e t i t i o n s .

4:4:2:3 SKH Contour Analysis

One f i n a l study o f the SKH may be drawn which presents

an over-view. Using the p i v o t tones of each SKH and t h e i r f r e -

quency of occurrence, each SKH may be seen i n p r o f i l e . The

p i v o t tones used i n the diagrams (and numbered along the "y"

axis) represent the b a s i c p i v o t tones i n each s e n r i t s u k e i , not

the actual number o f p i v o t tones which would include p i v o t tone

r e - i t e r a t i o n s i n the form of r e p e t i t i o n s . (One exception t o

t h i s general r u l e i s the "nayashi" which have been included

i n a l l cases.) The following presentation i n v i t e s comparison

between SKH as w e l l . The obvious conclusion one may draw from

t h i s form o f analysis i s that there i s no p a r t i c u l a r form o f

r e p e t i t i o n or symmetry i n any o f the Honkyoku, and no points

Example 26. SKH C o n t o u r A n a l y s i s
 160

o f s i m i l a r i t y between t h e t h r e e Honkyoku. In p a r t i c u l a r , note

the d i s p a r i t y t h a t e x i s t s between t h e f o u r major s e c t i o n s o f

Koku Reibo.

4:4:2:4 Summary

Malm (1959:161) suggested t h a t shakuhachi music was

" r o n d o - l i k e " and Weisgarber (1968:324) t a c i t l y s u p p o r t e d h i s

c o n c l u s i o n by developing the idea i n t o a " p r i n c i p l e o f moti-

vic alternation". However, a c l o s e examination o f t h e SKH has

shown t h a t any f o r m a l elements such as m e l o d i c o r t h e m a t i c r e -

p e t i t i o n , o r t r a d i t i o n a l cues a r e i n c i d e n t a l t o t h e many com-

p l e x melodic events ( i . e . , normative and d e v i a n t cadences)

which o c c u r between p i t c h e s . What l a r g e a r c h i t e c t o n i c struc-

t u r e s t h e r e a r e ( i . e . , phrases and sentences) a r e " l o s t " i n

a maze o f m e l o d i c d e t a i l , w i t h no i n h e r e n t r e l a t i o n s h i p s t o

each o t h e r . Touma (1971:41) a l l u d e s t o t h e same c o n c l u s i o n

when he s t a t e s t h a t " t h e s i n g u l a r f e a t u r e o f ( t h e form o f Mid-

d l e E a s t e r n "Maqam") i s t h a t i t i s n o t b u i l t upon m o t i f s , their

e l a b o r a t i o n , v a r i a t i o n and development b u t through a number o f

m e l o d i c passages o f d i f f e r e n t l e n g t h which r e a l i z e one o r more

t o n e - l e v e l s i n space and thus e s t a b l i s h t h e v a r i o u s phases i n

the development".

The " t o n e - l e v e l s " i n Honkyoku a r e s e n t e n c e s governed by

1 2 3
t o n i c tones (d , d , d ) and p h r a s e s governed b y p i v o t t o n e s .
 161

The fundamental tones just i l l u s t r a t e d i n the above analyses 1

are not a l l equally fundamental; d has a melodic p r o c l i v i t y to

2 2 1 1
d and d has an a t t r a c t i o n to d . In e f f e c t , d x
i s a "home
2 3

tone" and generative tone. Akarui HI (d and d seem to func-

t i o n more as "peak tones" than as points of repose because they

are always immediately followed by downward progressions. This

corroborates with the general tendency of normative movements

to point downwards and deviant movements which move upwards.

As the Honkyoku melody r i s e s i n p i t c h , the degree o f a f f e c t i v e

tension r i s e s i n the l i s t e n e r (see Meyer, 1956:139); hence the

fact that d^ i s a generative tone. As the Honkyoku melody

" f a l l s " through i t s s e r i e s o f normative resolutions, the degree

o f a f f e c t i v e tension decreases u n t i l the melody reaches the

point o f absolute repose, d^". Hence, 6?" a l s o can be considered

a "home tone". This p r i n c i p l e of a f f e c t i v e tension r e l a t i v e

to t e s s i t u r a also applies to p i v o t tones ( i . e . , phrases) but

not to s e n r i t s u k e i where the p r o c l i v i t i e s o f i n d i v i d u a l pitches

(e.g., upward moving leading tones) are the c e n t r a l musical ex-

perience.

4:5 Conclusion

The melodies of the San Koten Honkyoku are "composed" i n

the "Iwato" mode ("Chi-senpo") o f the In " s c a l e " . Although

 162

"d" i s the fundamental tone ( cho") of the mode, d* i s the

M

generative tone and point of absolute repose ( i . e . , "home

2 3
tonic") while d and d act as secondary "tonics" and "peak
tones". The melodies are further delimited by tetrachords
1 1 2 2

and pentachords a r t i c u l a t e d by "pivot tones" (d , g , d , g ,

d ) which get s p e c i a l cadential emphasis.

3
A l l the other tones

i n the mode ( i . e . , c, e , f, a , b ) and "foreign" to the mode

r

(a^, b*j) which comprise the r e s t of the Honkyoku tonal mate-

r i a l , "gravitate" according to t h e i r respective p r o c l i v i t i e s .

Tonal p r o c l i v i t y functions on three d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s .

At the most immediate l e v e l , senritsukei, each tone has a pro-

c l i v i t y to another s p e c i f i c tone^ This l e v e l represents the

most obvious aesthetic experience f o r the l i s t e n e r , because

the slow tempo and deliberate melodic movements, supplemented

by performance practices, bring the tonal p r o c l i v i t i e s and 1

t h e i r resolutions into the highest r e l i e f . On the next two

l e v e l s , pivot tones d e l i m i t i n g phrases and fundamental tones

d e l i m i t i n g sentences also act with p r o c l i v i t i e s . Because o f

the r e l a t i o n s h i p o f a f f e c t i v e tension to t e s s i t u r a , higher

pivot tones g r a v i t a t e to lower pivot tones, and higher funda-

mental tones gravitate t o lower fundamental tones.

The "form" o f the SKH melodies may be roughly described

as "Fortspinnung" (see Apel, 1969:329) with occasional melodic

 163

r e p e t i t i o n s t h a t appear almost i n an a l e a t o r i c manner, r a t h e r

than as p o i n t s o f m a c r o - s t r u c t u r a l reference.
 CONCLUSION

The Kinko-ryu i s a f r a t e r n i t y of musicians who share a

common legacy and a deep commitment to i t s inherent philosophy

and a e s t h e t i c s . I t s unique medium, the shakuhachi, and i t s

oldest t r a d i t i o n a l music, Honkyoku, were designed to act as a

v e h i c l e f o r Zen Buddhist enlightenment i n much the same manner

as the "ox" i n the famous "Ten Ox-herding Pictures" of Zen

Buddhism (see Suzuki, 1961:363-376). Both the instrument and

i t s music were adapted from previous t r a d i t i o n s which had the

roots of t h e i r meditative s t y l e within t h e i r h i s t o r i c a l de-

velopment.

The v e r t i c a l f l u t e i n ancient China and Japan has had a

long and c o l o r f u l h i s t o r y which has been most prominent when

i t s function was meditative. Whether i n the context of ancient

Chinese Shamanism, Taoism, or Japanese Buddhism, i t has served

as an expression of s p i r i t u a l harmony (whether achieved or

longed for) between the inner and outer r e a l i t i e s of i n d i v i d u -

als. Whenever i t has been relegated to a purely entertainment

medium, i t has never f l o u r i s h e d as well as i t has i n i t s more

meditative r o l e .

164
 165

T r a d i t i o n a l Honkyoku melodic theory i s divided i n t o two

b a s i c areas. The rudiments ( i . e . , the basic meaning of the

symbols of notation) are exoteric information i n that they can

be acquired from many sources i n c l u d i n g p r i n t e d information.

However, the multitudinous performance p r a c t i c e s which are ap-

p l i e d to the s k e l e t a l notation are e s o t e r i c i n that they can

only be acquired from a sensei. In t h i s way, the h i s t o r i c a l

c o n t i n u i t y of the e s s e n t i a l s p i r i t of t h e i r performance i s i n -

sured. This s p i r i t i s r e f l e c t e d i n the spontaneous freedom of

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n that each performer i s allowed to b r i n g to the

music, r e s u l t i n g i n a sense of improvisation despite the r e -

s t r i c t i o n s of a notation.

An analysis of the San Koten Honkyoku, a representative

sample of the Honkyoku l i t e r a t u r e , has shown that they are

through-composed ( i . e . , a-formal) because "the concept of a

form involves abstraction and generalization" (Meyer, 1956:57)

—a noetic frame of mind which i s unequivocally antithetical

to Zen Buddhism. Honkyoku melodic events only function at an

immediate a r c h i t e c t o n i c l e v e l , "co-existing i n an all-encompas-

sing, but f l u c t u a t i n g , present" (Meyer, 1967:167). However,

they are not a l e a t o r i c or fragmentary because each event i s

intimately r e l a t e d to i t s immediate neighbour according to

s p e c i f i c laws of modality. This system of immediacy i s r e -

ferred to by Zen Buddhists as "Inga-Inchinyo"—cause-and-

 166

e f f e c t oneness, a c e n t r a l concern o f the phenomenologists

(e.g., Pike, 1970) and e x i s t e n t i a l i s t s i n the West, and the

meditative philosophies i n the East.

The quasi-improvisatory s t y l e o f Honkyoku performance

p r a c t i c e s coalesce with another key Zen Buddhist c o n c e p t —

"mu-shin no shin" (the mind o f no-mind). Ornamentation, am-

p l i t u d e , timbre, and rhythmic i d i o s y n c r a c i e s which are o b l i -

gatory i n lessons become o p t i o n a l and v a r i a b l e i n performan-

ces a f t e r the student has acquired t h i s Zen Buddhist perspec-

t i v e with the guidance of a Sensei. Those students who f a i l

to do so become mimics, some o f whom, however, develop the

highest l e v e l o f t e c h n i c a l mastery and p u b l i c adulation. How-

ever, "mu-shin no shin" e x i s t s i n inverse proportion t o the

l e v e l o f s e l f aggrandizement, r e s u l t i n g i n few performers who

exemplify and p r a c t i c e "the way o f the bamboo f l u t e " — T a k e d o .

True Honkyoku performances are a s o l i t a r y a c t o f medita-

t i o n , even i n the occasional presence o f an audience. It i s

during these moments that the performer may catch a glimpse

of Kensho, i r r e s p e c t i v e o f a t e c h n i c a l l y flawed or p e r f e c t

performance. And, l i k e Chikan Zenji's perception o f "the

c l a t t e r o f a broken t i l e " (Ross, 1960:61-64), the l i s t e n e r

may also experience Kensho i f h i s powers o f meditation and

understanding equal the moment.

 NOTES

CHAPTER 1

1. Note that Japanese nouns do not have a p l u r a l form.

2. Through experimentation, Yoshio Kanamori (1969:459-

^73)has discovered an extended range that includes 93 d i f f e r e n t

kinds of sounds and more than a 3-octave ambitus.

3. Williams (1960:100) has found that the crane i s "the

b i r d who c a r r i e s away the souls o f the dead i n China", sugges-

t i n g a shamanist i n f l u e n c e . I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to compare the

same ancient reverence f o r cranes i n Europe. This f a s c i n a t i o n

i n the powers o f the crane even extends to the use o f the word

" t i b i a e " i n Renaissance music (see Arbeau, 1967:39). This word

r e f e r s to the shin bone and legs o f the crane, and small, v e r -

t i c a l f l u t e s (as i n "pipe and tabors"). " T i b i a " i s the L a t i n

II II
equivalent f o r Aulos.

4. The more common appearance o f t h i s term i s "Ryugin"

(dragon sound), a mythological and shamanistic reference to

the sound o f thunder i n r a i n clouds (an auspicious s i g n ) .

Ryugin i s a l s o a t e c h n i c a l term f o r the Gagaku note' F ' "(i.e.,

, 1 :

shimomu). I wonder i f "Ginryu" i s an example o f an e a r l y

167
 168

s c r i b e ' s e r r o r becoming s a c r o s a n c t t r a d i t i o n ?

5. The Chinese c h a r a c t e r f o r Suga ("£*) i s comprised o f

the Chinese r a d i c a l s f o r " r e e d " (kusa r t

) and " v e r t i c a l flute-

pipe" (kuan ). The Chinese c h a r a c t e r " g a k i " i s synonymous

w i t h "byo" which means " f e n c e " b u t which i s a c t u a l l y a techni-

c a l term f o r the l i n e a r arrangement o f p i p e s i n pan-pipes (sho)

and mouth organ (sho).

6. P r e l i m i n a r y s t u d y on my p a r t has shown t h a t the

" H a c h i k a e s h i " melody has the same r e c u r r i n g n o t e s as " H i , Pu,

Mi" b u t an o c t a v e h i g h e r ( i . e . , d , 2
g ,
2
d ).
3

7. Garfias (1975:143) w r i t e s t h a t " B a n s h i k i - c h o i s p e r -

haps the most e v o c a t i v e and e x p r e s s i v e o f the Togaku c h o s h i .

I t i s t r a d i t i o n a l l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e season o f Autumn, which

because o f the-.decay of l i f e brought f o r t h i n the S p r i n g i s

v a l u e d as the season o f m e d i t a t i o n and deeper a e s t h e t i c senti-

ments. Compositions i n t h i s c h o s h i a r e s e l e c t e d f o r performance

a t I m p e r i a l and Noble f u n e r a l s . " L a t e r he says t h a t "much o f

t h e c h a r a c t e r o f B a n s h i k i - c h o f o r b o t h the fue and hichiriki

l i e s i n the f a c t t h a t almost e v e r y degree e x c e p t the fundamen-

t a l and f i f t h i s t r e a t e d w i t h some type o f embellishment."

( i b i d . , 144 ) . Both o f these quotes a r e s t r o n g l y r e m i n i s c e n t

o f the a e s t h e t i c s s u r r o u n d i n g Honkyoku and t h e i r m e l o d i c c o n -

figurations .

8. "One o f the o l d e s t d a t a b l e m o t i f s i n A s i a n mythology

 169

i s that o f the l i s t e n i n g deer. I t appears i n the form o f two

deer f l a n k i n g a p r i e s t on s e a l s from Mohenjo-daro, e a r l i e r than

2000 B.C." "A T i b e t a n monk s a i d he b e l i e v e d T i b e t a n h u n t e r s

had a c t u a l l y used music t o a t t r a c t d e e r . M u s i c a l deer hunting

i s a widespread p r a c t i c e i n A s i a . In e v e r y case (reported i n

this article), a m u s i c a l instrument i s used f o r t h e same p u r -

pose: t o i m i t a t e t h e deer's mating c a l l . " (Ellingson-Waugh,

1974:23-24).

9. The use o f t h e word " t r u e " may stem from t h e f a c t

t h a t the K i n k o - r y u and Meian-ha S h i n K y o r e i a r e q u i t e differ-

ent. A s u p e r f i c i a l examination o f t h e Meian-ha v e r s i o n readi-

l y uncovers t h e f a c t t h a t i t i s m e l o d i c a l l y s i m i l a r t o t h e

K i n k o - r y u Banshiki-ch5 Honkyoku, b u t i n a s i m p l i f i e d form.

10. The e a r l i e s t names o f t h e San Koten Honkyoku, and

the names s t i l l u t i l i z e d by the Meian-ha, a r e K y o r e i , K o k u - j i

and Mukai-ji.

11. Japan i s n o t t h e o n l y A s i a n c o u n t r y t o have f u n c -

t i o n a l and independent Prelude t y p e s . The most n o t a b l e exam-

p l e s o f f u n c t i o n a l Preludes are the Indian "alap", Indonesian

"buka", and M i d d l e E a s t e r n "Taqsim". Significant independent

Preludes a r e t h e P e r s i a n "Avaz" ( N e t t l , 1972; Z o n i s , 1973), t h e

A r a b i a n independent "Taqsim" (Touma, 1971), and t h e Chinese

"Tao-I" (Liang, 1975). The most important d i f f e r e n c e between

 170

the Japanese and Chinese Preludes and the other Asian Preludes

i s that the former have a s k e l e t a l notation.

12. "Chikudo" i s the more grammatically correct term,

because i t employs the on-yomi (Chinese) readings f o r both

kanji, instead of mixing a kun-yomi (Japanese) reading ( i . e . ,

"Take") with an on-yomi reading ( i . e . , "Do"). However, "Take"

seems more appropriate because i t i s a t r a d i t i o n a l synonym f o r

"shakuhachi" among the Kinko-ryu musicians, and because the

t r a d i t i o n of Honkyoku i s as indigenous to Japan as the word

"Take".

13. A most i n t e r e s t i n g and curious: fact i s that the

t r a n s l i t e r a t i o n of "Shikan" i s "themeless" ( i . e . , non-struc-

t u r a l ) , while i t s l i t e r a l meaning i s "wandering f l u t e " .

14. Adriaansz (1973:227) brings t h i s same point forward

i n h i s o u t l i n e of koto performance practices. I t should be

noted that some o f the techniques required f o r performing J3on-

kyoku, p a r t i c u l a r l y the movement of the head during "meri-

k a r i " tonal i n f l e c t i o n s , m i l i t a t e against a p e r f e c t l y "tran-

q u i l " composure. However, i t has been my experience that a

number of shakuhachi performers e x p l o i t these techniques f o r

purely dramatic e f f e c t . Whether the drama of performance de-

t r a c t s from or enhances t h e i r musical expression w i l l be d i s -

cussed i n the Conclusion.

 CHAPTER 2

1. I t may seem redundant to use the word "end-blown" i n

a d e s c r i p t i o n of v e r t i c a l or h o r i z o n t a l f l u t e s , but there are

f l u t e s which are blown i n the middle (see "The c l a s s i f i c a t i o n

of the Flute," by Adolf Veenstra i n Galpin Society Journal,

V o l . XVII (1964), pp. 54-63). The Chinese "Ch'ih" (see Gimm,

1966:127) has had two forms: an end-blown transverse f l u t e

(S-H 421.121.12) and a middle-blown transverse f l u t e with one

end closed (S-H 421.121.32). The l a t t e r f l u t e has a short,

v e r t i c a l tube i n the middle of a h o r i z o n t a l body which i s

blown i n the same manner as a v e r t i c a l f l u t e . On e i t h e r side

of the duct are three finger-holes.

The end-blown, transverse Ch'ih (e.g., Needham and Robin-

son, 1962:146) may have been more common i n l a t e r Chinese music

as a " f o i l " f o r the end-blown transverse T i , (hence the t i t l e

o f
Mukai-ji rather than Mukai-ti)*

2. The meaning of "Huang" i n "Huang-chung" may be de-

r i v e d from the name of the mythical "Yellow Emperor", Huang-ti

(c. 2697 B.C.) who i n i t i a t e d the founding of the fundamental

tone by commissioning Ling Lun to f i n d the note i n "the West"

(see Needham and Robinson, 1962.178-79), or i t may stem from

171
 172

the color of the "chung" when i t was newly cast (Kuttner, 1965:

24).

3. In the Shih Chi by Ssu-ma Chien (145-90 B.C.), the

length of the Yo i s usually recorded as 8.1 inches (ts'un),

i . e . , .81 feet (ch'ih). (See Chavannes, 1897:111,314 and Need-

ham and Robinson, 1962:187.)

4. A study of the Chinese character f o r Yo reveals an

i n t e r e s t i n g theory concerning i t s organology. The e a r l i e s t Yo

mentioned i n the L i Chi (Legge, 1885:11,35-36); Couvreur, 1950:

1:2,736-37) i s described as a reed v e r t c i a l f l u t e , Wei Yo".

H

Later forms of the word Yo show i t associated with the bamboo

radical (a grass rather than a reed, i n the popular rather than

b o t a n i c a l sense) implying that i t was assimilated i n t o Chinese

culture by making i t with a more indigenous m a t e r i a l . This ety-

mological change has been used by Josango (1971:7) to support

Tanabe's d i f f u s i o n i s t theories (see Tanabe, 1959:25) that the

o r i g i n of the Chinese v e r t i c a l f l u t e i s i n the ancient Middle

East. In the fourth millennium B.C., the v e r t i c a l reed f l u t e

was recorded i n Sumeria (Galpin, 1937:13-14) and Egypt (Farmer,

1957:268-69; Hickmann, 1961:180) where i t was c a l l e d the "Sebi".

The reed f l u t e can s t i l l be found i n the Arab countries as the

"Nay" and i n the outermost reaches of Moslem influence, Indo-

nesia, where i t i s referred to as the "Suling" (Malm, 1967:22).

Tanabe suggested two possible periodsoof- d i f f u s i o n , both of

 173

which are dependent on Alexander the Great's eastern conquests

i n the 4th century B.C. The v e r t i c a l f l u t e may have proceeded

d i r e c t l y across c e n t r a l Asia v i a the S i l k Road i n the 4th cen-

tury B.C., o r i t may have f i r s t found i t s way i n t o India, and

then accompanied Indian Buddhist evangelists when they t r a v e l -

led t o China i n the 1st century A.D. Although both theories

are now suspect, the basic idea o f West-East d i f f u s i o n i s s t i l l

considered v a l i d . Using Legge's date (Legge, 1885:11,35), the

f l u t e may have been imported not l a t e r than the 3rd millennium

B.C., but, more probably, during the Hsia Dynasty (2nd m i l l e n -

nium B.C.) .

Another perspective o f the Chinese character f o r Yo sug-

gests a d i f f e r e n t d e f i n i t i o n . The lower h a l f o f the character

can be interpreted as "three mouths" ( ooo) i n one ( coo), blow-

ing over three pipes ( ), i . e . , panpipe, while the upper h a l f

suggests a r i t u a l sanction i n the form o f a "roof" ( v /Vs

*), i.e.,

temple, sign. However, Morohashi (1955r-60:XII, 1159), one o f the

foremost a u t h o r i t i e s on Chinese character etymology, does not

support t h i s view.

F i n a l l y , the Yo v e r t i c a l f l u t e i s often described as

having three finger-holes (as opposed t o three pipes i n the a-

bove interpretation) which suggests a performance p r a c t i c e s i m i -

l a r t o the medieval European Pipe (as i n Pipe and Tabor). Where-

as the European Pipe and Tabor performers c a r r i e d a drum s t i c k

 174

i n t h e i r other hand, the Wen Wu dancers c a r r i e d a pheasant

feather, T i (see Schafer, 1963:111).

5. Neither the Wen Wu dance or i t s associated Yo i s

found i n Japanese court dance music (Bugaku) because they were

incorporated i n Chinese r i t u a l music (Ya Yueh) which was not

imported i n t o Japan. The l a t t e r only received Chinese secular

and "foreign" music (see Malm, 1959:78 and Garfias, 1965:9-11).

In the present-day Korean court orchestra (A-ak), the Yo

appears as a three-hole v e r t i c a l f l u t e c a l l e d "Yak". However,

the Wen Wu dance and symbolic Yo disappeared from the A-ak r e -

p e r t o i r e some time a f t e r the 8th century (Chang, 1969:291,318).

6. I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to compare the same confusion o f

information that surrounds the Greek "Aulos", supposedly impor-

ted i n t o Greece i n the 1st millennium B.C., the same time period

that saw the movement o f the Yo from the Middle East i n t o China.

Although the f i n a l consensus was that the Aulos was a double-

reed wind instrument, I wonder i f the o r i g i n a l , "mistaken" d e f i -

n i t i o n of Aulos as "fJLutes" might be re-investigated i n the

l i g h t of the Kuan r e - d e f i n i t i o n .

7. Needham and Robinson (1962:145(e)) describe a v e r t i c a l

f l u t e which they c a l l T i , dating from the Warring States Period

(480-221 B.C.), with a dragon head on i t s mouthpiece.

8. Another d i s t i n c t i o n between the Tung hsiao and Ch'ih-

pa that i s u s u a l l y c i t e d i s the oblique cut on the blowing edge

 175

of the mouthpiece. The former i s cut inward while the Ch'ih-

pa i s cut outward. I t has been my experience that the d i r e c -

t i o n o f the cut i s moot.

9. Although the length o f the Yo (.9 feet) seems t o have

remained consistent, the p i t c h o f the Huang-chung and, there-

fore, the length of the Huang-chung Kuan, was h i g h l y v a r i a b l e .

Yang Y i n n i l i o u found " t h i r t y - f i v e p i t c h reforms, extending from

the l a t e Chou Period t o the Ch'ing Dynasty, during which the

p i t c h v a r i e d from d * t o a " (Pian, 1969:154).

1 1
Some o f the

lengths o f Huang-chung equivalents suggested by authors men-

tioned i n t h i s paper are "1.8" (Liu Hsu), "3.8" (Tu Yu) and

"2.4" (Ying Shao).

10. Sato Harebi (1966:1) describes the musical bodhi-

sattvas as "Gigaku Bosatsu". Gigaku, a music genre which ac-

companied dance-pantomimes, was imported by Mimashi (c. 7th cen-

tury) from the ancient Chinese province o f "Wu" (also "Kure" and

"Go" i n Japanese). Although the province's p o l i t i c a l fortunes

waxed and waned, the d i a l e c t o f the area, a l s o named Wu, r e - .'.

mained extant allowing us t o l o c a t e Wu i n the v i c i n i t y o f the

lower Yangtze River around Nanking and Shanghai (Reischauer and

Fairbank, 1958:60). The province o f Wu i s c o - i n c i d e n t a l l y the

• t r a d i t i o n a l source o f the most treasured species o f bamboo, the

"purple bamboo" (Kuretake) and "mottled bamboo" (Madaradake),

(see Harich-Schneider 1973:61 and Schafer, 1963:133-34). Hence,

 176

the frequent references t o "southern bamboo" such as the t i t l e

of Hakuga's major source, Nanchiku-fu.

11. I t i s apparent that Harich-Schneider (1973:102,195)

mis-translated t h i s piece of information.

12. The r e l a t i o n may be interpreted as three lengths o f

v e r t i c a l f l u t e s under the generic name o f "Yaku" (Ch. Yo).

13. The passage i n question was i n c o r r e c t l y t r a n s l a t e d

by Waley (1960:110) as a "large f l u t e " . Kencho Suematsu (1974:

133) translates the passage as "A large h i c h i r i k i and a saku-

hachi (sic) (two kinds of f l u t e ) . . . " .

14. "Flowers i n f u l l bloom / should loathe / the unex-

pected wind / o f someone blowing and blowing; / a Komoso with

his shakuhachi." (my t r a n s l a t i o n ) .

hanazakari m. <)
fuku-tomo dare ka < •4-
itofu-beki •h-
kaze n i wa aranu
R * < t
S * iff- is
komo no shakuhachi St Is

15. This theory o f f e r s fresh support •b'

f o r Tanabe*s d i f -

f u s i o n i s t theories outlined i n Note 4.

16. "With the collapse o f the Ashikaga Shogunate as a

c e n t r a l governing body i n the Onin War (1467-77), initiative

i n Ming trade was more and more assumed by c e r t a i n daimyo

houses i n Kyushu." (Varley, 1973:96). No doubt the Shimadzu

 177

was one of the daimyo concerned, n e c e s s i t a t i n g the question,

"Did the Tenpuku o r i g i n a t e i n China?". Again, the answer

should probably be "no" i n the l i g h t of my discussion regar-

ding Mo-so and Komo-so.

17. Major sources of music and information concerning

the h i t o y o g i r i are:

1. Doshokyoku (1657), anon.;

2. Shichiku Taizen: Ikanobori (1687), anon, (see K i s h i -

be, 1960:160);

3. Shichiku Shoshinshu (1664) by Nakamura Sosan.

18. In the Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (1965:

159), the entry under "Kakushin" indicates that the shakuhachi

teacher was Chang Hsiung (Cho Yu), the 15th p a t r i a r c h .

19. Conterminous with the Kakushin legend i s a l e s s e r -

known myth concerning Kakua ( f l . 1180), a Buddhist p r i e s t and

scholar of the Shingon Sect who studied Zen i n China before

E i s a i (1141-1215), the t r a d i t i o n a l founder of Zen i n Japan.

Muju Ichien (1226-1312) recorded i n h i s Shaseki-shu (Book of

Sand and Stone, 1279) that Kakua was such a recluse that h i s

pilgrimmage to China and h i s subsequent learning went unre-

corded. However, one piece of information has survived; Em-

peror Takakura ( r . 1168-1180) requested Kakua's presence as

a tutor of Zen Buddhism, whereupon Kakua a r r i v e d at the court,

blew a single note on a " f l u t e " , and then l e f t , never to be

 178

heard from again.

20. Weisgarber (1968:314) c i t e s 1642 as a founding date.

21. For t h i s reason, the i l l u s t r a t i o n o f a woman holding

a shakuhachi i n The Music and Musical Instruments o f Japan (Pig-

got, 1893:43) i s very curious.

22. Despite the p o p u l a r i t y o f the shakuhachi i n the San-

kyoku ensemble, i t has been my personal experience that the

"transplant'' i s a c t u a l l y unsuccessful. The kokyu i s eminently

compatible because i t shares many of the same c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f

the shamisen (see Malm, 1975:163) and i t o f f e r s an e x c e l l e n t

balance of sound i n the ensemble. On the other hand, the sha-

kuhachi i s b a r e l y audible i n the l i v e performances and the pyro-

techniques o f performing Gaikyoku ( e s p e c i a l l y the meri-kari

notes which require almost constant bobbing o f the head) are

unnerving. Further, the t r a d i t i o n a l nuances are e n t i r e l y l o s t

i n the scramble f o r notes. Other than the s a t i s f a c t i o n o f suc-

c e s s f u l l y completing a Gaikyoku performance, I have y e t to be

convinced o f i t s aesthetic pleasure.

23. A f t e r having been introduced to Tanaka Sensei by

Mr. Weisgarber, I was fortunate t o study with him during the

F a l l and Winter o f 1972-73 i n Kwansei Gakuin U n i v e r s i t y (Nishi-

nomiya, Japan).
 CHAPTER 3

1. The process o f developing a rapport between sensei

and student i s one o f the most i n t e r e s t i n g aspects o f Japanese

sociology. The spectrum o f r e l a t i o n s h i p s ranges from the un-

pretentious homilies depicted by Malm (1959:170-77) t o the sub-

lime and yet pragmatic "mondo" related by Suzuki (1959:13-15).

They a l l stem from the p r o t o t y p i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p o f the Zen

Master to h i s d i s c i p l e s i n which h i s "medium i s the message".

2. The s y l l a b l e s t h e o r e t i c a l l y have k a n j i equivalents

but they are not recognized by the r y u .

me(ri) (
) shaku(ri) ; ]f| )
C

ka(ri) IJjjT L
) tsu(ki) Jjj£. £

su(ri) fg )
l
yu(ri) f§ ')

ko(mu) ]7l $J mura-iki

ko(mi) Z2L 3I

Also, k a n j i equivalents e x i s t f o r the two abstract sym-

bols :

Na(i)yashi Odoriji

3. One may f i n d the technique o f moving the head and

jaw throughout the h i s t o r y o f the Western f l u t e , but only i n

the context o f tuning—never as melodic ornamentation.

179
 CHAPTER 4

1. A f t e r formulating t h i s hypothesis from my own studies,

I found a s i m i l a r hypothesis ( a l b e i t with no supporting evidence)

stated by Hornbostel (1975:50-51, 65-66) i n h i s "Studien uber

das Tonsystem und die Musik der Japaner", (1903), and found i n

Hornbostel Opera Omnia I (Martinus N i j h o f f : The Hague, 1975).

2. Various authors have described the phenomenon of sen-

r i t s u k e i as:

"melodic germs" (Malm, 1959:162);

"melodic patterns" (Malm, 1963:64);

"melodic c e l l s " (Weisgarber, 1968:319);

"stereotyped i n t e r v a l u n i t s " (Kishibe, 1969:53);

"stereotyped motives" (Harich-Schneider, 1973:333);

"stereotyped mosaic" (Harich-Schneider, 1973:333).

In the music theory vocabulary o f Shomyo, v o c a l s e n r i t s u -

k e i are r e f e r r e d to as "kyokusetsu" ("vocales forraules", see

"Bombai", 1930:106).

3. There i s some controversy surrounding the d e f i n i t i o n s

of the words "onkai", "senpo", and "choshi". In the following

pages, each word w i l l be introduced with d e t a i l e d explanations.

"Onkai i s a r e l a t i v e l y new word coined by Japanese music

180
 181

s c h o l a r s t o t r a n s l a t e t h e Western music term, " s c a l e " (Ongaku

Jiten, 1965-66:1,369).

The f o u r b a s i c s c a l e s o f Japanese music, R i t s u , Ryo, In

and Yo, have t r a d i t i o n a l l y been l a b e l l e d as "senpo" ("circular

law"), o r s i m p l y "sen", which i s t r a n s l a t e d as "mode" (Ongaku

Jiten, 1965-66:111,1626). The reason f o r t h i s nomenclature lies

i n t h e f a c t t h a t each o f t h e f o u r s c a l e s can be modally permuted

(e.g., Kitahara, 1966) and modally r e l a t e d t o each o t h e r (e.g.,

"Bombai", 1930:103-104).

The modal " s o l f e g g i o " t h a t i s used t o i d e n t i f y note p o s i -

t i o n s i n any g i v e n mode i s adopted from Chinese nomenclature.

I t c o n s i s t s o f two v a r i a n t systems which a r e adapted t o i n d i -

v i d u a l s c a l e systems. The Ryo senpo c o n s i s t s o f t h e f o l l o w i n g

syllables:

Degree No.: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Degree Name: Kyu Sho Kaku hen-Chi Chi U hen-Kyu

The R i t s u / Y o and In senpo mode degrees a r e l a b e l l e d :

Degree No.,: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Degree Name: Kyu Sho ei-Sho Kaku Chi U ei-U

The s y l l a b l e s t h a t a r e preceded by " e i " o r "hen" a r e

c a l l e d "hennon". T h e i r nomenclature i s adopted from Chinese

("pien"); b u t t h e i r f u n c t i o n seems t o d i f f e r from Chinese music

and o t h e r A s i a n c u l t u r e s t h a t adopted Chinese music. Current

d e f i n i t i o n s o f r e l a t e d hennon range from Rulan P i a n (1969:677),

 182

who defined pien notes as secondary notes (see Yasser, 1932),

to Tran Van Khe (1967:225), who found that Vietnamese hennon

were exchange tones ("metaboles") which signaled a modal modu-

l a t i o n he c a l l e d metabolation (also see Reese, 1940:160-61).

The d e f i n i t i o n of hennon i n Japanese music i s c u r r e n t l y

understood to be as follows: They are used i n conjunction with

Japanese pentatonic scales, making Japanese scales e s s e n t i a l l y

heptatonic, and they are never used as fundamental tones for

modes (see Adriaansz, 1973:31-33) or as metaboles. (An excep-

t i o n to the l a t t e r may e x i s t i n Shomyo which are e s s e n t i a l l y

pentatonic. See Docho, 1969:73-120.)

A second i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e i r role as "exchange tones"

can be posited without reference to Tran Van Khe's theory o f

metaboles. Assuming that the hennon are related to t h e i r lower

neighbours (sho/ei-sho = E^/F, .and u/ei-u = B^/C), one can see

t h e i r "exchange" roles i n the "Miyako-bushi" system (see Kishibe,

1960:129). . . - .__ .

The r e l a t i o n s h i p s shown by the arrows w i l l be described i n t h i s

thesis as upper and lower leading tone cadences.

Returning to the subject of d e f i n i t i o n s , the word which

has provoked the most confusion i s "choshi". Even the anonymous

 183

author o f the e n t r y for "choshi" i n Ongaku J i t e n (111,1876) d i d

not s u p p l y the customary E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n because o f the

obtuse u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h i s term. Malm (1959, 1963:index) and

Minagawa (1963:237) o m i t t e d t h i s c e n t r a l word i n t h e i r glossa-

ries. I b e l i e v e t h a t Harada (1963:962), Weisgarber (1968:325),

and Harich-Schneider (1973:631) i n c o r r e c t l y t r a n s l a t e d "choshi"

as "mode". Translations (some by inference) which a r e closer

t o the f a c t s are s u p p l i e d by Malm ("modulatory s c a l e " ; 1963:61),

Adriaansz ("tuning s c a l e " ; 1973:484), and Masumoto ("tonality";

1969:325). The words which are p r o b a b l y c l o s e s t t o the meaning

of "choshi" are "tonal transpositions" (as opposed t o modal

transpositions) c l e a r l y evident i n the following chart of Ryo-

senpo and Ritsu-senpo " t r a n s p o s i t i o n s " (brackets indicate hen-

non).

Ritsu Choshi

oshiki-cho
£ 3

hyo j o

banshiki-cho

taishiki-cho te*
(•) f
T-t1 1
 184

Ryo Choshi

sojo

i 1 1 '
ichikotsu-cho fnt—
/-• — fJt—.—

——- (») ,» rr r
suicho f ?

-f—1 1
— L

taishiki-cho

v ,. t r TJ 1 1 1 1

(Concerning the bracket around the i n sojo choshi, see Harich-

Schneider, 1973:128-129).

Each o f these scales i s i d e n t i f i e d by the name o f i t s fun-

damental tone ("cho" or "jo") which, i n Western music, i s c a l l e d

the t o n i c . The names of a l l Japanese tones are immutable and in-

dependent of modal or tonal transpositions, or octave placement.

The reader should not confuse these scales with Western music

modes. For example, the i l l u s t r a t e d scale of oshiki-cho i s not

the "re" mode of G Major Mode (see Apel, 1969:753 under "Scale,

III") but rather the Kyu mode ( i . e . , "do" mode) o f A Ritsu Mode

( i . e . , oshiki-cho, Ritsu-senpo).

The d i f f e r e n c e between "cho" and "choshi" i s that the f o r -

mer can be translated as "key" (e.g., the "key" o f ichikotsu,

 185

i . e . , tonic = D), whereas the l a t t e r ( l i t e r a l l y t r a n s l a t e d as

"key off-spring") r e f e r s to the e n t i r e musical e n t i t y , whether

i t be a scale or a composition.

It i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note the t r a n s l i t e r a t i o n o f the k a n j i

for the Zokugaku (Edo Period popular music) choshi nomenclature

h i n t s at extra-musical associations. The common choshi.are:

Hira — common, standard

Akebono — dawn

Nakazora — mid-day

Kumoi — sky, high noon

Masumoto (1969:291-326) has suggested that extra-musical

associations constitute part of the meanings of Gagaku choshi.

Another relevant d e f i n i t i o n i s that of " s e n r i t s u " , an

elegant and ancient denotation f o r "melody". (A: more humble

synonym i s "kyoku".) From t h i s word are derived " s e n r i t s u - k e i "

and "senritsu-po" ("music theory").

4. Both the In scale and the Fuke shakuhachi were i n d i -

genous to urban Japan at about the same time ( i . e . , 16th cen-

tury, see Adriaansz, 1965:9,33). I have wondered i f the H i t o -

y o g i r i and i t s music went the way o f the e x t i n c t Tsukushi-goto

because both genres d i d not adopt the "new" In scale, u n l i k e

the Fuke shakuhachi and Zoku-so.

5. The "natural" scale o f the shakuhachi i s the " r u r a l "

scale, Yo-senpo, which has the same basic configuration as the

 186

Gagaku scale, Ritsu-senpo. Several authors (e.g., Harada, 1963:

962) have suggested that only two scales a c t u a l l y e x i s t i n

Japan, a "Sino-Japanese" scale (Yo/Ritsu-senpo and i t s variant,

Ryo-senpo) and a "National" scale (In-senpo). The former proba-

bly preceded the l a t t e r because the In-senpo i s not heard o f

u n t i l the Edo Period. The Yo/Ritsu-senpo was the most popular

scale during the golden age of Gagaku (Adriaansz, 1973:33) and

may very well have been indigenous.

The "Miyako-bushi" equivalent for Yo-senpo i s c a l l e d

Inaka-bushi, and appears i n the following manner:

•j f=^r —
/
[t ^ n ~
\ 1J S> <s
C7

6. Malm (1959:160-161) suggested the same conclusion i n

an obtuse footnote. His reference to the Home Tones D and A

originates from the example l a b e l l e d " f i g u r e 16" which i s a

transposed t r a n s c r i p t i o n o f the f i r s t seven s e n r i t s u k e i o f Hi,

Fu, Mi, Hachi Kaeshi no Shirabe. The f i r s t bar (which should

be notated an octave lower) i s written i n three f l a t s (i.e.,

Chi-senpo, D cho). The same bar i s then transposed down a

perfect fourth to Chi-senpo IV, A cho, and the rest o f the

example continues i n t h i s same tuning, supposedly so that the

In scale diagrammed below with two f l a t s concurs with the mu-

s i c example. I f the e n t i r e music example were transcribed

 187

correctly, t h e t e x t on page 161 would read, " F i g u r e 16 i s t h e

f i r s t phrase o f a c o m p o s i t i o n whose f i n a l p i t c h i s G.,.j D

seems t o p r e v a i l throughout. I t might prove e n l i g h t e n i n g t o

f o r g e t t h e Japanese c l a s s i c a l t h e o r y o f Yo and In s c a l e s and

r e - a n a l y z e Edo music on t h e b a s i s o f s c a l e s on what i s now

c o n s i d e r e d t o be t h e dominant p i t c h ( D ) " .

7. P i g g o t t , 1893:92,98; H o r n b o s t e l , 1903:39; Yasser,

1932:50; P e r i , 1934:61; Sachs, 1943:125; Picken, 1954:590;

Picken, 1957:146; Malm, 1963:84; Tran Van Khe, 1967:43; Weis-

garber, 1968:331.

8. Examples o f ambitus a r t i c u l a t e d by p i v o t tones a r e

found i n Nohgaku and Biwagaku which, i n t u r n , were d i r e c t l y

i n f l u e n c e d by Shomyo music t h e o r y . I n Nohgaku, t h e t h r e e

p i v o t tones a r e l a b e l l e d "Jo" (low), "Chu" (middle) and "Ge"

( h i g h ) , and they a r e a P e r f e c t 4th a p a r t ( A k i r a Tamba, 1968:

217).

By comparing t h e m e l o d i c t h e o r i e s o f t h e above genres

w i t h Honkyoku, a more d i r e c t l i n k may be uncovered between

them.

9. There a r e two o t h e r types o f rhythmic d e l a y s which

can be used t o d e l a y t h e r e s o l u t i o n o f HA t o RO. Both i n c l u d e

the i n t e r j e c t i o n o f RA.
 188

0 — — N
—J ' Jin — * y—±
/
(l
v(..J 11 1
r

10. The purposeful i n t e r j e c t i o n of a foreign tone (i.e.,

K\) into a Honkyoku may be interpreted as a "modulation", but

the evidence does not support the use of t h i s word (despite

the fact that Honkyoku s y l l a b l e s may be chromatically a l t e r e d

to accomodate a movable "do").

The d i r e c t evidence i s very simple. The AS never r e -

places A , i t acts i n conjunction with i t , c r e a t i n g a b r i e f

sense of melodic expansion.

Two t r a d i t i o n a l facts also i n d i c a t e that modulation does

not e x i s t i n Honkyoku. F i r s t , the shakuhachi comes i n a wide

v a r i e t y of s i z e s s i m i l a r to the consorts of instruments i n

Renaissance Europe, but d i f f e r i n g i n that t h e i r s i z e s are one-

h a l f tone apart, amounting to approximately twenty s i z e s . Like

the shinobue (Malm, 1963:99), t h i s arrangement grew out o f the

need to accommodate any v a r i a t i o n i n "tunings" (Ryutaro H a t t o r i ,

1966:223), i . e . , modulations from one key to another. Second,

the Honkyoku duets are composed i n a s t y l e c a l l e d Fuku-awase,

which i s almost exactly the same compositional procedure as

Dangaeshi, a s p e c i a l i z e d form of Koto Uchi-awase (Adriaansz,

1973:16). Any two melodic l i n e s of common tuning may be juxta-

 189

posed because they have an "unchanging melodic structure"

(Malm, 1959:182), i . e . , they do not modulate. In the Honkyoku

duets, d i f f e r e n t melodic sections (not c a l l e d "Dan", however)

of the related solo are juxtaposed to form the duet v e r s i o n .

11. See "thematic germs" (Malm, 1959:162) and "theme mo-

t i f s " i n Persian avaz (Nettl, 1972:25-28). Neither of these

concepts i s relevant to the idea of Honkyoku "themes" because

the l a t t e r i s comprised of many "germs" or "motifs".

 APPENDIX A

SAN KOTEN HONKYOKU TRANSCRIPTIONS

The decision to transcribe these compositions i n the

following manner was a r r i v e d at through consideration of the

nature of the music. Individual performances are subject to

countless variables tempered by the Zen Buddhist sense of im-

mediacy which dpes not judge one performance better than ano-

ther. In fact, the aesthetics of "shibui" allow f o r sponta-

neous melodic events which a new l i s t e n e r might i n t e r p r e t as

mistakes. Therefore, a d e t a i l e d t r a n s c r i p t i o n of any one

performance runs counter to the "gestalt" of the music.

The following t r a n s c r i p t i o n s represent an i d e a l a p p l i -

cation of performance p r a c t i c e d e t a i l s taught by Tanaka Yudo.

Melodic ornamentation and a r t i c u l a t i o n have, been i l l u s t r a t e d

by juxtaposing them against the given notation;, the former

were drawn with upward-turned flags, while the l a t t e r were

drawn with downward-turned f l a g s . Melodic i n f l e c t i o n s have

been shown using heavy, black l i n e s that follow a given note.

The f i v e - l i n e s t a f f has been u t i l i z e d i n the following manner

in order to i l l u s t r a t e the various i n f l e c t i o n s . (Note that

" ' ' : • 190

 191

the unusual key s i g n a t u r e i s comprised i n a c o n f i g u r a t i o n t h a t

L
a v o i d s the s u g g e s t i o n o f E v
Major.)

The short, v e r t i c a l lines placed at regular i n t e r v a l s

along the bottom l i n e o f the s t a v e s suggest a progression of

time r e p r e s e n t i n g a p p r o x i m a t e l y 30 b e a t s p e r minute. Tonal

dynamics are so s u b t l e t h a t o n l y a sonograph can do them j u s -

tice; t h e r e f o r e , they have been o m i t t e d . The numbers found

i n the top l i n e ( i . e . , Japanese n o t a t i o n ) are added f o r r e -

f e r e n c e purposes; the v e r t i c a l dashes on which they r e s t are

major b r e a t h marks. Trills are marked w i t h a "+**.

 Mukaiji Reibo

192
194
195
 197

SIC

u &A
o •n-

u
; JJ__

it

15:

SIC"
JJ

fin
iJ

to.
\

so
ID

I
41^
198
 199

0- _

TP

IB .

0* •

4L
V-5 \
m

©0
a-
r>'.

t
II-
1
201
202
1

Koku Reibo

203
204
205
207
208
209
210
211
Shin Kyorei
217
218
219
220
221
222
i
 APPENDIX B

THE SAN KOTEN HONKYOKU SENRITSUKEI

The f o l l o w i n g s e n r i t s u k e i ( T o t a l = 270) have been

grouped a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r first and l a s t n o t e s . The number

a t t h e t o p o f each s e n r i t s u k e i i n d i c a t e s frequency o f o c c u r -

rence. Those few anomalies which o c c u r because o f s t a g g e r e d

b r e a t h marks have been c o r r e c t e d i n order t o i l l u s t r a t e

their original forms. F o r example, a TSU-RE senritsukei

t h a t has been d i v i d e d by a b r e a t h mark i s r e c o r d e d i n t h e

f o l l o w i n g pages under TSU-RE, r a t h e r than a s i n g u l a r TSU i n

one p l a c e and a l o n e RE i n another. F o r t h e sake o f conve-

nience, SS n o t a t i o n s have been employed.

223
224
 225

CHI

+
tr.
T
< t
<

m e r i CHI

f i i f f f
*1 4 «p ^ ^ > ? f f f 1
f
>> V #
t Y +f ? 7
7/ j 2
 226

U RE

5> '*?
i- ? f

RI

1 1

t> 1> t>

')
? V ? ?
9 0
I
?* ^ "
T
t <)

?
V ?i

?
id.
 227

HI

2 2 7 1 1 1 1 1

d d d d d c -3.
'i
f1 f t t0 ^f t
*>
f
V f

15 8

r d ,tl d d d tp* t>"

?Bfi ? ?<*! 7 8i) #7 i f '

&* < * i\ It
> d c?i t5fl d
m e r i HI

t_ d
^ *r i ^4 i £ ^
V d *
">
 228

HA

/ \ /_\ /=\ /5\ /*\ /*\ /fA y^v /*\ / \ s / \ s

"7 S
3l-

A Ai u
6 /.ft s
/a\

8/ \
o
8/ \
Dai-KAN HA / V

/ \
22.
3x ?

3L. '

KORO

1 4 1 1

? 3

o 6 6 6 6 9 6
? T ? ? ? ?

6
7 f
 APPENDIX C

FINGERING CHART

The holes i n the shakuhachi are numbered one to f i v e

from bottom to top. D i a c r i t i c a l numbers (suji) u s u a l l y i n -

dicate open holes, while the other holes are assumed to be

closed.

klofc to 5c«tk

Note that Finger 2 i n both l e f t and r i g h t hands remain

constantly on the instrument, acting as braces.

K a r i fingerings are executed with the head and jaw i n

the normal playing p o s i t i o n . Meri (or chu-meri) and dai-meri

fingerings require the head and jaw to be lowered i n order to

lower the p i t c h to the required degree.

For the sake of convenience, SS notation has been used.

229
 230

bo fro v
^
kari ft ft ft
ft 0 9
ft ft ft
ft ft 0
•_ 0 0_
ft 0
meri ft ft
(chu-meri) ft ft
ft 6
e o
_ _

dai-meri 9 ft
9 ft

• e

b^L ^ 'jo g

) • • 0
ft ft 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 ft 0 0
0 ft ft ft
ft ft 9
ft 9 e
" e e 0
ft 0 0
8 (9) 0 9
9 0
e o
0 9
0 0
9 9
 231

Kari F i n g e r Articulations

also 8va

& & 8
3:
ti
fc

I 0- 0-f • 0-0-i t-0-» 0-«-0

0 0 0 9-0-t 0 9-0-0 0
• 9 C-O-t § • 2° c-o-o 0
t_o-t §-o-« 0 «-«-0 0 0 o-o-o 0
• o o o o i o-f-0 •

Meri Finger Articulations

also 8va

, 4 4 4,
fl
J.L
1/ [
fl

(fc—T 1
pJ
-r-f3
v
bo p* y
u —

\iinir
"tr—r — 1

•_0-i •-0-i
ft
< © ©
ft-0-ft
1 0 0
0
< t-0-9 0
0 0
t> 0 0
0

/ \5
 232

Special Fingering Sequences

A? ^

9- 5*= 0 - JSZ

0 0
9 0
0

0
0 0 e
_9_ o
0 0-9-0 (repeated
• 0-0-9 J

Notated Finger A r t i c u l a t i o n s

fcl * >.

- — m s -p i 1_ H

fl
4 - 4 1 — -^ g
4

9 +0-9-0
} t 9 0
9 9' 0
kavt 0 i 0
9 9 0
0 9
0 0 9
_9_ >-0-< * e-9-e
0 0 0
9 9 9
9
Vvxtrt

US 9-9-9

N.B.; + and ^ signs

above r e f e r to the *3
explanatory diagrams
opposite.
 APPENDIX D

CHARACTER INDEX

1. Names

Throughout t h i s l i s t , a l l p r o f e s s i o n a l names ("Natori")

have been u n d e r l i n e d and p l a c e d i n f r o n t o f t h e f u l l name,

(i.e., natori, surname, p e r s o n a l name). F o r example, Hisa-

matsu Fuyo appears as Fuyo, Hisamatsu Masagoro.

Chang Hsiung Ennin (Jikaku Daishi)

I C S 3£ X gfP

Chang Po F u j i w a r a no T o k i h a r a

m . <e I I ,8| f

Chang Ts'an
Fuyo, Hisamatsu Masagoro
5f #
Chikan Z e n j i
Godaigo
m n- m
Ch'iu chung

JX ff Gokomatsu
^ 'h *&
Dogen Gor5 Yamaguchi
ii TE id Lb •

Eisai Goshirakawa
^ a /°J
En no Gyoja (Shokaku) Gosukoin
'<kft% 'h ft it ^

233
 234
Goyozei Kakua
& B§ /& n M
Hakuin
Kakushin

Hideyoshi, Toyotomi
Kawase Junsuke

Hitofu, Kojima Toyoaki K)\\

inko Im r o s amw a
, K u im Kohachi

- .JE & s BB W * M yR ^ A
H o t t o Ernmyo K o k u s h i Kinko II, K u r o s a w a Koemon

m m w m m w * m yR m -m n
Hotto Zenji Kinko I I I , Kurosawa Masajiro

m m n m W * m yR ft >x m
Hsilto (Kyotaku) K i n k o IV, Kurosawa Otojiro

w * m yR & )k m
Huang-ti Kodo I , Toyoda Katsugoro

m. m B3 m s. m
Hui-neng *Kodo I I , A r a k i Hanzaburo
* m j£ * ^ = m
I k k a n , M i y a g i «, uemon Kodo I I I , A r a k i Shinnosue
— m ^ ±fe ^ ; ;& ftf PI * ft: IfL * M 2. Bb
Ikki, Ikeda Sensuke Kodo, Ikeda
— BB <0J grj l I yfi a

Ingyo Koma n o Asakuzu

it, # fe m M
Itcho, Yoshida Kozo Koma n o Chikazane
— m ^ BB • m Jf = fe i£ M
Jodo, Yamada B e n z o Kondo Soetsu
$0 fi Lij S # M TS: B T£ 1%
Judo, Notomi Kujo Michitaka

K & m. #
 235

Kyoan, Fukumoto K a n s a i N o b u n a g a , Oda no

m. m *i * m M
Kyochiku Zenji Notomi Haruhiko

m m & &

Kyodo, Uehara Rokushiro 5ga no Koresue

it m
m. M i g A E m
Oga
x n

no Motomasa
x n m
Lin-chi
Omori Sokun
x m m m
Ling Lun
i§ m Oto no Kiyogami
Liu Hsu X F ># ±

fi| * Pan Ku
Lvi t s ' a i m m

a
Ma-tsu Tao-i Pao Fu
-I 1 it -
Mimashi
P'u-hua
3t Roan /
-ft
Roan
Minamoto no Daiken
M m m (a ^
Minamoto no Hakuga Sadayasu Shinno
M n m ^ i* a i
Minamoto no S h i t a g a u Sei jo
;
M m ># ±
Muju Ichien Seiwa

M a — SS ># m

Murasaki Shikibu
Shimadzu T a d a h i s a
' W ^
Nakamura Sosan
Shimadzu Tadayoshi
^ ^ E.
) ^ u& ^S:
 236

Shinji Ying Shao

6/7

Shuji (Chii H s i ) Yoritake Ryoen

If ^ -ti" 7 • HI

Ssu-rna C h i e h Yudo, Tanaka Motonobu

H] ffi M
s s 4 s
s M
S u g a w a r a no M i c h i z a n e
f JI 1 K
Sui Wen-ti
Pf * * *Kodo I I was a l s o known
T'ai-tsung as "Chikuo".

Takakura

Tengai Myoan
^ ?h #

Tokugawa l e y a s u

12§ Jl| ^ it
Tosa Mitsunobu
± ft ft
Tozan, Nakao Rinzo
m LJJ ^ Jm 51* H
Tu Y u
tt ^
Tuan An-chieh

i£ 3? m

Wu-men H u i - k ' a i

M: H is M
Yamamoto M o r i h i d e
i_U * ft
 237

2. M u s i c T i t l e s , Terms a n d P l a c e Names

A number o f J a p a n e s e w o r d s i n t h i s list do n o t match

their c o u n t e r p a r t s i n t h e t e x t because t h e l a t t e r have dashes

seperating syllables ( e . g . , Komuso, K o m u - s o ) . The d a s h e s

have been added i n o r d e r t o c l a r i f y t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p of cer-

t a i n words t o o t h e r , s i m i l a r words ( e . g . , Komu-so, Komo-so,

Mo-so), o r t o c l a r i f y t h e i r meaning.

Aichi bakufu
* m

aikido Banshiki

Akebono B a n s h i k i no S h i r a b e (Cho)

Akebono Shirabe be

Akebono Sugagaki biwa

m ^i s -fc e.
Akita Biwagaku
fX BB
I I I
Akita Sugagaki bombai
*X BB m s
A s h i no S h i r a b e Bon-odori

ashibue boroboro

m m S: 510
Azuma A s o b i bu
Sc m n
 238

"hue ( f u e ) Chikuo-ryu
m • 1T « *

bugaku Chikuzen-biwa

I i I I
bushi ch' i n
M ±
Bushido C h i u T'ang Shu
ft ± it m m *

Bushu cho
a 'Ji'l
byo Chochiku-fu
P ft n it
chokan
byoshi (hyoshi) ft 1=

chonin
Cha no Yu BT A

choshi
Chado m ^y-
^ i i
ch» i Cho-teki
SI ft ®
Chi chu

ch'ih (flute) Chu

4 1

ch'ih (foot) Chuden

R

ch'ih-pa chukuan

R A
C h ' i e n Han S h u chung
 239

Daibutsu Kaigon-e Edo (Tokyo)

x \k m 25 XL F (jf€ M)

daigijo ex-on
in-
* m. ti B

Da j o k a n p u ei-sho

X & t ft
daimyo ei-u

D a i Togaku Chugaku embai

^ m m * ^

Dan feng

Danawase Feng-su-t'ung
a ^ it
dangaeshi
S I L "Fu-Ho-U u

Darikyu
Fue-ondo
.§£ ^
danmono 'A
' l£ *&> Fuke

Dazaifu Fuke-an
* 3? m SOL It
s

Do ( c h . Tao) Fuke-shu
it ^ it m

Dokuso
Fuku-awase
n m

dosho
Fukuoka

Doshokyoku Funi
M H ffl
 240

Gagaku G i n r y u Koku (Reibo)

m m Dt 1 I ^ (f I)

Gagaku-ryo giri

Gaikyoku Go

Gaiten Honkyoku Gyoso no Te

^ n * ffl
Ha (association)
gaki
)Jf<
& (±1) Ha ( a s i n J o Ha Kyu)
Gakkaroku m

^ ^ «! hachi

Gakunin
2£ A H a c h i k a e s h i no S h i r a b e
H I © p ^
Gakusei
Gakuso Hakata

n z
Ge Haniwa
T
m m

Genji M o n o g a t ^ r i "Suetsuma Hana" Hannya H a r a m i t t a

:
M & wi m ^ m TE t s s i t
hasamiguchi
Gi m D

hayashi
»
Gigaku

haya-uta
Gigaku Bosatsu ^ IK
^ # Ri
Ginryu Heike-biwa
\T7 5=> 53= S=E
Q$ m -r Et e
 241

Heike*\-monogatari Hon

W. Wo II ^

hen-chi Honji-Suijaku

m M 4t * ±fe g &
hen-kyu Honjoshi
"a" * PI ^
hennon Honkyoku

Heng-ti Honshu
It © ' ' * 'j'H

Hi F u M i , H a c h i k a e s h i no S h i r a b e Honte
— ~ H i£ }S O P * ^
Hi Fu M i Kyoku Horyu-ji

— - E. a s i #

hichiriki hsiao

hijiri Hu-kuo-ssu

Hikyoku Huang

Hira-joshi huang-chung

*F . m + n m •

Hitoyogiri Huang-ti
— m w m &
Ho S h o S u hyojo

mw m ¥ P
Hogaku hyoshi

Hoko Ichigetsu-ji
 242

ichikotsu Izu
13 3.
ichi-shaku, hachi-sun Izu Reibo
( i s s h a k u -h a s s un) S #t 3S '
R A ^
Igusa Jaku

Igusa Reibo ji (flute)

1' f f I
Ikkwan ji (temple)

- m
Ikkan-ryu J i n r i n Kimmo Z u i

A m su m E
Ji-uta
In
ife WK
Jo (prelude)
Inaka-bushi
B3 # ^ ± -
Jo (Noh terra)
Inga-Ichinyo ±
s m — ta Jo-buki
i r e k o no te ff qfc

A- v ^ ^
Jo-choshi
Ise
ff P
Jo-hiku
Isshaku-sansun
ff 3$
- R E. ^ judo
ishibue
it
Juso
Ittchoshi
s i f
Kabuki
Iwato
m m 1*
Kayokyoku
az£ fi]

Keicho Okitegaki

:* * |
Kemraotsucho

it* *&>

ken

Kendo
m. m.
Kensho
Ji, 14

Kiai

Kinko-ryu
^ * 55SE

Kinpu-ryu

*s a ^
Kinsan Kyorei
— is IS
Kinsen

Kinuta Sugomori

k i - o toru

ko

koan
 244

Kodan Koro Sugagaki

m ±i
Kogaku
koten

"koi teki chokkan"

ft & a m koto

Kojidan Kotobuki Shirabe

. * 9 WL 5* gl=l ^

Kojiki K o t o j i no Shirabe

W tt <£> P ^

Kokoku-ji ko-tsuzumi
. PI m #

Koku-ji ku (anguish)

^ ./ft
Koku Reibo ku (no-thingness)

Kokuzo-do kuan

M
kokyu kuchi-shamisen

. ^ ' • '=

Koma-bue
kuden
r=j B5 &
•• e
komoso Kumoi

« <1 m' #

komuso kun-yomi

3£ Ii aJi| ETD

kondo Kure
,Q

"ko-ro, ko-ro" Kuretake

D a n a ^ ft
 245

Kuroda Lu
M ffl S

ft : Lu Kuan

Kyokunsho
Liing-ti
m. m &
m m
kyokusetsu madaradake
mm m n

Kyoreizan Meian-ji Mae-biki

SS. S. LL1 8£ Bf 3f m ?l t
"Kyotaku Denki" Kokujikai Mappo
^ m e is n =?= a?
Kyoto Meguro S h i s h i
§ * 3BP
Kyo(to) Reibo Meian-ha
^ ^ ^ « ' m Bf m

kyu (scale degree) Meian-ji

IT m Bf #

Meian Kyokai
Kyu (as i n Jo Ha Kyu) a,
3
B§ t&
Mikanko
Kyuko-an

°R >i m Miyako-bushi
Kyushu m ST5

Kyushu Reibo mondo

A. 'J'H St IS

L i Chi, "Ming T'ang Wei" Monju (Sk. Manjusri)

*L K, m m. m. * 5* (also X I*)
L i Chi, "Yueh Chi" Moso
 246

Mu-i. Natori
£ IX 0

Mujin Engi Nedake

3ft ^ W S i s -,IT
Mu j o Netori
3ft ^

Mukai-j i Nezasa-ha

.£E >Jf<
Mukaiji Reibo Nihombashi

B *
mu-shin no shin Nishaku-sansun
3ft -fr co >t> ~ R H TT"

Musashi Nishimi-ryu

ft jg ffi H 'A
Nagai Shirabe Noh

Nagasaki Nohgaku

Nagauta Nohkwan

Nakazora O-daiko

* * S£
Namima R e i b o odake

>J£ i t is m rr
Nan-Kuan Oden
. m m

Nanchiku-fu o-hichiriki
A-A-

Nara oko mu
a * 3m
 247

Ome Rei

it
Omote Reibo
it

Onin Reibo Nagashi

m c it IS 3£ L
onkai Reiho-ji
W Ft it .yi #

On-yomi Reitatsu

Osaka Rembo
A US

Oshiki R e n r i t s u no Mai
St fit
Jg$ 525 (7) ^

Oshiki-giri Rinyu-gaku
ft Hi tD • # s^
O-shirabe Rinzai-shu

A P 8™ 7^ ^

Oshokun ritsu

as m
,oteki ritsukan

P'ai Hsiao ritsusho

n m
pien "Ro-Tsu-Re"
• f£\ y
Pi-li ronin

>£. A
P' u-hua-tsung roshi

^ it ^
 248

Ryo Sandai J i t s u r o k u
. S H ft H ^
ryu san-fen sun-i f a
/VIL
H # ?i & m

ryugin Sanqo Yoroku

I ^ = £1 ^ i t
Ryukyu San Koten Honkyoku
m m = * A * ffl
Ryumeisho Sanjuniban Shokunin Uta-awase

si m t>
ryuteki Sankyoku

ti m
H ft

Sanmi I t t a i

Sabi
EL 1±L —

Sanya Sugagaki
Saemon
£ ffi n
Sagariha no Kyoku Sarugaku
T 0 m <75 &

Saidai-ji Shizaicho satori

a x # u m 'IS.
I a

Saiho-ji Satsuma
ffi 77 # .

Sakae S h i s h i Sayama Sugagaki

* P ^ .. ft llj f S
Sakkyoku Se
ft H
"sakuhachi no t e k i " Seiso
$ < ,. Ii *> oo ®
samurai S ekkyo-bu sh i
 249

Shika no Tone
Sendai
m. <n i i %
Shikan-taza
SenpS
R mn &
m Shimabara
Senritsukei
m wm &m
Shimadzu
Senritsupo
S3

shimomu
sensei
T 3&
ft ± ' '
Shimotsuke Kyorei
shakuhachi
T If I 1
R A
shin
Shakuhachi-shi
R A m
Shin K y o r e i
sharnisen
E. tin t& M m. s
Shaseki-shu Shin no Te
A CO ^
>'> ^ M
Shinkyoku
Sheng
Iff ft
shinobue
Shibui

Shingon-shu
Shichiku Shoshinshu
-s- -=-
& ft w >t> m
Shichiku Taizan: Ikanobori Shinhoshi
a >4
* ft * & mM
Shinto
Shih Chi
it
• £ 15.
Shinzei Kogaku Zu
Shih Ching
m m * mm
 250

Shirabe Shokunin Zukushi Uta-awase

fl) ^ i A § L t ^ *
Shirabe-mono shomyo
m *< %t>

Shishi shonin

m *
i§i A
Shosoin
IE ^
Shizen no Ne
Shusa-ryu
Shizu no Kyoku /JiL

m m z ft
Shushigaku

Shizuoka So

sho (mouth organ) so jo

M m

sho (pan-pipe) Sokaku Reibo

I H It I

sh5 (scale degree) Sornakusha

m M ^

Shoden So-shidai

m >x m

shodo Soto-shu
IF 5^
I fi it M

shofu
Shogun Suga
¥
Sugagaki
shoka

Suichikumei
shokunin
f!r .
m A
 251

suicho Tanteki Hidenfu

7K P 1S tat
suji' tatebue
1: m

Suijaku
tegoto

T a i H e i Raku
teki
x ¥ . n
m

Taigensho Tendai-shu
• 7T\
0
taiko Tengai

taishiki Tennin

X K A
take
Tenpuku

Takedo
Thung
1t it m
T a k i o c h i no Kyoku Ti (feather)

>^ j& ffle 1

taku Ti (flute)

takuhatsu Todai-ji

ft ft u C A #
Tanden Tofuku-ji
ft B3 • He *I #
Togaku
tankan

Togakushi
Tan-teki
* 5$; gp
 252

Tohoku Uchidome
JSC it nm it
Tokaido
Uchihajime

Tozan-ryu
m UJ m
Uchikae K y o r e i

Ts'ao-tung fr ^ J35
Ueda

T s u k i no Kyoku Uji
R <r> ffi
Tsukushi Ukiyo

Tsukushi-goto Ura
xa

ts'un Uta-awase

Tsurezuregusa utaguchi
m ^
IX •
T s u r u no Sugomori Wa Myo R u i j u S h o

ti <7> m « IP

Tung Hsiao Wagon

m m

T unq Tien
1
waka

U Wakayama

Ubasoku-zenj i Wei Yo

Uchi-awase Wen Wu
 253

Wu (province) Yokobue

Wu (shaman) Yoshino-Shui
^- ' i f it
Wu-men K u a n (Mumonkan) Yoshiya Reibo

3ft n m Yu
f g ^ I
Ya Yiieh

Yachiyo Sugomori Yueh

A ^ ft m
Yaku Yueh-fu Tsa-lii

H~t t "j m m m m

Yamabushi
Yiieh Shu
ill t£

Yamashina Kyogen kyorikki

Yugen
LU' n W m a is,
Yamato
X %Q Y u g u r e no K y o k u

Yamato K o s a k u E i s h o * * JZ ffl
Yuimagyo
x. *o m ^ #

Yamoto-bue Zazen
A *Q si-
Yang Zen
Ft

Yig Zendan

fiti is
Yo (flute) Zendo
'agio' I i t

Yo (scale) Zenkoku D a i k a i
X 3X
Zokugaku

Zokugaku Senritsu Ko
m m m w' #

Zoku-Kyokunsho
^ i£ SH t>

Zokuso
 255

3. Japanese H i s t o r i c a l Periods

Jomon (from c a . 8000 B.C.)

Yamato (300-710)

Asuka (552-646)

Hakuho (646-710)

Nara (710-794)

E a r l y Heian / Konin (794-897)

¥• & ft! m 5L. iZ

L a t e r Heian / F u j i w a r a (897-1185)
¥ $ m m m m)

Kamakura (1185-1333)

m a
Muromachi (1333-1573)

Bummei (1469-1486)

Momoyama (1573-1600)
m UJ
Edo / Tokugawa (1600-1867)

>r F
Genroku (1688-1703)
•ft ife

Meiji (1868-1912)
m te
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