Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Kiku Day · 2008-08-11 04:36:45

This book has been a very long time on its way... and there have been an extreme need of a new and good general book on Japanese music for the last 50 years. But now it is really coming (in September) and is called:

The Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music (SOAS Musicology Series)

The book is edited by Alison Tokita and David W Hughes, both very solid scholars in Japanese music. David is my adviser and is, besides being a good scholar a very cool guy. He has just retired from SOAS, University of London.

The section on shakuhachi is written by Tsukitani Tsuneko, the foremost shakuhachi researcher in Japan, and translated by Charles Rowe. This chapter sums up really well history of the shakuhachi, the instrument, honkyoku, schools, musical genres, notation and performance techniques.

I haven't seen all the chapters yet, but the ones I have seen are very good. There are all the classical Japanese genres, but they also touch upon Western influenced classical, pop etc. It is a must have book in English for anyone who is interested in Japanese music.

See the book on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/69vx8g
Read about the book on Ashgate's website: http://tinyurl.com/68pljn

Last edited by Kiku Day (2008-08-11 06:50:13)

Josh · 2008-08-11 10:58:53

This looks like a great book Kiku.I can't wait! Did you get a section in it?
Let me know when when you're ready to shock the world with our book collaboration

Daniel Ryudo · 2008-08-11 21:13:48

Thanks for the book information Kiku. Just last week I was asked to teach a class related to shakuhachi or Japanese traditional music history for advanced English language learners in a new Japanese studies program being planned for a prefectural university in Kochi. The course won't start up until 2010 so that'll give me some time to find resources such as the one you mentioned as all I have is Malm's Traditional Japanese Music (I just ordered Henry Johnson's fairly recent book on koto). Any other suggestions for good resources would be appreciated. It's going to be traditional Japanese music in seven 90 minute lessons. I'm supposed to turn in a course description this week; never having taught anything like this before (or even taken an ethnomusicology class) I would welcome any advice by anyone who has experience in this area.

Last edited by Daniel Ryudo (2008-08-11 21:23:42)

Nyogetsu · 2008-08-11 21:40:39

Hi Daniel,

Contact my dear friend (and Shamisen/Koto Natori) Dr. Henry Burnett (Asst. Chair of the Aaron Copland School of music at Queens College, CUNY).
He has taught both Japanese Music and Asian Music for the past 3 decades - both on the graduate and under-graduate levels. Together , we are 2/3 of the New York Sankyoku Kai (together for 35 years -the oldest traditional Japanese music ensemble in this Hemisphere !)

Mention my name.
Henry's email is <HBurnett@mindspring.com>

Good Luck!
Ronnie

Daniel Ryudo · 2008-08-12 05:02:14

Hi Ronnie,

Thanks much for the contact advice. Congratulations on the thirty-five years with New York Sankyoku Kai. Sounds like a world record for outside of Japan! (still have a ways to go as I'm only in the beginning of my second decade of playing with Kochi's Sankyoku Kyokai and that's usually with a big ensemble; a trio's a bit more of a tightrope walk, though I imagine having been together that long you must have the musical interaction down very well).

Best Wishes,

Daniel

Last edited by Daniel Ryudo (2008-08-12 05:27:40)

Kiku Day · 2008-08-12 09:29:19

Josh wrote:
This looks like a great book Kiku.I can't wait!

Hi Josh.
I agree, I really can't wait for this to come out either. We so need a good general book on Japanese music.

Josh wrote:
Did you get a section in it?

Well, they had the choice between me and Tsukitani... Just a bad joke, of course. Most of the material for this book was collected before I even knew about the study of ethnomusicogy. It was revised last year so it is up to date.

Josh wrote:
Let me know when when you're ready to shock the world with our book collaboration

Anytime, babe! Oh, perhaps I should say whenever after I am finished with my PhD. This writing is a slow process. But then you have to finish yours. Let's say we do a project when we can say Dr to each other. I am sure it could be fun!

Daniel Ryudo wrote:
Thanks for the book information Kiku. Just last week I was asked to teach a class related to shakuhachi or Japanese traditional music history for advanced English language learners in a new Japanese studies program being planned for a prefectural university in Kochi. The course won't start up until 2010 so that'll give me some time to find resources such as the one you mentioned as all I have is Malm's Traditional Japanese Music (I just ordered Henry Johnson's fairly recent book on koto). Any other suggestions for good resources would be appreciated. It's going to be traditional Japanese music in seven 90 minute lessons. I'm supposed to turn in a course description this week; never having taught anything like this before (or even taken an ethnomusicology class) I would welcome any advice by anyone who has experience in this area.

Congratulations on your lectureship in Japanese traditional music in English! That's great! And you have plenty of time to prepare. I am going to teach BA and MA students in Japanese music this coming winter at SOAS. So, perhaps we can exchange sources. I can't think of good new books on traditional Japanese music, part from Johnson's book and David Hughes' latest on min'yo (Traditional Folk Song in Modern Japan: Sources, Sentiment adn Society. Global Oriental).
Others I found useful but not directly related were:
• Tomie Hahn (did you meet her at WSF in NYC?). 2007. Sensational Knowledge: Embodying Culture through Japanese Dance. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
• Atkins, E. Taylor. 2001. Blue Nippon: Authenticating Jazz in Japan. Durham: Duke University Press.

Otherwise I just read articles and browse the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians + The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 7: East Asia: China, Japan, andKorea. New York: Routledge.

If you'd like, I can email you David Hughes' extremely long and extended reading list for the Music of Japan course at SOAS.

Daniel Ryudo · 2008-08-12 22:01:51

Thanks, Kiku. I was lucky; just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Wow, so you are teaching BA and MA students this winter at SOAS. Your courses will be much more in detail, I think. Yes, exchanging sources might be a good idea; I'll tell you if I find something interesting. No, I never met Tomie Hahn, though I've read a little about her work; I guess maybe she was one of the panelists at one of the WSF events in NYC? Yes, New Grove and Garland are good, aren't they? ; we don't have those volumes here but I've browsed New Grove over at Kyoto U., and seen the newer Garland when visiting one of my old schools in the U.S.A.; I remember seeing an article by Chris Blasdel in the latter. Thanks for the other titles. Yes, if you don't mind mailing David Hughes' reading list; that could be useful, at least to know of the works; knowing David, I'm sure it is substantial. His niece was here in Kochi working as an ALT for three years; one day we were discussing world music in a local pub in Kochi and guess whose name came up; small world... You're lucky to have had him as one of your profs.

Yungflutes · 2008-08-13 11:07:00

Konichiwa Minasan,

I met Tomie at Ralph Samuelson's New Years workshop earlier this year. She showed up without a flute so I loaned her mine. She's doing some very cool stuff with dance, technology and identity.

I'll certainly get the book. I've managed to piece together the history of shakuhachi music and the flutes associated with the periods through a myriad of sources. It would be great to have it in one place. I've enjoyed being a guest artist at a few Universities for shakuhachi lec/dems and workshops. I don't think I would tackle a full on semester of teaching!

Kudos to you guys! - Perry

Last edited by Yungflutes (2008-08-13 11:08:41)

Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

#1 2008-08-11 04:36:45

New book on Japanese music

#2 2008-08-11 10:58:53

Re: New book on Japanese music

#3 2008-08-11 21:13:48

Re: New book on Japanese music

#4 2008-08-11 21:40:39

Re: New book on Japanese music

#5 2008-08-12 05:02:14

Re: New book on Japanese music

#6 2008-08-12 09:29:19

Re: New book on Japanese music

Josh wrote:

Josh wrote:

Josh wrote:

Daniel Ryudo wrote:

#7 2008-08-12 22:01:51

Re: New book on Japanese music

#8 2008-08-13 11:07:00

Re: New book on Japanese music

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