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#1 2008-11-14 01:41:00

BrianP
Member
From: Ocala, FL
Registered: 2006-11-03
Posts: 289
Website

Okuda Atsuya

I was curious who Okuda Atsuya studied with?  I have read the bio on him but I didn't see who his teacher was and I was curious what ryu his music would mostly be associated with.

Thanks,

Brian

Last edited by BrianP (2008-11-14 02:15:17)


The Florida Shakuhachi Camp
http://www.floridashakuhachi.com
Brian's Shakuhachi Blog
http://gaijinkomuso.blogspot.com

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#2 2008-11-14 12:28:07

Kiku Day
Shakuhachi player, teacher and ethnomusicologist
From: London, UK & Nørre Snede, DK
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 922
Website

Re: Okuda Atsuya

BrianP wrote:

I was curious who Okuda Atsuya studied with?  I have read the bio on him but I didn't see who his teacher was and I was curious what ryu his music would mostly be associated with.

Thanks,

Brian

A lot of people have speculated on who is the teacher of Okuda Atsuya. Okuda himself likes to claim that he is autodidact. This, of course, does not help in rumours spreading. During the 19 years I have known Okuda I have collected different hints of teachers and mentors. The last few years, after hearing loads of speculations and claims, I began to ask direct questions. Here is what I have gathered:

Okuda is mainly autodidact. He seems to consider to have two mentors. One is for real, the other is at a distance.

The 'real' one is Okamoto Chikugai. I can understand Okuda spent more time talking about the repertoire and the research done by Okamoto than directy learning the pieces. Okuda told me he listened to Okamoto play quite a bit, but did not really take formal lessons. Okuda himself does a lot of research into Myoan/Fuke pieces before he adds them to his repertoire. One of the great sources of rare scores he has comes from Okamoto who allowed Okuda to take copies or study the scores. I gather from the way Okuda speaks about Okamoto, that they had quite an intense relationship.

The other mentor 'at a distance' is Watazumi. Okuda did not take formal lessons here again. But he went to all the Watazumi concerts he could from he was a teenager. He asked me, who had just began to study shakuhachi if I wanted to come to a concert of a 'crazy guy, who did not play as well anylonger as he used to'. My unfortunate fate was that I had to work that evening... and never got to see Watazumi's last concert! What a bummer! Anyway, that was a side step. So, Okuda has a lot of Watazumi pieces in his repertoire, carefully studied by looking at him and listening.

So, according to Okuda himself, these are the two main influences on his playing and attitude to the shakuhachi.

He has followed other players, but never got as enchanted with their playing and knowledge as the two above. He, for example, spent quite some time hanging out at Yokoyama Katsuya's dojo once upon a time. According to Okuda, it began with Watazumi telling Yokoyama that he needed to listen to jazz if he wanted to become a good honkyoku player. Yokoyama's mother then called Okuda's mother and asked if she could send her son, the jazz trumpet player over (the two families had played music together before). So, Okuda went and played jazz trumpet for Yokoyama. Okuda liked the environment at the time at Yokoyama's dojo, so he hung around. He told me he learned one piece from Yokoyama, which was... I forget... Hi fu mi hachigaeshi (I think), because he liked that version of that particular song. Okuda is very meticulous when it comes to pieces, so for me it is no surprise he takes a pieces here and another piece there. Eclectic, one could say too.

That is about the 3 people Okuda has mentioned although sometimes there are hints at other players he has followed to some degree. What I think is most important here is to let Okuda tell his own story, although it can be annoying he doesn't tell that much. It is after all only Okuda who can feel whether some players had a big influence on him or not. I think he does a lot of studying, going to libraries/shakuhachi collectors' places to get documents on shakuhachi and listens or at least listened to a lot of recordings and concerts in order to put together a way he likes a piece to be played. I know he puts a lot of importance on 'authenticity' - what-ever knotty subject that is. But he also knows that music is alive and changing all the time. But a lot of time and thought has gone into creating his renditions of the pieces he plays. He has a fantastic memory and has probably more than 50 honkyoku memorised. He never taught looking at the score while I learned the 40 or so pieces from him.

ABout ryu-ha. Well, Okuda does not have a ryu to be associated with because he worked mostly individually. Accidently he has almost created his own school, the Zensabo style. I'd say his style of music is somewhat closest to Watazumi's style, although he has a more.... urban sound than Watzumi's wonderful earthy sound. I am not sure these analogies help describing the differences. One could perhaps also say 'modern individual myoan' (which Watazumi could fit under too). But now I am just finding boxes to categorise, and I better stop because I think both Watazumi and Okuda would hate to hear me put them into boxes!

I will be happy to reply, as well as I can, any questions about him. I think he does contribute a lot to shakuhachi music and is one of the main players of the jinashi revival we have seen in recent years.


I am a hole in a flute
that the Christ's breath moves through
listen to this music
Hafiz

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#3 2008-11-14 13:59:18

BrianP
Member
From: Ocala, FL
Registered: 2006-11-03
Posts: 289
Website

Re: Okuda Atsuya

Thanks Kiku.  I was curious.  I have his album and when I tried to find his influences I had some trouble.  I appreciate all the time you took replying.  It was very helpful.

Brian


The Florida Shakuhachi Camp
http://www.floridashakuhachi.com
Brian's Shakuhachi Blog
http://gaijinkomuso.blogspot.com

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#4 2008-11-15 06:28:55

Kiku Day
Shakuhachi player, teacher and ethnomusicologist
From: London, UK & Nørre Snede, DK
Registered: 2005-10-07
Posts: 922
Website

Re: Okuda Atsuya

My pleasure! smile
I understand you getting curious. I am still curious how this man can memorise so many honkyoku and almost studying it on his own. But as he has been in contact with many teachers, he knows a lot of alternative fingering etc.
I hope Okuda's second CD will come out soon....
This one is much better recorded.


I am a hole in a flute
that the Christ's breath moves through
listen to this music
Hafiz

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#5 2008-11-16 09:13:40

Daniel Ryudo
Shihan/Kinko Ryu
From: Kochi, Japan
Registered: 2006-02-12
Posts: 355

Re: Okuda Atsuya

It was interesting to read about Okuda and his musical influences; thanks, Kiku. And he's memorized 50 honkyoku...wow.  I enjoyed taking a couple of lessons with him at the shakuhachi summer school in London a couple of years back.

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