Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Jin Nyodo (b.1891, d. 1966)

Last edited by Chris Moran (2006-05-30 19:16:50)

Regarding some photos I have posted on http://www.flickr.com/photos/shakuhachi

dstone wrote:

The novelty and utility of the "shakukatana" flute-sword.  Was this contraption common at all?  Seems like a great prop for a movie or anime at least...

I have no idea. That was something I ran across on eBay. I think it sold for just under $300. I wouldn't be able to say if the blade had any real value. The flute may have at one time been a usable instrument. I don't know that either. But it does belong in a Zatoichi or Lone Wolf and Cub movie, doesn't it?

A lot of interesting "treasures" come and go on eBay which should be in museums (even little informal museums like the mom-n-pop museums that you used to see on Route 66.)

dstone wrote:

The Mugai (Fukushima?) hocchiku.  (Student of Watazumi.)  I've never seen an utaguchi protector like that.  Quite logical and elegant!  And requiring non-trivial skill to make, I think...

I believe you're right: Fukushima is the man behind the Mugai stamp ((June 2 update: matter of fact, looking at that old Mejiro page right now, I see that Fukushima is his first name. Mugai Fukushima. Thank you Darren!)) (Mejiro had a "makers" page on their old site that I can no longer find, so once again, I can't be certain, but perhaps you have more info? I'd love to know more about this man). I've had dreams of watching a shakuhachi maker making that kind of utaguchi protector since I first came upon this picture of the Mugai 2.0 on Mejiro's old site. It is haunting in its refinement.

Last edited by Chris Moran (2006-06-03 00:21:34)

Hey Chris!

What an excellent collection you got there! Thanks for sharing those great pictures! Really interesting...

Hi Chris,

     I enjoyed browsing through your collection of shakuhachi photos; nice pics of biwa and sho too.  The shakukatana was interesting; I'd heard some talk about it but had never seen a photo of one.  When I was a kid I inherited a sword/cane which my grandfather picked up in World War I in France; my mom was using it for support at one time not knowing that it had a sword concealed in it.  Great photos of Jin Nyodo in that acoustic space, and of Watazumi with his massive hocchiku flutes.

Last edited by Daniel Ryudo (2006-05-31 05:16:57)

dstone wrote:

I was surprised to see some of his jinashi non-root flutes commanding quite a high price.  (Well, for non-root, I though it seemed high.)

-Darren.

Yes, I'd be pretty certain that his status as a student of Watazumi and the only (last) disciple making flutes inflates the price, but such is the nature of art and economics.

Some of his flutes look to me as though they are made from very old, rare bamboo. There is a whole 'cult' of artisans and collectors who hold susudake  in prized regard. From what I can tell this is old babmboo used as roofing support in old traditional Japanese cottages and is smoked from years of catching smoke from home cooking fires. Rare and expensive. Pros and cons run the gamut in the shakuhachi community about its true value in producing a superior shakuhachi.

One of the old styles of making instruments was to make evenly sized holes in evenly spaced placement. This could make tuning the bore a very delicate and interesting proposition. He also may be making some of his instruments from close-to-the-root pieces which would assist bore taper. All of this is guessing, of course, since I've never played one, nor heard anyone play one.

Finally, it looks like he polishes and finishes his flute to a very refined degree. The utaguchi caps being a case in point. This could also just be what John Singer has referred to as the "Gold Watch Syndrome".

Has Alcvin Takegawa Ramos ever commented on Mugai?

Tairaku wrote:

... When Beuys plays the triangle it is fabulous.

I haven't seen the film, only still photographs. Duchamp, Bueys and Nauman were my main main influences studying art. Ruined me for making any kind of career in fine or commercial art ( -- it was the '70s and money was still 'evil' ... rainbows*, weed** and ripple***).

* (real rainbows, not tuinal)

** (this I really shouldn't have to astrisk for anyone)

*** (as in "ripple effect" or Grateful Dead's "Ripple", not the convenience-store wine, Ripple)

See 'Off Topic' for Beuys photo and comments

Last edited by Chris Moran (2006-06-01 04:59:33)

Chris Moran wrote:

Back to Jin Nyodo's music ...

Brian, do you (or any other Jin Nyodo student here) know what length shakuhachi Mitsuhashi Kifu is playing on Somakusha on the cd The Art Of The Shakuhachi Vol.1?

I checked it out once and I believe it is a 1.6. I don't have it with me right now, but if you have the music check if it matches up.

jamesnyman wrote:

Tairaku is correct. The liner notes for the CD state that Mitsuhashi Kifu uses a 1.6 shaku for cut number 3 which is Somakusha.

Thank you, Tairaku. And thank you James!  I do not have the music (yet ... a rather long "yet").

The Jin Nyodo music in the complete handwritten collection is a bit daunting in its detail from the excepts I have seen in the (all Japanese language) book which accompanies the cds. There is a copy on the web which I downloaded and put up  on my flickr.com account of the Jin Nyodo handwritten Kyorei which - I think - beginners like me can decipher, at least part-way. That particular sheet also includes 12 lines, apparently an essay by Jin on how to approach the music which, of course, I can't read.

Does every Jin Nyodo student use the handwritten text set or are there others?

Last edited by Chris Moran (2006-06-03 00:45:10)

Chris Moran wrote:

Does every Jin Nyodo student use the handwritten text set or are there others?

Here in America Jin Nyodo visited in the early 60's. He had a student in L.A. (I think named Yamaguchi Hodo) who obviously used Jin Nyodo's notation when teaching his students. Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin brought the Jin Nyodo style over from Japan in the late 60's. He uses notation from his teacher Kurahashi Yodo (Kurahashi Yoshio's father). It's a little easier to read than that of Jin Nyodo. Ronnie and most of his students use it. The Jin Nyodo notation was only republished a few years ago, so now it's coming back into circulation.

As far as the annotations and instructions in the notation, you get that from your teacher when you study. Maybe there's a scholar out there who could catalog all of Jin Nyodo's instructions with their translations into English.

nyokai wrote:

Well I'm no scholar and this is far from complete, but I do have a handout for my students. See http://www.nyokai.com/jinsym.pdf (especially page 2)

No scholar indeed! Can you make another post under notations so I can sticky it for future generations? Thanks Nyokai!

Hi all,

I been searching the web for any decent biography of Jin Nyodo... Couldnt find any. Do you know where to find it or what it is?

Thanks a lot,

Marek