A Collection of Moving Shakuhachi Masterpieces | Beautiful Japanese Melodies That Stir the Heart

Song of the Hu JiaMasamine Nomura

KOKA no UTA [Shakuhachi Solo 'Song of the Hu Jia'] (Composer: Nomura Seihō)

Composed by Masamine Nomura, this work unfolds like a grand panorama, expressing the protagonist’s sense of futility and homesickness through a dialogue between the sobbing timbre of the shakuhachi and two kotos.

Written in 1975, it appeared on the 1985 LP “The World of Masamine Nomura, Vol.

9,” and in March 2002 it was newly recorded for the acclaimed album “Song of the Hu Jia: Masamine Nomura Works, Vol.

3.” It’s a perfect piece for those who wish to contemplate the flow of eternity and quietly fill their hearts.

Why not listen closely to the story woven by Japan’s traditions?

The Path of the WindJoe Hisaishi

The Path of the Wind - from My Neighbor Totoro (Shakuhachi Trio)

The insert song from My Neighbor Totoro, “Path of the Wind.” Among the music from Studio Ghibli works, this piece is particularly popular, and when played on the shakuhachi, it gains an added air of wistful melancholy that gives it a different kind of charm.

Joe Hisaishi’s simple, handcrafted melody pairs beautifully with traditional Japanese instruments, too.

It’s also fun to compare it with the original recording!

Distant sound of deerShakuhachi Classical Honkyoku

Shika no Tōne (Goro Yamaguchi & Reibo Aoki)

These are honkyoku pieces from schools such as Kinko-ryu, Meian Shinpo-ryu, Meian Taizan, and Ueda-ryu.

Although they are sometimes played on a single shakuhachi, they are customarily performed as a two-shakuhachi call-and-response.

The Meian-lineage pieces were long considered secret and were not widely known, but in recent years they have come to be performed on CDs and at dedication concerts.

Tozan-ryu Honkyoku 'Kogarashi'First Nakaō Tozan

Kogarashi (a honkyoku piece of the Tozan-ryu shakuhachi) by Tozan Nakao

This is one of the Tozan-ryu honkyoku pieces.

Composed by the first Nakao Tozan in November 1923, it is said to liken the desolation and harshness of Tokyo turned to ashes after the Great Kanto Earthquake to a wintry wind.

By employing techniques such as momite and mawashi-yuri, it conveys the roughness of a gust sweeping through, along with a tense, high-register sonority and a sense of nihilism—an effect that can only be called masterful.

It is a masterpiece that combines Western musical expression with the honkyoku elements of the East.

Crane’s NestingShakuhachi Classical Honkyoku

Shakuhachi Classical Honkyoku, Kyoto Myoan-ji Tradition: “Tsuru no Sugomori”

This is one of the representative pieces of classical shakuhachi honkyoku.

It has also been widely incorporated not only into shakuhachi repertoire but into jiuta, instruments such as the koto and kokyū, and even stage arts like kabuki and jōruri.

Many versions are programmatic works with a sectional structure, depicting the birth of a fledgling crane, its leaving the nest, and the death of the parent crane, and they make extensive use of onomatopoeic sound effects such as tamane and other special techniques.

Singing Dragon in the VoidShakuhachi Classical Honkyoku

Ginryu Void (Ginryu Koku) Yamaguchi Sho

This is an original piece in the Kinko-ryū and Meian Shinpor-ryū traditions.

It is a type of “Koku,” and according to the shakuhachi repertoire list in the Kinko Notebook, it is said to have been transmitted by Ginryūshi, a disciple of Ichigetsu-ji Temple.

Originally, Ginryūshi arranged “Koku” and passed it on to Kurosawa Kinko; hence it came to be called “Ginryū Koku,” taking its name from him.

Yobi-dake, uke-dake

Shakuhachi Classical Honkyoku: Calling Bamboo, Answering Bamboo — Question (A) three times, Response (B) once — Shakuhachi Yobitake-Uketake

It is one of the classical honkyoku pieces for the shakuhachi.

It appears to have been used as a form of etiquette for greeting each other by exchanging shakuhachi playing.

By deciding on preset melodic patterns for communication, it was also employed for covert activities such as sending messages or signals.

Although the musical character varies, many pieces exist with a similar significance.