My New Shakuhachi by Kodama Hiroyuki

I have just received a new shakuhachi made by Kodama Hiroyuki (he has also performed under the name Chiku Za). Kodama was a student of Okuda Atsuya, and they are my two favorite shakuhachi players. My teacher, Kiku Day, was also a student of Okuda, and there is a specific style in this school, called Zensabo, that focuses on natural, earthy sounds played on (often very long) jinashi flutes. As the biography I link to above says:

Living in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, he is able to harvest his own bamboo and makes jinashi shakuhachi and teaches shakuhachi honkyoku.

This is a 2.0, with a warm, resonant tone. It is a dense, thick piece of bamboo, and weighs 406g. I’m very happy to have a 2.0 shakuhachi, because since I have large hands, a 1.8 is a bit small, and the 2.2 I have (made by José Vargas, who learned from Kodama) is a bit long for me right now.

Here are a few photos of the new shakuhachi. Click the photos to see larger versions.

Here are two videos of Kodama, the first showing him playing a piece of honkyoku, and the second showing him working on making a shakuhachi, then playing a bit more.