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My teacher during most of my thirteen year shakuhachi life has been Kurahashi Yoshio (Myôan honkyoku, sankyoku). Additionally, David Wheeler has taught me many Chikuyusha sankyoku and Kinko honkyoku. Michael Gould trained me to play most of the Dõkyoku compositions.
I also enjoy a wide range of Chikuho koten honkyoku pieces, received from Riley Lee, on his occasional visits.
My given teaching name, (Yūdo 幽堂, meaning 'mystical shrine'), is from Kurahashi Yoshio of Mujuan dojo in Kyoto, in an unbroken line of transmission from the koten honkyoku collection of Jin Nyodô and the Fuke temples of Edo period Japan.
I love Japanese music of all kinds, from biwa, to Enka. From Hauta to Nagauta, and all the classical ensemble pieces. I'm particularly interested in Myôan honkyoku of different lineages and locations in Japan.
Teaching
Honkyoku is a path of refinement and elegance, the core of my teaching. To study and play shakuhachi is to create a formal arena in which all of the components of one's being are, together, given the deepest attention and refinement possible.
I think of Honkyoku as beautiful polished stones, and in the polishing lies the secret of its joy.
I live near Boulder, Colorado and we have an active Japanese music community here. I organize regular Sankyoku Intensives with David Wheeler and Yoko Hiraoka teaching classical ensemble. Players fly in for focused study over a three day period.
Yoko and I teach from our home in Louisville, where we also have traditional spaces for Japanese tea ceremony. Between us we teach koto, shamisen, shakuhachi, biwa and tea. A part of my time is also engaged as an impresario for Japanese traditional music. I research performance opportunities and bring Japanese musicians and USA venues together.
My intention with starting Japanshakuhachi was to make it easier for American buyers to hear and play good instruments from Japan. It’s a bit like a dating service. I try to match up players with flutes that will fit them and excite them.
It's a lot of fun, and over the years I’ve learned a few things about this process. Everyones' embouchure and ‘way’ with the flute is different, and I’m always delighted when the symbiotic match is made.
I sell instruments to players all over the world, including countries as diverse as Columbia, Brazil, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, UK and Denmark. I provide shakuhachi to beginners, professionals, Japanese musicians, Western-style players, and to those who want to simply blow meditatively on great bamboo.
David Yūdo Sawyer
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