How Much Does A Good Shakuhachi Cost?

How much does a good student shakuhachi cost? How much does a professional Shakuhachi cost? What is the most expensive Shakuhachi in the world?!?!

In my career I have been able to experience many different shakuhachi and makers.

My Personal 1.8 Shakuhachi made by Yozan Hikichi.

When I first started shakuhachi there weren’t many to choose from and there are no manuals or ways to know if what you are getting is good. Plus there is no price guidelines set for Shakuhachi.

There have been changes in shakuhachi pricing over the years.

You’ll be glad to know that times have changed (Thank God), and there are many choices nowadays for finding affordable shakuhachi. For example, the Shakuhachi Yuu and Shakuhachi Bell are great starter instruments and both are under $300. But let’s say you want bamboo?

Well there are some bamboo shakuhachi that my good friend Yozan Hikichi makes which are under $1,000 dollars which many of my students use. I think they are superb instruments. You can find those here.

https://www.yozan-hikichi.shop/index.html?tsuka_conv=JPY&lang_id=en&fbclid=IwAR0jMwx5lOw1UHnHu_yFzXn3zdQ5mTLgvcpHaL9ZJd6zFZPT7jxdEPxmoiE

Okay, but let’s say you don’t want a modern shakuhachi but an old one. How much do they cost and how do you know if you are getting a good one or not. Here is where I want to paste in an article for you to read by the shakuhachi master, John Singer who collects these instruments and sells them.

https://www.shakuhachi.com/D-Singer/articles.html

Shigemi Inoue, shakuhachi

A flute becomes magic only by being played so much it becomes a part of the player. Most of the great shakuhachi players favor one particular instrument, which is also the case with Western classical musicians. This one instrument, their very best, is used most often over all others in their possession. Over the years this special instrument becomes a part of them. Thus, the magic evolves from a union of the instrument and its player.

My aim here is to share some of my own experience and knowledge of how to understand and judge instruments with those who are interested in what makes a great shakuhachi. I'll also touch upon the difference between contemporary shakuhachi, and those made in earlier generations, especially from the late 1800's to around 1960. Over the years many shakuhachi players with less than superior instruments have come to me for assistance in their search for a truly superior shakuhachi, and in this regard I've been asked repeatedly to discuss my views on what constitutes a great shakuhachi based on my experiences in the United States and in Japan. 

I began playing shakuhachi in 1975, and I've been devoted to the instrument ever since. I've been fortunate to be able to visit Japan once or twice a year for the past 30. And what I do there is study, play, buy and sell shakuhachi, and in the process I've handled literally thousands of instruments. These have been, for the most part, from the Kinko school, since I'm a Kinko player. For me, finding great shakuhachi for other players is a gratifying experience, especially if it's an older instrument. Many older shakuhachi are treasures, and it's a shame so many have been put away, burned or buried. Since shakuhachi become magic only when they're used, I look on my "brokering" activities as a service to my students, other serious players, and the instruments themselves. Fine shakuhachi should be played and appreciated, not left to dry out in someone's cabinet. I deal almost exclusively with high-end shakuhachi - the very best!

During the seven years I lived in Japan, I was able to look closely at many shakuhachi. I've repeatedly played the personal instruments of my teachers Yamaguchi Goro, Matsumura Homei, and Inoue Shigeshi as well as those of many other great masters. I've also had the fortune of playing and examining some of the finest older Kinko shakuhachi, such as those of Kurosawa Kinko, Tsunemasa, Hattori Kanshi, , his son and grandson (Kinko 2 and 3), Hisamatsu Fuyo, Araki Chikuo, Araki Kodo the 3rd, Araki Baigyoku, Miura Kindo, Yamaguchi Shiro, Aoki Reibo I, Notomi Judo, Inoue Shigemi, Momose Hodo, Mizuno Rodo, Iida Sesshu, Orito Nyogetsu, Hayashi Kogetsu, Mutano Shinryu the 1'st, Kondo Soetsu, and many others. Most of my experience has been with Kinko-ryu shakuhachi and makers, but this isn't exclusively so.

There are many who feel that the instrument itself isn't very important, and that we should instead focus on practice and study only. I believe that both are important if we are to make a truly beautiful sound and move in the direction of our teacher's sound, or the particular sound for which we are striving. It has always made sense to me that if I want to strive for the sound quality and style of my teacher, then perhaps I ought to try and get a shakuhachi made by the same maker and of the same quality as his, which is by no means an easy task. This doesn't mean that practice isn't important. Practice is exceedingly important. For without practice, study and dedication, no matter how good the instrument is, the potential of both the player and the flute cannot be realized.

Each instrument is made according to its particular maker's understanding of what shakuhachi is and what one should sound like. If you look at those made by the different great makers, excluding most contemporary shakuhachi, each has its own strong character. Even though each instrument itself is subtly different, a group of instruments made by the same maker possesses a special quality imparted from that maker. Each shakuhachi player and maker has a particular understanding of what shakuhachi is as well as what constitutes a great shakuhachi flute. The depth of this understanding is derived from the degree to which each person has practiced, studied and mastered shakuhachi, and also to the extent of his or her overall experience with the instrument. 

I believe that many of the very best shakuhachi were made from the end of the 19th century to about 1960. I feel there's a great difference between those made during that period and those I call "contemporary" shakuhachi. In past generations, great shakuhachi players were also shakuhachi makers. But during recent times this has come not to be true. There is now a division or split between makers and players. These days people make shakuhachi as their business without necessarily being great players, sometimes making up to thirty instruments per month to sell. In earlier times, the great master players made their own and their students' instruments, and put much more time and effort into creating each. The traditional view, which is mine too, is that a shakuhachi can only be as good as the maker's playing abilities. 

Today in Japan, the differences in the price of contemporary shakuhachi have more to do with the look of the bamboo and popularity of the particular maker, than the instrument's sound quality. Price is usually determined by the bamboo's coloring and shape, and the position of its different nodes. There is a rigid conception in contemporary Japan of what a shakuhachi should look like, and if an instrument possesses the requisite appearance, then it's usually very expensive. I've heard of contemporary shakuhachi selling for as much as $100,000 primarily because of the instrument's appearance and the fame of the maker, and not at all due to its having a great sound. 

When I talk to contemporary Japanese shakuhachi makers about their new products, they often tell me this is what people want, so they make it. I call this the "Gold Rolex Watch Syndrome," where form is valued over substance. Basically, modern shakuhachi makers judge their instruments by the volume each note makes, and the balance between the different notes to make sure that everything plays similarly. Recently, volume, or how loud one can "honk" into the instrument, has become a very important factor in determining its value. Of course, note balance and volume are important. In the past however, additional criteria were used in judging the invisible aspects of shakuhachi. 

Great shakuhachi were judged by very different standards than they are today. In earlier generations, one of the most important qualities examined was the instrument's tone color, which could be bright, dark, deep, round, shallow, sweet, severe, etc. Also, clarity of tone or the tone's particular character was important. There are many Japanese words used to describe and judge a shakuhachi's tone: akarusa (brightness), kurasa (darkness), fukami (depth), marumi (roundness), asasa (shallowness), amasa or amami (sweetness), ne-iro (tone color), sunda neiro (clarity), ochitsuita (stable), and shibumi (subdued), for example. It can be said these tonal qualities are subjective, and indeed they are. This, however, does not mean that they are not genuine criteria for judging shakuhachi. It takes a great deal of experience and skill to make these judgments. Further, another point of inquiry is how easy or hard the instrument is to play. Some instruments can be very difficult to play, but have wonderful tone color. One needs to be able to determine whether an instrument is hard to play because it's poorly made or whether it's well-made but nevertheless difficult to play -- kind of like taming a wild horse. 

Another very important invisible quality examined when judging shakuhachi is called "chikuin" -- the way the instrument vibrates when you play. You should be able to feel the bamboo vibrating in your mouth, down to your fingertips, past your wrists and arms, and into your whole body. Some shakuhachi have more chikuin than others and it is understood that the quality of the bamboo used plus the amount and type of material making up the instrument's bore make this difference. In earlier times, bamboo quality was determined differently. For example, many of the older makers have told me that the bamboo from the mountains around Kyoto was the best, and there were several grades of this bamboo. Simply put, bamboo quality and the materials used inside the bore affect the flute's tone color.

Some truly extraordinary instruments, made by the great makers and others during the first half of the century, can cost from $5,000 to $30,000. Finding such instruments requires more than just the ability to pay. It requires good human relations, contacts, timing and luck. Many times I've been told of the availability of a fine instrument by the family of its former owner. Many superior instruments have been put into coffins before cremation (which is a custom in Japan). Therefore, there are a very limited number of these instruments remaining. There are some, especially Americans, who find older shakuhachi to be very expensive. I am, however, talking about the finest ones available. But if you're truly serious about study, and are intending to play for the rest of your life, the price of a great instrument is not really so high. Imagine having to buy a great violin! As for more "ordinary" shakuhachi, they generally cost from $300 up. Not particularly expensive in comparison to Western instruments.

It's beyond the scope of this article to discuss the specific characteristics of shakuhachi made by individual makers. I'd be happy to share my knowledge and experience with anybody who is seriously interested. Other players or makers may hold views different than mine because our experience and study may have been different, however, several concert violinists with whom I've spoken share my feelings and beliefs on this subject. Therefore, what I hold to be true about the great shakuhachi seems to hold true for the great violins. 

A superior instrument is alive when you pick it up! It responds in a way that is wondrous and has a certain feeling which is very difficult, if not impossible, to describe. No matter the musical or physical theories used to craft or explain a shakuhachi, the fact of the matter is that, in addition to bore shape, the bamboo and the material used to make the bore are extremely important in determining the quality of the instrument. For me it's not a theoretical question, it's just a fact. My teachers and many other great shakuhachi players share my views. You can put this view to the test by blowing shakuhachi old and new and comparing. But keep in mind: to really discern the subtle, living difference in shakuhachi, you must devote yourself to its study and practice. A first-time player could hardly be expected to tell the difference between a "Stradivarius" shakuhachi and one mass produced for the contemporary marketplace. The more you master the instrument, the more masterful your ability will be to discern a great shakuhachi from an "imposter". 

Note - A word about more ancient shakuhachi:
During the past several years I've had the chance to examine and play literally hundreds of ancient shakuhachi made before the introduction of "Ji" (cement made of a sand powder called "tonoko" mixed with urushi laquer) which is used to build up the shakuhachi inner-bore to make instruments more suitable for ensemble performances. This application began sometime during the mid 1800's by Araki Chikuo and others.

The finer Edo period insturments, in playable and undamaged original condition are extremely rare having a purity of tone which is superb and in my opinion, unmatched by almost all later instruments. However, they are difficult to control requiring great skill, and are usually not suitable for ensemble purposes. It seems to be the case that only a few special experienced and flexible players are able to use and appreciate the Edo Shakuhachi.

Time for the big take away. Everyone has a different idea of the word ‘quality’ and what it means.The word ‘student flute’ implies that it is not an upper-level quality flute that is made perhaps with less craftsmanship. That doesn’t mean it is necessarily true though.

In general, I would say that if you want the finest shakuhachi money can buy that is old, prepare to spend anywhere from 5k to 35k. If you are wanting a fine modern flute, prepare to spend 5k to 10k.

Which shakuhachi maker did you first start on? What was your experience? What shakuhachi maker do you use the most? Comment below and keep the dialogue going!

Robuki for 10, Thanks for reading.

with warmest regards,

Shawn Renzoh Head