The Japanese Flute Shakuhachi: From Ritual to Musical Use
Keywords:
Shakuhachi, Ritual, Secularization, WesternizationAbstract
Nowadays, the Japanese end-blown flute shakuhachi (尺八) has a presence throughout the world, in many musical genres. The distinctive features of its sound are product of its use for centuries as a religious implement, that is, as a hōki (法器), associated with Buddhist practices. However, during the Meiji period (1868-1912) of the history of Japan, this use was restricted significantly, to become in an instrument to be aesthetically appreciated, that is, in a gakki (楽 器), despite of which it retained many of its previous attributes. The objective of this work is to identify the processes through which the shakuhachi went from being an element of the spiritual life of a group of monks to being part of diverse musical practices of wider sectors. It will be seen that this was due to governmental intervention, the participation of new interpreters and the exposure of the Japanese to foreign music. The changes in the construction of the instrument, the characteristics of the repertoire, the interpretation techniques, the social function of masters and performers, and the forms of knowledge transmission will be taken into account.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Revista Argentina de Musicología
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you comply with the terms of the license
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in a way that suggests that you or your use are endorsed by the licensor.
- Noncommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- No Additional Restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from making any use permitted by the license.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material that are in the public domain or when your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are provided. The license may not grant you all the permissions you need for your intended use. For example, other rights—such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights—may limit how you use the material.
