| Japanese |
Kanji |
Definition |
| Atari | 当たり | A form of ornamentation executed by opening and closing a hole rapidly. |
| Bushi | 武士 | A social class in the Edo Era consisting of the samurai. |
| Bushidô | 武士道 | Lit. ‘the way of the warrior.’ The code of chivalry followed by the samurai. |
| Chikudô | 竹道 | Lit. 'the way of bamboo’. The code followed by the komusô. |
| Chikuho | 竹法 | A school of shakuhachi founded in 1917 by Sakai Chikuho (1892-1984). |
| Chiku-in | 竹音 | The vibration of the bamboo when blown. |
| Chikuzen ichinyo | 竹禅一如 | ‘The bamboo and Zen are one!’ Expression attributed to Kurosawa Kinko. |
| Chû-meri | 中メリ | A slight lowering of the chin. |
| Gagaku | 雅楽 | The ancient court music of Japan. |
| Gaikyoku | 外曲 | Lit. 'outside pieces'. Pieces that are not honkyoku. |
| Gidayû | 義太夫 | A narrative vocal genre which accompanies bunraku or puppet theatre. |
| Haiku | 俳句 | Short Japanese poems of three lines. |
| Han-on | 半音 | A fingering produced with a partially-covered hole. |
| Hara | 腹 | The centre of gravity of the body. |
| Hichiriki | 篳篥 | The double-reeded pipe of the gagaku ensemble. |
| Hitoyogiri | 一節切 | A precursor of the shakuhachi. |
| Hocchiku | 法竹 | A piece of bamboo blown for the attainment of enlightenment. |
| Honkyoku | 本曲 | Lit. ‘original pieces.’ The mostly solo meditative pieces of the shakuhachi tradition. |
| Ichi-on Jôbutsu | 一音成仏 | Lit. ‘Become the Buddha in One Sound.’ Expression attributed to Kurosawa Kinko. |
| In-yô | 陰陽 | The Japanese for Ying and Yang, the Chinese non-dualistic concept. |
| Isshaku hassun | 一尺八寸 | The full name for the standard length of shakuhachi. |
| Issoku-on | 一息音 | Lit. ‘one-breath tone.’ |
| Ji | 地 | The filler used to shape the bore of the shakuhachi. |
| Ji-nashi | 地無し | A shakuhachi which has no filler and whose bore follows the natural shape of the bamboo. |
| Jitsu | 実 | Lit. ‘reality.’ Represents form in Zen practice. |
| Jo-ha-kyû | 序破急 | Lit. ‘introduction-scattering-rushing.’ This is a Japanese tripartite structural concept which is applied to music. |
| Kan | 甲 | The second octave of the shakuhachi. |
| Karakara | カラカラ | A finger ornamentation involving a fast trill with the lowest finger. |
| Kazashi | カザシ | A fingering leaving a hole half open using the first joint as a fulcrum over the hole. |
| Ki | 気 | Lit ‘energy.' |
| Kinko-ryû | 琴古流 | A school of shakuhachi formed by Kurosawa Kinko (1710-1771). |
| Kôan | 公案 | A problem given to students of Zen to test their practice. |
| Kokû | 虚空 | Lit. ‘Vacuity.’ A honkyoku of the Kinko-ryû. |
| Komibuki | 込み吹き | Pulsating breath technique of the Nezaha School. |
| Komosô | 薦僧 | Lit. ‘straw-mat monks.’ Itinerant monks who practiced mendicancy during the Muromachi Period. |
| Komusô | 虚無僧 | Lit. ‘monks of nothingness.’ Itinerant monks who practiced mendicancy during the Edo Period. |
| Korokoro | コロコロ | A finger technique involving covering and uncovering the bottom two holes in alteration. |
| Koto | 筝 | The Japanese zither. |
| Kyôtaku Denki | 虚鐸伝記 | The document used by the komusô to validate the Fuke Sect. |
| Kusabibuki | クサビ吹き | Lit. ‘wedge-blowing.’ A way of breathing that starts strongly, quickly reduces intensity and dies away. |
| Kyotaku | 虚鐸 | Lit. ‘empty bell.’ The mythical bell of Fuke Zenji. This word is also used by followers of Nishimura Koku to describe shakuhachi. |
| Ma | 間 | A Japanese temporal and spacial concept. |
| Madake | 真竹 | Lit. ‘male bamboo.’ The most popular type of bamboo used in shakuhachi making. |
| Mawashiyuri | 回し揺り | Lit. ‘circular shake.’ A form of vibrato executed by moving the head in a circular motion. |
| Meri-kari | メリカリ（沈り浮り） | The technique of lowering and raising the chin in conjunction with fingering and breath technique. |
| Miyako bushi | 都節 | A Japanese scale used in the music of shakuhachi. |
| Miyogiri | みよぎり | A precursor of the shakuhachi. |
| Mukaiji | 霧海 | Lit. 'A flute in the Foggy Sea.' A honkyoku of the Kinko-ryû. |
| Muraiki | ムラ息 | Lit. ‘uneven breath.’ A form of explosive attack using the breath. |
| Myôan-ji | 明暗寺 | One of the founding temples of the Fuke Sect. |
| Nayashi | ナヤシ | A technique that involves beginning a note from a meri position and raising the chin to a kari position. |
| Ne-iro | 音色 | Lit. ‘tone colour’. The Japanese word for timbre. |
| Okuraulo | オークラロ | A type of shakuhachi with keys like the Boehm flute invented by Ôkura Kishichiro (1882-1963). |
| Ori-suri | 折りすり | A technique of lowering and raising the pitch at the end of a note. |
| Otodashi ichinen Kubifuri
sannen koro
hachinen | 首出し一年首振り三年コロ八年 | Lit. ‘it takes a year to make a sound, three to shake the head and eight to koro.’ An expression used by shakuhachi players to express the difficulty of the instrument. |
| Oto no tachiagari ga hayai | 音の立ち上がりが早い | Lit. ‘the standing of the sound is early.’ An expression used when referring to the quick response of the shakuhachi. |
| Oto no tachiagari ga osoi | 音の立ち上がりが遅い | Lit. ‘the standing of the sound is late.’ An expression used when referring to the slow response of the shakuhachi. |
| Otsu | 乙 | The first octave of the shakuhachi. |
| Rônin | 浪人 | These were the masterless samurai of the Edo Era. |
| Ryûteki | 竜笛 | The transverse flute of the gagaku ensemble. |
| Sadô | 茶道 | Lit. ‘the way of tea’. The Japanese tea ceremony. |
| Samurai | 侍 | The warrior of Edo Period Japan. |
| Sangakku | 三学句 | The practice of fencing, shakuhachi and Zen by the komusô. |
| Sankyoku | 三曲 | This refers to the trio ensemble for shakuhachi, koto and shamisen and also the music written for this group. Many pieces also include either the koto or shamisen player singing the vocal part. |
| Satori | 悟り | Enlightenment in Zen. |
| Sawari | さわり | The buzzing sound made by Japanese stringed instruments. |
| Shaku | 尺 | An old measurement roughly equal to the modern foot. Used to measure shakuhachi. |
| Shakuhachi | 尺八 | Lit. ‘one shaku and eight sun.' |
| Shamisen | 三味線 | The three-stringed Japanese lute. |
| Shinobue | 篠笛 | The simple transverse Japanese flute made of bamboo. |
| Shitauchi | 舌打ち | The word for articulation by tonguing. |
| Shishô | 師匠 | The respectful title of a teacher in Japanese traditional arts. |
| Sun | 寸 | One tenth of a shaku. |
| Shôsoin | 正倉院 | The repository of the possessions of the Emperor Shômô in Nara. |
| Suizen | 吹禅 | Lit. ‘blowing Zen.’ The practice of Zen in playing shakuhachi. |
| Suri-age | すりあげ | A form of ornamentation involving a slide upwards at the end of a note. |
| Take jôge yuri | 竹上下揺り | Lit. ‘up-down movement of the bamboo.’ A form of vibrato executed by shaking the bamboo. |
| Tate yuri | 立て揺り | A form of vibrato executed by swaying the head from side to side. |
| Tempuku | 天吹 | A precursor of the shakuhachi. |
| Tengai | 天蓋 | The lattaced straw headgear worn by the komusô. |
| Tettei-on | 徹低音 | Lit ‘sound in and of itself.’ |
| Tonoko | との粉 | The whetstone powder used for lining the bore of the shakuhachi. |
| Tôzan ryû | 都山流 | A school of shakuhachi formed by Nakao Tôzan (1876-1956). |
| Tsukiyuri | 突き揺り | A form of vibrato executed by pushing the bamboo up and down on the lips. |
| Urushi | 漆 | The lacquer applied to the bore of the modern shakuhachi. |
| Utaguchi | 歌口 | The mouthpiece of the shakuhachi. |
| Utsu | 打つ | Lit.’to hit.’ A form of finger articulation and ornamentation. |
| Wabi-sabi | 詫び寂び | An aesthetic quality prized in Japanese arts which favours the faded and nostalgic. |
| Yoko yuri | 横揺り | A form of vibrato executed by moving the head in a diagonal manner. |
| Zazen | 座禅 | Lit. ‘sitting Zen.’ |
| Zempei | 全閉 | Completely closed hole. |
| Zenkai | 全開 | Completely open hole. |
| Zenki | 禅器 | Lit. ‘tool of Zen.’ |
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