The Path of the Shakuhachi and the Practice of Suizen: The Mumon Ryu System

By Mafla / Spain
Honorary Member & Practitioner
Shakuhachi Master Course

Many years ago, I began my studies of the transverse flute informally with a professional American flutist based in Seville (Andalusia). He became not only my musical teacher but my guide. I had already dabbled in the official conservatory system in Spain at an elementary level; however, this master was a true revelation. Starting my studies at the age of thirty, I had no shortage of "ghosts" to fight against. With him, beyond instrument technique, I learned the search for a pure sound, postural relaxation... a love for music, and above all, the ability to enjoy it without the weight of external conditions. I managed to quiet my self-critical ego and, gradually, the path opened toward a shared joy with other musicians and artists from various disciplines.

Today, I find myself on that same path, and in my desire to explore different sonorities, I began studying the bansuri, always drawn to the resonance of bamboo and Indian music. However, the shakuhachi has always exerted a special pull on me—not only for the sound it emanates but for the meditative practice it entails. While it is true that any instrument comes to life through the soul of the performer, in the shakuhachi, the mere production of sound is so subtle that it forces you to be present with all your senses to avoid losing the note. In the transverse flute or the bansuri, the embouchure is similar, though finger positions vary. The shakuhachi presents a different challenge: not only due to the fingering (where some fingers serve only as support rather than executing notes) but because of the nature of the blowing edge. The sound sometimes vanishes due to subtle changes in airflow, lip pressure, or the position of the head. As Zapata (2024) states, the production of sound and its easy loss is a problem with no apparent solution, yet the answer lies within:

"A problem with no apparent solution in the art of the shakuhachi. Smile with your heart and the sound will endure." (p.110)

Playing with the heart is the key to making the sound last. The mind must be turned inward to focus the sound simultaneously. Above all, we must erase our ego and surrender completely.

"When they surrender to the bamboo... without thought, without pretension, and smiling within, then it will sound correctly and transmit what it must transmit." (Ibidem, p.22)

As Toru Takemitsu wrote in Confronting Silence: "When sounds are possessed by ideas instead of having their own identity, music suffers." In any case, we must not grow angry if we fail to produce a sound; the smile must remain internal, or the sound will be lost.

It was a discovery for me to learn that the instrument is of Chinese origin, imported to Japan in the 8th century. I had always associated it exclusively with Japan. Takeo Izumi (2016) traces the history of the shakuhachi through painting, discussing its strong connection to the Fuke sect and suggesting its ascetic nature. Its construction is thus symbolic: the four front holes correspond to the four seasons, and the fifth (on the back) symbolizes the clarity and enlightenment of the mind. The three nodes of the bamboo (1) represent the union of three bodies: the dharma body, the reward body, and the response body. The lower opening represents the Womb World, and the upper opening the Diamond World (Izumi, 2016:88).

Its etymology was also a revelation: 1 shaku and 8 sun. Its name comes from its measurement (1.8), though it extends to other Japanese bamboo flutes of different lengths. I wonder if other instruments exist whose very name is derived from their size; it is an etymological search I find fascinating.

With five holes, the notes are tuned following the Western minor pentatonic scale. The 1.8 shakuhachi scale is D F G A C and features three registers:

• OTSU (Low register)

• KAN (Middle register)

• DAI KAN (High register)

These correspond to the three octaves of the transverse flute. However, unlike the 16 "tone holes" of the transverse flute (following the Theobald Boehm system), the apparent simplicity of the shakuhachi's five holes makes it a greater challenge. To reproduce all sounds, one must combine the subtlety of fingering with microtonal techniques (chu for half-closed or meri for one-third closed) (2) and the physical focus of raising or lowering the head.

"Remember that your posture, both physical and attitudinal—which is created or rooted in your thought or origin (moto)—is essential to create a path full of sharps, flats, or key tones in harmony." (Zapata 2024, p.76)

Attitude is fundamental in learning the shakuhachi. This involves us as students not only in technique but in a modus vivendi that guides us toward understanding and spiritual peace. To say "life" is synonymous with "breath" ("We are born and we die in the cycle of breath," Zapata, p.134), or as Takemitsu put it: "Inhaling and exhaling are the history of life."

The shakuhachi was played by the Komuso monks ("monks of emptiness") who composed their own melodies (HONKYOKU) to express profound feelings during their pilgrimages. In the introduction to the Mumon Ryu method, Zapata (2024) affirms:

"While the shakuhachi was used as a meditative tool by the extinct Buddhist Komuso monks of feudal Japan, I personally see in this instrument an intimate tool linked to the development of personality and self-discovery, the strengthening of patience, and the conquest of personal mastery." (p.10)

The shakuhachi was thus a sacred tool of the Dharma (FAQI), a spiritual practice instrument (HOKI) for seeking enlightenment through sound (3) (Ichion Jobutsu: one sound to reach enlightenment). Yet, there is a counterpart to this spiritual vision: it is no myth that this instrument was also a defensive weapon in martial arts. Given the hardness and resilience of the bamboo, it could be used for blocks, strikes, and even strangulations. The root end (uraguchi) served as a heavy hammer, while the blowing end (utaguchi) was effective for direct thrusts (tsuki).

Another vital concept of Honkyoku is "Maai"—the space or interval between two sounds or phrases. Unlike Western music, where duration is mathematically represented, Maai is free. Each performer decides its duration, and within it lies their personality. Honkyoku are arrhythmic; they possess a free rhythm. This freedom is deeply attractive and respectful to the player, who is not constrained by the musical staff but manages their breath according to their own capacity, forcing a connection with the present and a state of mindfulness.

In general, I can affirm that discovering the Mumon Ryu method has brought me great joy and opened new expectations that align with my current musical and spiritual search. My primary interest lies in the pursuit of sonorities close to nature that connect with the breath and the voice, enriching the language of improvised music. Japanese music, rather than basing its beauty on abstract forms, is tied to natural forms; it imitates them. In this sense, echoing Takemitsu: "Western and Japanese music are fundamentally different, separated by a distance that I find overwhelming."

In that distance lies its profound beauty.

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[1] The shakuhachi features three nodes, unlike the hitoyogiri—a shorter instrument that possessed only a single bamboo node.

[2] To obtain the twelve tones, we must apply another microtonal technique called Meri. This consists of opening only 1/3 of a hole, which lowers the affected note by two semitones (one whole tone), p. 80. Both Chu and Meri notations are placed after the affected note.

[3] ICHION JOBUTSU: One single sound to attain enlightenment. The sound transforms you into a Buddha. (Zapata, p. 33)

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(Texto original en español)

La práctica del suizen y el shakuhachi y el estilo del sistema Mumon Ryu

Por Mafla / España
Estudiante y Miembro Honorario
Curso Maestro de Shakuhachi

Desde hace ya bastantes años inicié mis estudios de flauta travesera de manera extraoficial con un flautista profesional americano instalado en Sevilla /Andalucía) que se convirtió no solo en mi maestro musical sino en mi guía. Ya había hecho una incursión en el sistema oficial de conservatorios en España a nivel elemental. No obstante, dicho maestro supuso un gran descubrimiento para mí pues, pues al iniciar los estudios ya con 30 años no eran pocos los fantasmas contra los que tenía que luchar. Aprendí con él, además de la técnica del instrumento, la búsqueda de un buen sonido, la relajación postural… el amor hacia la música y, sobre todo, el disfrute sin pensar en cualquier otro condicionamiento. Logré apaciguar mi yo autocrítico y, poco a poco, el camino se me fue abriendo hacia un disfrute compartido con otros amigos músicos o artistas de otras disciplinas.

Hoy me encuentro en ese camino y en mi deseo de búsqueda de sonoridades diferentes inicié el estudio del bansuri, siempre atraída por la sonoridad del bambú y la música india. Sin embargo, el shakuhachi es un instrumento que siempre me ha atraído no sólo por la sonoridad que emana sino por lo que de práctica meditativa conlleva. Es cierto que cualquier instrumento cobra vida por el alma que los intérpretes ponen en él, pero en el shakuhachi la mera producción de sonido es tan sutil que te obliga a estar en el presente con todos los sentidos para no perder la emisión del sonido. En la flauta travesera o en el bansuri,la embocadura son similares, aunque la posición de los dedos varía en ambos instrumentos. El shakuhachi presenta un reto diferente no sólo por la posición de los dedos (el hecho de que algunos sirvan tan solo de apoyo y no ejecuten notas) sino por el tipo de embocadura. El sonido a veces desaparece debido a cambios sutiles del aire, la presión de los labios, la posición de la cabeza…  Como afirma Zapata (2024) la producción del sonido y su fácil pérdida es un problema sin solución aparente pero cuya solución se encuentra en nuestro interior:

Un problema sin solución aparente en el arte del shakuhachi. Sonríe con el corazón y el sonido perdurará. (p.110)

Tocar con el corazón es la clave para que el sonido perdure. La mente debe estar enfocada hacia el interior para poder enfocar a la vez el sonido. Debemos, sobre todo, borrar nuestro ego y entregarnos plenamente.

Cuando se entregan al bambú. sin pensarlo, sin pretensiones y sonriendo en su interior, entonces este sonará correctamente y transmitirá lo que debe transmitir. (Ibidem, p.22)

When sounds are possessed by ideas instead of having their own identity, music suffers (Takemitsu Confronting silence)

En cualquier caso, no debemos enfadarnos si no conseguimos producir sonido y la sonrisa sólo debe ser interior o, de lo contrario, el sonido se perderá.

Para mí fue un descubrimiento saber que el instrumento es de origen chino y que fue importado por Japón en el siglo VIII. Siempre lo asocié a Japón. Izumi Takeo (2016) en su obra traza la historia del shakuhachi a través de la pintura y habla de la fuerte conexión entre este instrumento y la secta Fuke y sugiere su naturaleza ascética. Su construcción sería pues simbólica. Los cuatro agujeros frontales corresponderían a las cuatro estaciones del año y el quinto (parte posterior) simbolizaría la claridad y la iluminación de la mente. Los tres nudos del bambú[1] representaría la unión de tres cuerpos: dharma body, reward body after its role as a bodhistatva and the response body taken by a buddha in accordance to the abilities of those to be saved.The lower opening represents the Womb world, and the upper opening the Diamond World.  (Izumi, 2016:88)

También fue un descubrimiento su etimología: 1 shaku y 8 sun. Su nombre viene dado por la medida del instrumento 1.8, aunque se hace extensiva a las demás flautas de bambú japonesas de otras extensiones mayores. No sé si existen otros instrumentos cuya etimología sea debido a su tamaño. En este sentido se me antoja interesante realizar dicha búsqueda etimológica.

Al poseer 5 agujeros las notas están afinadas siguiendo la escala pentatónica menor occidental. La escala del shakuhachi 1.8 es D F G A C y presenta 3 registros:

• Registro bajo OTSU (D4 F4 G4 A4 C5) octava 4
• Registro medio KAN (D5 F5 G5 A5 C6) octava 5
• Registro agudo DAI KAN (D6 F6 G6 A6 C7) octava 6

que se corresponden con las tres octavas (el registro bajo, medio y agudo) de la flauta travesera (también hay notas del registro sobre agudo). No obstante, frente a los 5 agujeros del Shakuhachi, la flauta travesera posee 16 “agujeros de tono” que se producen por la combinación de las 15 llaves (siguiendo el sistema de Theobald Boehm, el padre del diseño moderno). La inexistencia de dichas llaves en el shakuhachi, la aparente simplicidad de sus 5 agujeros, convierten a este instrumento en un reto mayor pues es posible reproducir todos los sonidos, pero para ello es necesario combinar la sutileza de la digitación y la técnica microtonal (agujero 1/2 cerrado chu que en japonés significa literalmente mitad o 1/3 cerrado meri[2]), el enfoque mediante la elevación o descenso de la cabeza para poder producirlos.

Recuerda que tu postura tanto física como actitudinal, la cual se crea o radica desde tu pensamiento u origen (moto), es esencial para crear un camino lleno de sostenidos, bemoles o tonos claves en sintonía (Zapata 2024, p.76)

La actitud es pues fundamental en el aprendizaje del shakuhachi lo que hace más interesante este proceso al involucrarnos como estudiantes no sólo en la técnica sino en un modus vivendi que nos guiará en el camino de la búsqueda de la comprensión y la paz espiritual.