Hi All, Still on the road until August 2nd. There will be no shipping or receiving until then.

Been road tripping down the California coastline this week. Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, Seaside, Big Sur and Los Angeles. Man, what a beautiful state with lots of bamboo!

Here, Jet is inspecting these large pieces in a Venice Beach Alley. He decided the walls were too thin and would not make good shakuhachi.

In any case, Bamboo is so strong it could crack a cement wall!

A bamboo character at Disney’s California Adventure Park in Anaheim.

Its funny how once you start to look, you start to see.

Suddenly, bamboo is everywhere. Here bamboo is used in a contemporary furniture at the J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

If you look closely, you can see the bamboo nodes.

A bowl at my brother’s place in Venice.

Bamboo flooring at my friend’s beautiful new Yoga Studio - Namaste Yoga, Oakland, CA

A tombstone next to my grandfather’s in Piedmont.

Aside from the family time and bamboo sight seeing, I’ve been immersing myself in shakuhachi playing by concentrating on memorizing several pieces - Sanan in the Dokyoku style, Kumoijishi in the Kinko style of Jin Nyodo and Shika no Tone in the Kinko lineage of Chikumeishai. Each style requires not only slightly different embouchures as the tonal qualities of each are unique, but also requires different understandings of some melodic intervals.  It’s a challenge when playing several style back to back but it is this kind of rigorous homework that helps me understand what the shakuhachi instrument should do. And, what shakuhachi music is about. On that note, I’ve started studying Myoan Honkyoku here in Berkeley with Nancy Beckman. She studied at Meianji temple in Kyoto around 1972 with Fukumoto Kyoan and Yoshimura Fuan, the 39th and 40th heads of that school. What a wonderful sound she has! One lesson with Nancy and I already feel how it has affected my approach to tone production.

An interesting thing happened last week when I was practicing on the back yard deck at my Brother-in-law’s apartment in Potrero Hill in San Francisco. I was blowing Choshi when I heard another shakuhachi playing! The sound was passing through several back yards but was still distinctly shakuhachi. The player was working on a Tozan or Shinkyoku piece (or both). It was apparent that she/he was an accomplished shakuhachi musician. I walked around the block trying to locate the source but was unsuccessful. If any one knows who this player is, please send me an email.

On different note, here’s an update on my list for available flutes - #1, #3, and #5 are available. These can ship within a week or two after I return to NYC on Aug 2nd.
#1) Two 1.6 Earth Model, All natural except for bindings - $110

1 SOLD,  1 left

#2) 1.8 Earth Model, all natural with bindings only - $110

SOLD

#3) 1.8 Earth Model, lacquered bore - $165
#4) 2.0 Earth Model Root end. Bindings utaguchi inlay and urushi lacquered bore - $375.

SOLD

#5) 2.2 Earth Model all natural - $300
#6) Tensei 1.8, Tozan - $600

on HOLD

#7) Tensei 1.8 Kinko, professional concert level, $1,200

on HOLD

As for the repairs inquiries, I can start on them as soon as I return on Aug 2nd so please ship your flutes via USPS Priority Mail so that I can pick them up at my local post office if they arrive before I do.

Still lots to see and do on our last week in sunny California!

Thanks again!
Namaste, Perry