Music: Characteristics of Kinpu-ryu

First of all, Myoan shakuhachi would probably more accurately be called a "practice," something closer to zazen -- it would resist the term "music," at least to some extent. In the case of Kinpu-ryu, this also holds true, though to a lesser extent. While Myoan shakuhachi is primarily an aescetic practice, Kinpu-ryu, while sharing the same roots as a means of samurai training, is also sometimes performed for enjoyment, and includes pieces arranged for duets and trios. Still, the samurai who played Kinpu-ryu shakuhachi in Hirosaki took the Zen roots seriously, and tended to play in a very strong, decisive manner.

Kinpu-ryu shares many aspects of various branches of Myoan shakuhachi, but also has some unique characteristics of its own. The two most outstanding of these are komibuki and chigiri, which will be discussed in the following paragraphs. You can also take a look at the Sounds section to hear some audio samples, or scores to see some examples of what the written form of the music looks like.

In Japanese, komibuki is formed from the verbs komu, meaning "to crowd, to pack in" and fuku, "to blow." We could think of the term, then, as meaning something like "to pack in your breath." Both in Japan and abroad, this is often mistaken for yuri, i.e. moving the head or the shakuhachi up and down repeatedly to create a vibrato effect. This is a nice effect when used well, but komibuki is something different. It's difficult to define succinctly, as it exists in several forms at once. Rather than offer a single definition, I'm going to give you a few, from different sources. You will notice, though, that they all have this in common: the breath comes from your hara, or dan tian (the area just below your naval, viewed in Chinese medecine and Qi Gong as the body's energy center). Again, it is not a vibrato effect, but a pulsation of the breath. The following is an excerpt from Shakuhachi Zuisoshu by Chikugai Okamoto, a disciple of Narita Shoei. Comments in parentheses were added for the sake of clarification:

Komibuki refers to a natural way of letting the breath pulsate; thus there is an oral tradition that one ought to give preference to what they are able to do, without trying to force it. It's essential that it be natural, but the pulsing of the breath must come from the bottom of the hara (from the abdomen), not from the throat or chest, resulting what is called "haro-iki" (surging breath, starting strong and then fading like the waves of the ocean). The breath comes from the dan tian, and it requires a good deal of practice. There is no set number of komi (pulses), but it will generally consist of 5 or 6 pulses within the span of about 2 beats...

To fuki-komu (i.e., to use komibuki) is to use dan tian (abdominal) breathing. Thus, it is essential that instead of thinking in terms of blowing into the bamboo, you imagine that the extra breath breathed into your dan tian is being blown into the bamboo; relax the center of your chest, and don't force anything.

Relaxing your chest is also important from a health standpoint, as it helps to avoid tensing up your stomach muscles. Basically, you want to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on your lungs (Okamoto, 7, 213).

The next passage is from Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi, published by the Aomori Folk Culture Preservation Society. You'll note that the emphasis is slightly different from the above, but the meaning is essentially the same:

Komibuki uses abdominal breathing, using short, strong pulses of breath. It could be compared to the way your abdominal muscles push out your breath in intermittant pulses when you laugh. Komibuki breathing must always be done powerfully, never weakly. The only things that change are the amount and pressure of the breath; the angle of the utaguchi (mouthpiece) stays as it is. Komibuki does not use the mouth or tongue are to intermittently cut off the breath. Again, it is also different from the yuri technique, in which the angle of the utaguchi is modulated continuously (Sasamori, 9).

Here I'd like to add a few comments of my own. First of all, the focus in on the hara, a.k.a. dan tian, a.k.a. abdomen. From a health standpoint, adding komi using your stomach muscles both builds up a strong core to support your posture and also helps you to become more aware of where your breath is coming from. It also stimulates your diaphragm, which has been called the "spiritual muscle;" it can't be controlled consciously, but operates well when relaxed. When your breathing is rested and natural, you may notice the pleasant sensation of your diaphragm moving together with your breath; this is an excellent way to let stress flow out, and promotes emotional well-being. If you are afraid, tense, or otherwise holding back from expressing yourself, your emotions tend to stay packed down in your gut, with your diaphragm somewhat tense, and with your breathing shallow or otherwise inhibited. When you are in a safe place, free to express yourself, your feelings go from your gut up through your upper body, flowing naturally, mediated by your diaphragm. At these times, since you aren't holding anything back, your diaphragm moves freely and your breathing is open and uninhibited. Komibuki alone won't necessarily change your state of being, but I've found that at times when I'm not so tense, my diaphragm joins in with the komi-buki, making a laughing or sobbing effect. I'm not sure if the samurai who were playing Kinpu-ryu a hundred years ago thought this way, but I do think that it is nevertheless something unique to kinpu-ryu shakuhachi, and quite valuable.

When playing, I add komibuki on lengthened notes wherever it seems appropriate. I don't generally worry about using "haro iki" (wave breath), though sometimes it happens that way. Traditionally speaking, there are no rules for when to add komibuki, but it generally happens after sections marked ハル (haru). That is, on a lengthened note, you let your breath swell from your abdomen, then proceed into a series of komibuki. In any case, it's best not to let komibuki rule the piece; play the piece, not komibuki.

Lastly, on the breathing technique itself: most players who I've spoken with agree that with shakuhachi, your breathing should come from the hara. Concretely speaking, this means that we use reverse abdominal breathing: when you inhale, it feels like the breath is going straight down to the bottom of your lungs and your belly becomes concave; as you exhale, your abdomen does all the work, pushing the air out from below as your belly expands like a balloon. Some even reccommend that you physically push outward with your abdominal muscles as you exhale. However, please don't take this as concrete advice; it's intended as reference only. Messing around with your breath is not a good idea if you don't know what your doing; it's best to just do what comes naturally.

Chigiri is generally difficult to define; Uchiyama Reigetsu just calls it "a mysterious sound that happens between tsu and ro." Fortunately, Okamoto sensei provides a bit more detail in his book:

In chigiri, you quickly lower the ro(meri), and after lengthening the note a little bit, you move your head left and right to produce kari, meri, and then kari again. Add about six komi, and finish off the sound with a single nayashi.

Here, meri refers to changing the angle of your head to the mouthpiece in order to make the sound lower; kari refers to making the sound higher. Even with this description, the effect is a little bit hard to grasp, as Uchiyama Reigetsu said. If you listen to some of the sound samples on this website, you can get a better idea of what the chigiri (whose kanji, by the way, roughly mean "inherit (tonal) color") effect is. Nayashi refers to moving the head so as to create a little "dip" in the tone, down and up again. In Kinpu-ryu, the nayashi is said (in Okamoto sensei's book) to be effected by moving the head from side to side instead of up and down as in other schools, but not all players do it this way.

Works Referenced (translations from Japanese by Nick Bellando):

Okamoto, Chikugai. Shakuhachi Zuisoshu. Myoan Soryu-kai, 2012. pp. 7, 213.

Sasamori, Takefusa and Shimoda, Yuji. Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi. Aomori Folk Culture Preservation Society, 2011. p. 9.