The International Shakuhachi Society
- Recording: Kyoto Spirit -
Kyoto Spirit
-
"Honkyoku."
Kurahashi Yoshio
Sparkling Beatnik Records - SBR 0007
| Track | Title | Kanji | Length | Shakuhachi | Shamisen | Koto |
| 1 (Listen) | San'ya (Jinbo) | 神保三谷 | 08'56 | Kurahashi Yoshio | ||
| The wandering monk Jinbo played this version of San'ya (literally "three valleys"), a common title for meditative honkyoku. Many consider this Kurahashi-sensei's signature piece. | ||||||
| 2 (Listen) | Azuma no Kyoku (Kinko Ryu) | 吾妻の曲 | 08'37 | Kurahashi Yoshio | ||
| Representative of a lighter more playful form of honkyoku sometimes referred to as "gikyoku," this piece expresses the longing of a wanderer for his home in the east (Azuma). | ||||||
| 3 (Listen) | Mukaiji (Fudaiji) | 霧海箎 | 07'30 | Kurahashi Yoshio | ||
| One of the three oldest honkyoku, Mukaiji is said to have been composed in a dream. The title is evocative of mist over the ocean. | ||||||
| 4 (Listen) | Kyorei (Fudaiji) | 虚鈴 | 07'13 | Kurahashi Yoshio | ||
| Kyorei is the oldest known shakuhachi piece, a slow quiet honkyoku that is at once very simple and very challenging: simple in its unornamented sighing melody, challenging because the player cannot hide behind technique. | ||||||
| 5 (Listen) | Kumoi Jishi | 雲井獅子 | 09'54 | Kurahashi Yoshio | ||
| Like Azuma, Kumoijishi is a gikyoku, said to evoke a mythical lion dancing in the clouds. | ||||||
| 6 (Listen) | San'ya Sugagaki | 三谷菅垣 | 09'05 | Kurahashi Yoshio | ||
| A well-known composition of the Kinko school of shakuhachi. This is the most rhythmic of all honkyoku. | ||||||
| 7 (Listen) | Taki Ochi (Ryogenji) | 滝落 | 11'51 | Kurahashi Yoshio | ||
| This is a colorful honkyoku composed at the Ryugen-ji kumoso temple, which was located next to a large waterfall that is clearly depicted in the music's three varying sections. | ||||||
| 8 (Listen) | Ajikan (Itchoken) | 阿字観 | 07'17 | Kurahashi Yoshio | ||
| An ancient meditative piece that exists in several versions. The title probably means contemplation (kan) of the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, a-ji. A-ji symbolizes the void. | ||||||