Sokkan - The International Shakuhachi Society

Sokkan

Taniguchi Yoshinobu
Tai Hei Shakuhachi - CSS-1
2001

Track	Title	Kanji	Length	Artist
1	Shingetsu	心月	05'01	Shakuhachi: Taniguchi Yoshinobu
	The calming effect of moonlight has spoken to poets and philosophers for years and is the inner feeling from which one plays this song. The form of an object is illuminated by the light and casts shadows which surround it. The space around the object shapes and defines it. One should focus on the space around the physical realm wherein lives the spirit of light. Freeing one's mind in the non-physical realm, like the light spirit, allows one to take on any form. Shingetsu is characterized by the interspersing of a very light komibuki technique throughout the composition. This adds a bit of forward movement or momentum to the piece, but since the tempo is very slow as compared to Oaha or the Nezasa pieces and has no variation, it tends to create a safe and secure feeling. The player knows what is coming next and at what speed. There are very long one-breath phrases which maintain a feeling of calmness throughout this song. The signature phrase found in the middle of the piece and again in the last line where the "Ho" note is repeated should be played in a reverent spirit. A longer shakuhachi is best for expressing the depth of feeling and mood of Shingetsu.
2	Sokkan	息観	06'00	Shakuhachi: Taniguchi Yoshinobu
	The characters used in the title of this piece are "so" which is denotes "iki" or "breath" and "kan" which means "to see" or "observe". This name may come from the zen concept of seikan which is "serene contemplation." Sokkan expresses the dynamic feelings which result from contemplation of one's breath as the player gets absorbed in each note in the lower register trying to "see the truth in the mind's eye". One should naturally incorporate various qualities of breath discovered during this contemplation.
3	Taki Ochi (Taizan Ha)	滝落	09'48	Shakuhachi: Taniguchi Yoshinobu
	The spirit of this song is as simple as the title. Become a waterfall! Maybe a grand waterfall with the huge sound of water crashing down on rocks and flowing in a wild rage. Perhaps a small stream running down the mountain quietly, sometimes swiftly and sometimes slowly, bouncing off small rocks and hugging slimy green shadows to merge with another stream. It is necessary to practice playing this piece at a quick pace so that you can develop a smooth technique and also to help bypass any "thinking". One should play this song over and over so it feels and flows out naturally. Its tempo and rhythm are the main aspects to focus on.
4	Reibo (Echigo)	霊慕 (越後)	10'36	Shakuhachi: Taniguchi Yoshinobu
	This song was transmitted from the Echigo Meian Temple. It is said that a monk from the temple by the name of Bunchu was playing beside Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture when Benzaiten, the Goddess of Music and Prosperity appeared before him. She sent along a dragon to teach the secrets of the shakuhachi to Bunchu. This songs contains those secrets and was later played by Bunchu for the famous founder of the Edo Period government, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616). It is best to play this song on the longest flute one has in order to bring out the effects of the dragon's movements and cries.
5	Daha	打波	04'43	Shakuhachi: Taniguchi Yoshinobu
	The Japanese characters used in writing this title are "utsu" ("to strike") and "nami" ("wave") which represent a continuous pulse expressing persistence. The aim or objective in playing this song is to rid oneself of greed, desire and ambition (bad intention). The word "uchi" of "uchi yaburu" comes from the word "ustu". This means to break through the habit of thinking only in a dualistic manner confined to subject and object. "1 (subject) live in this world (object)" is a habitual way of thinking that is born when one is very young and the brain's "gears of duality" begin turning. These opposites of up/down, left/right and in/out are the cubic building blocks of the material world that this mind perceives. It is a quantitative world, thus, the mind creates desires. I want to be big, bigger, biggest and sound loud, louder loudest, etc. One must break through this conditioned way of thinking and existing with the logical mind to experience oneself and the cosmos in a wholesome spiritual manner. The technique of komibuki used here helps one to stay focused and in the moment. It is the persistence of will power that is needed to get beyond unnecessary boundaries.
6	Ekoh	回向	06'10	Shakuhachi: Taniguchi Yoshinobu
	This song was transmitted from Ichigetsuji, a temple in the Kanto region of Japan. Ekoh's meaning may be found in Buddhist concepts such as kusho, tamuke, fuse and kishi. All of these ideas pertain to offering prayers or chanting sutras for the benefit of souls who have passed from this world (shujo ekoh) as well as for one's own personal benefit (bodai ekoh). One should play this piece with an appropriate attitude and purity of intention.
7	Ukigumo	浮雲	03'59	Shakuhachi: Taniguchi Yoshinobu
	Let one's body float up like the clouds, playfully blown this way and that by the wind. If the winds blow, the clouds move. If the winds are still, the clouds are still. The image is very natural. If the winds blow or don't blow, either way, clouds do not care. From this perspective, look down upon the human condition. Consider all the situations that we get ourselves into and all worked up about. . . for at least a day. When the next day arrives, something new comes along to get us worked up again, replacing the previous day's concern. We are so serious and uptight! The clouds say, "Why fight it all? If the wind blows, it blows. Don't try to stop it. If the wind doesn't blow, don't wish it were blowing". Why bother with the world? Let others go gray, bustling East, West. In this mountain temple, lying half-in, half-out, I'm removed from joy and sorrow. - Ryushu (1308-88) Yamagoe / Conquering The Mountain The actual characters used in the title are "yama" ("mountain") and "koeru" ("to excel, to overcome, to go beyond"). Uki Gumo is an expression of the mental toughness necessary to undergo spiritual training. The mountain is a typical symbol of a hardship being faced which, at first, seems impossible to transcend. The more you look and think about it while standing at bottom, the bigger it looms up over you. There's nothing to do, however, but to start climbing! It seems that one has to push oneself to the edge of "impossible". In shakuhachi training this is also true. You should seek the boundaries of "can/can't", "possible/impossible". Find what you can and cannot do. Learning shakuhachi requires immersing oneself in the activity of discovering, creating and recreating the extremes. In the extremes are found the limits and the parameters that ultimately define form. Only the act of "working" (climbing, training, meditating) will take one "beyond one's self".
8	Kokû (Fudaiji)	虚空	11'44	Shakuhachi: Taniguchi Yoshinobu
	Koku, Kyorei and Mukaiji are the three oldest songs (Koden Sankyoku) for shakuhachi. There are at least half-a-dozen different transmissions of this song from various temples and sects in Japan. Fudaiji Koku is played in order to experience the boundaries of mu. Mu is often translated as "nothingness", but in reality is the illusionary aspects of various phenomena of existence "there" or "not there", "still" or "moving", "alive" or "dead", etc.
9	Reibo (Don't know which version)	霊慕	11'04	Shakuhachi: Taniguchi Yoshinobu
	This piece is also called Reibo. The character "bo" is read "shitau" which means "to mourn or yearn for someone". In this case, it is for the soul of Fuke Zenji, founder of the Fuke sect of Buddhism.