Home People Pieces Recordings Bibliography Schools Glossary Sites & Events Teachers Join the ISS Log In

Kokû (Itchoken)

虚空

[Genre]Honkyoku
[School]Kyushu Kei

Kokû (Itchoken) appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonHikyoku wo Saguru Shakuhachi : Nagaoka Kodo

World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu Shakuhachi : Nakamura Akikazu
Also known as Koku reibo, this piece was handed down from very early on at the Itchoken temple at Hakata in Kyushu. It differs from pieces with the titles Koku and Koku reibo transmitted in other regions and schools and clearly manifests the features of the Itchoken style. The word koku in the title alludes to the eternal nature of the spirit by likening it to the vastness of nature and the universe. In legend, the Zen master Kichiku heard the piece in a dream at the Kokuzodo temple on Mount Asakuma in Ise.