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

Sashi (Itchoken)

[Genre]Honkyoku
[School]Itchoken
Chikuho Ryû

Sashi (Itchoken) appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonKi-Sui-An Honkyoku Vol 2 Shakuhachi : Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
Play ButtonSui Zen - Blowing Meditation on the Shakuhachi - 02 Shakuhachi : Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
The next two honkyoku are both versions of a piece called Sashi. This first one is the Itcho-Ken version, played on a 1.9 flute. It is the one commonly referred to by the name Sashi. Jin Nyodo received this piece from Saito Inokuma, as well as from several others. Our Sashi pieces are believed to represent survivals of or descendants from the seed prototype from which all of the sanya, and perhaps, also Ajikan, were developed.

The character in the title of this piece is not Japanese, it's Sanskrit, "Sa." and is representative of the death of Buddha; it might be thought of as the Buddhist equivalent to a Christian cross, and is associated with religious austerities. It also represents the "seed" of Kanzeon (or Kannon) Bosatsu, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, who is called Kwan Yin by the Chinese. There is a legend that the music for this piece was found in the bottom of a statue of Buddha. There is also a tradition that at the dawn of enlightenment, Sashi will be used for the redemption of all living beings, according to the divine and universal revelations of Kannon Bosatsu.

Sashi has a special feeling that is quite representative of Kyushu pieces and the Ichoken line. Many of the notes are kusabi buki (wedge) shaped, tapering to a ma (silence). The piece begins in the high resister, with the notes tsu-re.

There is a special symbolism attached to the basic notes in the shakuhachi's pentatonic scale; ro, tsu, re, chi, and ri. Re and ro represent the mother and father, or female and male energy; yin and yang. Ri is considered the child. These three notes are the strongest in the shakuhachi scale. Ro, the female, is the foundation; the male re is a very strong sound, but tends to resolve into a ro releasing its tension by coming home. Ri, the child, resolves mostly to ro, the mother, but sometimes to re, the father. On a 1.8 flute, ro is "D," re is "G" and ri is "C" in the Western scale.

When Sashi, like many other Zen pieces, starts with tsu-re, a very strong way of playing re, the male note, is employed. Since this note is to be played in the high register here, rather than in the more usual low register, the player encounters a rather risky situation. The note might easily crack. Therefore, it's common practice to preface the piece with a Take No Shirabe, clearing the bamboo with a brief introduction in the low register. Once the bamboo is cleared or "warmed up," the tsu-re will come out in the clear, confident manner that is desired. Any one of several Take No Shirabe might be used in this kind of situation. Three common ones are tsu-meri to ro, re to ro, or ro-meri to ro, all in the low register.