Christopher Yohmei Blasdel, shakuhachi player and lecturer at UH Mānoa, published three works on the shakuhachi this month. The first is The Shakuhachi: A Learning Manual, which was originally published in 1988, and the first comprehensive English-language shakuhachi instruction book published by a major publishing house; Ongaku no Tomo-sha, Japan’s leading music press.
Blasdel also published Jiuta Sōkyoku Lyrics and Explanations (with Gunnar Jinmei Linder, Routledge Press), an anthology of seventy-three representative songs from the well-known genre of traditional Japanese Edo-period sankyoku ensemble music composed of the shamisen, koto, and the kokyū (which was eventually replaced by the shakuhachi). The collection begins with an overview which traces the history of the jiuta sōkyoku genre and the various socio-political influences at work in its formation. The translations and analyses are followed by a substantive glossary and bibliography, allowing for a deeper understanding of both the literary and musical aspects of jiuta sōkyoku compositions.
Blasdel also contributed a chapter to the Handbook of Japanese Music in the Modern Era, edited by Henry Johnson, entitled “Wondrous Tones: The Transnational Appeal of the Shakuhachi through Time and Space.” The chapter focuses on the shakuhachi and its migration throughout the world from the mid-twentieth century to the present. It discusses major international shakuhachi events, from the World Shakuhachi Festivals (occurring roughly every four years) to the numerous smaller shakuhachi learning camps and retreats that take place yearly, along with the general popularity of the instrument around the world, including a significant resurgent interest in Taiwan and mainland China, where the instrument originated.