Harvesting Madaké Bamboo in Japan for Shakuhachi

(Entry date Jan. '20)

Thanks to the sales of the Bell Shakuhachi I was able to afford a trip to Japan to harvest Madaké bamboo this winter. It was an amazing whirlwind of a trip. I left on Christmas, stayed through New Years, which is my birthday, and returned mid January 2020. [It’s a good thing I went when I did because COVID 19 broke out shortly after I got back from Japan. It took over a year for shipping to clear up enough so my harvest could be shipped to me. Japan opened itself up again to foreigners in late 2022.]

While there, I lost body weight I couldn’t spare and I was often so exhausted that I had to keep from falling over. But it was a great experience. I scaled steep hills and anti-erosion walls, encountered a venomous centipede, I was confronted by some wild boars, and had a few minor injuries. In the end, I had an amazing time harvesting beautiful bamboo and I made new friends.

Below are some of my favorite photos from the trip. I had very little time to snap pictures, and though I brought my camera, I only had time to use my phone. Enjoy and look forward to the shakuhachi I will make from this bamboo in the coming years.

Moso bamboo on the left, Madake straight ahead...

My second dig. The gentleman to my left is the land owner.

I snapped this photo of my new friend Ryuichi Ota who crafts Myoan style jinashi shakuhachi in the lineage of Monden Tekikū...

Picture of me pounding mochi for new year's. Right is Shibata Jr. and top is a person whom I didn't get an opportunity to formally meet...

Me playing at an old Buddhist hermitage in Nara...