ABSTRACT
The shakuhachi is used in both traditional and modern Japanese music; in ensemble pieces, as an accompanying instrument, in pop, jazz, and rock, as well as in works by contemporary composers. In spite of its popularity and high repute, little is known about the shakuhachi instrument and its historical background by the general public or even by musicologists, with the exception of a few specialists. In striving for a better understanding of the shakuhachi and its music, this article presents a general exposition on its history, repertoire, performance practices, and the locality, diversity, and variability in its tradition and the transmission of that tradition, with particular attention given to the classical solo honkyoku pieces. Though impossible to be all inclusive, reference materials and a collation of terms have been appended for further study.
