History of the Shakuhachi

The Shakuhachi is a traditional Japanese flute made of bamboo. There have been many different types of Shakuhachi throughout history. The instrument now referred to as just “Shakuhachi” is more properly known as the “fuke Shakuhachi” and developed in Japan during the 16th century. The first form of this instrument to appear in history is the kodai/Gagaku Shakuhachi which was created in the 8th century and fell out of use during the 10th century. The Kodai/Gagaku was modeled on the “xiao”, a traditional Chinese bamboo flute. The next variant on this instrument is the “hitoyogiri Shakuhachi”, created in the 15th century. The hitoyogiri is smaller and plays higher pitches compared to a fuke shakuhachi. Both the hitoyogiri and fuke saw a lot of use and development in the Edo Period of Japanese history.