Shakuhachi

A shakuhachi flute.
 • Left - top view, four holes.
 • Right - bottom view, fifth hole.

The shakuhachi (尺八 (しゃくはち), IPA: [ɕakɯhatɕi]) is a Japanese flute which is played vertically (up-down) like a recorder, instead of horizontally (from side to side) like the Western transverse flute. Its name means "1.8 foot", its size. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but ones made of wood or plastic exist today. It was used by the monks of Zen Buddhism in the practice of suizen (blowing meditation).

Related pages

• Flute

Other websites

Shakuhachi info websites

• Archive of articles about the shakuhachi
• Shakuhachi Playing Tips Archived 2007-08-08 at the Wayback Machine from Kakizakai Kaoru
• An online calculator for the positioning of the holes while constructing a Shakuhachi - German
• Shakuhachi in Federal Prison
• Open Directory Project - Shakuhachi Archived 2007-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
• Shakuhachi playing tips Archived 2007-09-10 at the Wayback Machine from Phil Nyokai James
• The Shakuhachi Blog - News & Information Archived 2006-10-23 at the Wayback Machine

Shakuhachi groups websites

• Myspace Shakuhachi Community
• Listing of Shakuhachi Schools and Organizations
• International Shakuhachi Society
• Shakuhachi Society of British Columbia
• Seattle Shakuhachi Society
• Australian Shakuhachi Society
• Shakuhachi Mailing List web archive Archived 2007-08-13 at the Wayback Machine
• ShakuhachiForum.com — world shakuhachi discussion
• Shakuhachi Chamber Music International