is the Japanese word for
bamboo flute
The bamboo flute, especially the bone flute, is one of the oldest musical instruments known. Examples of Paleolithic flutes, Paleolithic bone flutes have survived for more than 40,000 years, to be discovered by archaeologists. While the oldest f ...
, and refers to a class of flutes native to Japan. come in many varieties, but are generally high-pitched and made of a
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
called . The most popular of the is the .
Categorization
are traditionally broken up into two basic categories – the
transverse flute
A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played.Powell, A. (2001). Transverse flute. Grove Music Online. Retrieved 6 Feb. 2024 The player blows across the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to ...
and the
end-blown flute
thumb , Notched flute, showing U-shaped notch in the instrument’s rim.
The end-blown flute (also called an edge-blown flute or rim-blown flute) is a woodwind instrument played by directing an airstream against the sharp edge of the upper en ...
. Transverse flutes are held to the side, with the musician blowing across a hole near one end; end-blown flutes are held vertically and the musician blows into one end.
History
The earliest may have developed from
pitch pipe
A pitch pipe is a small device (type of tuning Harmonica) used to provide a pitch reference for musicians. Although it may be described as a musical instrument, it is not typically used to play music as such.
Origins
The earliest pitch pipes ...
s known as in
Chinese
Chinese may refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China.
**'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
.
[Malm, William P. Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments. 1959. Rev. ed. Otowa: Kodansha International, 2000.] The instrument eventually made its way over to Japan from China in the 5th century, becoming prevalent during the
Nara Period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...
.
Soon after the introduction of instruments,
members
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the
Fuke sect The term "Fuke" is Japanese and may refer to:
* Fuke, known as Puhua, in Chinese, the legendary precursor to the eponymous Fuke Zen school of Buddhism in Japan
* Fuke Zen, a distinct and ephemeral sect of Zen Buddhism that once flourished in Jap ...
of
Zen Buddhism
Zen (; from Chinese: '' Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka ph ...
made normal use of the . These "priests of nothingness" viewed the instruments as spiritual tools, using them for , or "blowing meditation".
Tagliaferro, Linda. "Music and Nature in a Japanese Flute".
New York Times, 10 May 1998, retrieved 6 July 2008 Modern performance may feature a soloist or involve either a chamber or large ensemble of the instruments.
Instruments
Japanese include many different varieties of Japanese flute, including the following:
References
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Japanese musical instruments
Bamboo flutes