My Shakuhachi Path
My connection with bamboo feels as old as I am. Around fifteen (2001-2002), this love for bamboo blossomed into crafting flutes, at the same time I began my journey with meditation. Not long after, I found the shakuhachi, and it quickly resonated with my spirit, becoming the heart of my focus.
In 2005, at nineteen, I took a leap of faith, moving to New York City to immerse myself in shakuhachi study. Thanks to the support from selling my bamboo flutes and a very simple lifestyle, I was able to learn from incredible teachers like Ron Nyogetsu and Kurahashi Yodo II, even traveling to Kyoto, Japan, for lessons. My path continued in 2010 when I began studying with Justin Senryu. After more than a decade of dedicated effort, it was a profound honor to receive the title of Daishihan (‘Grandmaster’).
Timeline
- 1985: Born Jonathan Harrison Kypros (Κυπριανός).
- 2001-2002 (Ages 15-16): Began formal meditation practice and crafting bamboo flutes.
- 2005-2008 (Ages 19-22): Moved to NYC to study the Jin Nyodo style under Ron Nyogetsu and Kurahashi Yodo II, including study in Kyoto. Granted the maker’s name Shingetsu.
- 2007: Became the first person to copy and cast the bore of a Jinashi shakuhachi (initiating the development of what would become the Bell Shakuhachi).
- 2008: Among the first to utilize YouTube for shakuhachi instruction (older videos unfortunately deleted).
- 2010: Pioneered the use of Japanese Madaké bamboo grown in America for shakuhachi.
- 2010-2022: Studied older styles of Honkyoku from Justin Senryu for over a decade, culminating in a Daishihan (‘Grandmaster’) license (大師範), the Chikumei (‘bamboo’ shakuhachi license name), and the Kaimyo (‘Dharma name’) 静泉 or Josen (Jyosen) meaning ‘Peaceful Spring’.
- 2011: Became the first non-Japanese person to weave a Komuso shakuhachi monk Tengai “basket hat.”
- 2012: Released the first publicly available iteration of the Bell Shakuhachi for sale, the world’s first Jinashi and Jimori copies.
- 2015: Authored Your Shakuhachi Journey.
- 2018: Released the second iteration of The Bell Shakuhachi, made from bamboo eco-composite.
- 2023: Received Zen Buddhist Precepts and the Rakusu.
- 2023: Relocated to France from America.
The older regional Honkyoku styles I’ve learned
Below is a list of the older regional styles of Honkyoku which were passed down to me by my teacher Justin Senryu. Much of these Honkyoku were preserved in the lineage of Yamaue Getsuzan 山上 月山 (b. 1908). Yamaue’s student Sato Reido 佐藤鈴童 and their student Otsubo Shido both instructed Justin. We help to preserve these pieces and others in Justin’s Senryu-kai shakuhachi school, in which I hold my Daishihan ‘Grandmaster’ license. For the Seien Ryu of Fudaiji Temple, we have the late Iwata Seien VI to thank who also taught Justin directly.
Fudaiji Temple 普大寺 (Seien Ryu 西園流)
Honkyoku from Fudaiji Temple 普大寺, Hamamatsu and Nagoya. These are the Honkyoku Higuchi Taizan first learned in his hometown and which he eventually used to form the basis of his ‘Myoan Taizan Ryu’ or ‘Myoan’/’Meian’, as it’s commonly referred to, after moving to Kyoto.
Kinpu Ryu (aka. Nezasa-ha) 錦風流 / 根笹派
Honkyoku from Aomori prefecture in the far North which was founded by still active Samurai. Kinpu Ryu has a distinct pulsing breath called Komi buki.
Kyushu-Kei 九州-系
Honkyoku from Kyushu which is said to be the birthplace of Honkyoku. From various Komuso Fuke shu temples such as Icchoken aka Itchoken.
Oshu Kei 奥州-系
Honkyoku from the former Oshu region which included Echigo Myoanji Den 越後国 明暗-伝, Northern Japan: significant influence on Watazumi, and thus his student Yokoyama Katsuya.
Myoan Shinpo Ryu 明暗真法流
Honkyoku from Myoanji temple, Kyoto. Also known as Kyu or ‘Old’ Myoanji. Shinpo Ryu uses a largely different set of Katakana for its notation (prior to Taizan’s Myoanji which has none of the Honkyoku from Kyu Myoanji).
Honkyoku styles from Masters
Myoan Taizan Ha or Ryu 明暗 対山派
I teach select Honkyoku from Myoan Taizan Ha, including all of the Myoan versions of the original eleven Fudaiji Seien Ryu Honkyoku. Higuchi Taizan 樋口 対山 (1856 – 11/22/1914), the founder of Myoan Taizan Ha, was first a Seien Ryu player. Taizan then traveled Japan collecting more Honkyoku before settling in Kyoto and founding the Myoan Taizan Ha, as well as reviving Kyoto’s Myoanji temple. In particular, I specialize in transmitting a very faithful version of Ajikan directly based in the lineage of Miyagawa Nyozan 宮川 如山 (7/6/1868 – 11/22/1946).
Jin Nyodo Kei 神 如道-系
Jin Nyodo kei or style was the first I learned at age eighteen in NYC and Kyoto, Japan. This way of playing has come to have very long phrasing and a spacious feeling that many people enjoy. Jin Nyodo also made some very masterful arrangements of pieces such as Fudaiji Kyorei, Darani which is based on one of the Reibo from Myoan Shinpo Ryu.
Watazumi and Yokoyama Katsuya
Honkyoku from Watazumi Sensei’s Dokyoku and his student Yokyoyama Katsuya’s Chikushinkai 竹心会 AKA Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan (国際尺八研修館) or KSK, as it’s referred to outside of Japan. I specialize in the piece Tamuké. I also transmit Hon Shirabe and Yamagoe.
