About Me: Josen Jon Kypros

My connection to bamboo and flutes feels as old as I am. My dad, an avid horticulturalist and musician, instilled in me a great reverence for both plants and music. His Chinese xiao was my first exposure to bamboo flutes. Around age fifteen, I began crafting bamboo flutes myself and exploring meditation. The shakuhachi unified these things in a single form.

At nineteen, in 2005, I moved to New York City to study shakuhachi. I supported myself through flute sales and a spartan lifestyle, which enabled me to learn from masters like Ron Nyogetsu and travel to Kyoto to study with Kurahashi Yodo II. A new chapter began in 2010 under the tutelage of Justin Senryu.

After more than a decade of study, Justin honored me with the title of Daishihan, “Grandmaster,” or, as I prefer, “senior instructor” (大師範). Josen (alt. Seisen; 静泉) is my chikumei and kaimyo, or professional shakuhachi name and Dharma name (Zen Buddhism). Together, the kanji of my name can be read as “clear-mind source” or “clear-mind spring.”

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’) Josen (alt. Seisen; 静泉) meaning ‘clear-mind source/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 Europe from America, in 2023.