9 min
Music
Ichijo, played whole on the shakuhachi
Nine minutes of solo bamboo flute on Schlefer's own channel: the honkyoku Ichijo, from first breath to last.
About the artist
James Nyoraku Schlefer
Shakuhachi grand master, composer and teacher, born in New York in 1956. He first heard the instrument in 1979 while working on a master's degree in musicology, and received his Dai-Shi-Han, grand master, certificate in 2001, followed in 2008 by a Shi-Han certificate from the Mujuan Dojo in Kyoto. He is trained in the Kinko school and studied in Japan with Yoshio Kurahashi, Reibo Aoki, Katsuya Yokoyama and Kifu Mitsuhashi. He teaches the solo honkyoku, the repertoire the komusō monks of Fuke Zen played as suizen, blowing zen, where the breath is the practice rather than the performance. He runs a shakuhachi dojo in New York City and co-founded Kyo-Shin-An Arts in 2008 to bring Japanese instruments into Western classical chamber music.
Upcoming events
Meet James Nyoraku Schlefer in person.
Talks, day programmes and retreats currently listed in the Paths Are Many calendar.
No upcoming events are currently listed.
Talks & videos
Watch before you attend.
Short introductions and longer conversations, to hear this artist in their own words.
12 min
Music
Tsuru no Sugomori: the nesting of the cranes
The Futaiken version of the old honkyoku that follows a pair of cranes through nesting, flight and parting, played on solo shakuhachi.
71 min
Interview
An hour on the shakuhachi and the path that led to it
A full conversation with Schlefer on Music Matters: how a Western musician came to the Kinko repertoire, and what the solo honkyoku asks of a player.
Path
The wider context.
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Zazen & everyday awareness
Zen
Direct meditative practice, zazen and everyday awareness in traditions rooted in Chinese Chan and its later forms.
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