Shakuhachi of old

I have acquired myself a nice old flute of about late 19th century and to be said of belonging to the edo period (1603 - 1867). to even have a flute of that era and age is quite something to me. When the opportunity arised I got this flute, which is a komosu-flute and by itself not a great flute, but a nice one nonetheless. It is a 1.9 ish flute in tune (reasonably) to itself and it plays rather 'lovely' and sweet. The amount of possible meri-ing is amazing (1 full note is quite easy -even for a beginner such as I-). The tuning is a bit tacky at parts, but can be countered.

picture of the hanko

Overall I am very happy being able to play a flute of this era. I'll post a picture of the hanko as well and hope someone will recognize it. I became interested in reading about older flutes in this article by John Singer In Search of the Magic Flute
It is a nice read and has an interview at the bottom by Brian Tairaku Ritchie.

The Hanko displays the kanji for Nakajima (Naka-shima or could also be read Chutou.
It is probably an owners Hanko (not a makers).

About lessons

Hiya,

My fourth and fifth lesson had passed as I write this. Even as I notice that learning does take place on my own, when I practice at home I feel lessons take me futher. The teacher pushes me to try it differently and think outside my own box. That is good, especially if you notice that it work and adds to the playing of the shak. Material is also presented in the order wich is logic to me, but it seems even more so after I am further, I can look back and see why. I wouldn't be able to do so on my own! So what does practice look like:
* ro buki and forms of blowing like muraiki
* songs which challenge the new or tricky notes like Bb Eb, Ri dai meri and Tsu dai meri.
* new honkyoku and pieces like Sanya
My teacher asked me to play an improvisation together on a opening of a Buddhist centre somewhere in the procence...isn't that nice!

Happy practicing!