On the Nov. 3rd we took a 1.5 hour train to Kumamoto Station from Hakata Station where we checked into our new hotel, right next to the Shirakawa. At 1 pm Nishimura Koryu came by to pick us up in a few cars and drove us to his home in Kami Kumamoto. We spent the whole afternoon in the home of the late Nishimura Kokuu, the great rennaisance man of the Kyotaku flute (Kyotaku is just another name for jinashi shakuahchi). He was truly a great artist, a master of many artforms: carving, calligraphy, painting, drawing, martial arts, and of course, the Kyotaku. A few of Kokuu`s students were there: Ko-ei, Kokou, and his biological son and heir to his style of playing, Koryu. They all played pieces for us which was very gentle and relaxing. It was quite beautiful and good energy all around. I was quite excited as Koryu inspired me to play the extra-long flutes with my foot. It was difficult but I managed to play Honshirabe with not too much difficulty. I look forward to developing my playing of 3.2-3.9 using my feet!
They drove us back to our hotel around 6 pm and then had dinner at the hotel. Jeff Cairns came by after dinner to check up on us and discuss our schedule for the next day which was to harvest bamboo with Tsurugi-san the shakuhachi maker, then abura nuki. It`s going to be very interesting to see what kind of bamboo we come out with!
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