Shakuhachi and Taiko in Aichi

Nov. 22, 2006

We left at a leisurely pace from Kyoto around 11 AM, kind of reluctant to leave but itching to move along on our journey. Our next destination was the Kokushou Temple in Aichi where we would meet the nembutsu (Jodo Shu) priest and shakuhachi player, Yano Shiku. I first heard about him through my association with the great master potter of Shiga Raki, Kanzaki Shiho, who actually dabbled a bit in making shakuhachi.

We took the shinkansen to Nagoya, then took a local train to the little town of Agui where we were met by Yano-san and his student, Vito, an Italian fellow from Germany who has been studying with Yano for about 1 year. We met Vito for the first time on our last trip there. They quickly drove us to the temple where we were shown to our tatami rooms which were very nice. Yano did an incredible job rennovating the temple from the ruin which he had described it had been in.

After getting settled in Yano-san shared with us a video taping of a performance he did with high level Shomyo chanting monks from Koya-san. It was a strange mixture of austere, traditional religious ritual with modern shakuhachi/piano/percussion music from Yano and his trio. At about 6 pm. we all gatherd in the Buddha Hall where we all played honkyoku for eachother. After that, Yano`s wife prepared a sumptuous meal of nabe yaki (boiled soup in pots) with various vegetables, seafoods, and meats. After the meal we all helped in cleaning up. We all relaxed a bit then Yano prepared a nightcap for us as we admired Yano`s collection of beautiful Japanese pottery....of course my favorite pieces were Kanzaki Shiho`s!

Eileen Kage, my taiko-playing friend from Vancouver recommended I check out Shidara Taiko when we come to Aichi as she was a roadie on their US tour this past summer she raved about them. So I checked the Shidara Taiko website and it said that they are performing in Aichi on the 23rd of November which is tomorrow. Yano check the time and place for us and found it was at 2:30 pm in a town called Nishio which is about 2 hours from Agui. This couldn`t have been better timing. We could see the show and make it to Matsumoto in the evening.

I slept quite nicely that night. The next morning most of us who woke up gathered in the Buddha hall for chanting and meditation. Yano lead the chanting as we all participated in 30 minutes of chanting `Namu Amida Butsu`. Then 30 minutes of silent meditation. Breakfast was bread, pasteries, juice, coffee, and fruits. Yano had a funeral job to do that morning so he bid us farewell around 9:30. Shidara Taiko responded to my email saying that they are waiting for us to come to their performance in the afternoon. Yano printed out a map for us to get to Nishio.

We left Agui at 11 am and got to Nishio about 1 pm. On the way, we somehow lost Randall as he wasn`t on the train when we disembarked from one station. I wasn`t too worried however, as it was fairly easy to get back to Kyoto.

We were greeted quite warmly by the Shidara staff and had a bite to eat in the nearby cafe before the show. The Shidara performance was quite impressive. Very technically advanced and powerful drummers with beautiful melodies from the shino-bue-playing females. During their encore, Matheus, John Paul, and I were pulled up on stage to dance with everyone which was quite fun.

After the show, I started to get a headache which started to morph into nauseating sickness. When we got on the Shinkansen, I was throwing up along with diarreah. I blamed the food at cafe before the show thinking it must`ve been something spoiled. We arrive in at the Ryokan Seifu So in Matsumoto around 9:30 pm, checked into our rooms (I got a single), took a bath, and I immediately crashed into futon and slept and went to the toilet (it must`ve been at least 15 times) literally all night long.

I wasn`t feeling any better the next morning. I even skipped breakfast as any kind of food made me feel even more nauseated. Most of the guys went out and visited the Matsumoto Castle and surrounded town which is quite beautiful. I heard Matheus also got sick but recovered pretty fast. I felt a little better by the evening but was still quite weak.

To be continued....

Alcvin Ramos
www.bamboo-in.com
ramos@dccnet.com