Kobata Suigetsu

People say two important books to read about shakuhachi are those of Hisamatsu Fuyo and Kobata Suigetsu.

Kobata (1951) wrote:

None of the today’s shakuhachi schools are perfect in themselves. You should not be obsessed by just one school but experience a few different schools. Otherwise, you cannot achieve the ultimate way of shakuhachi playing. For example, let’s assume this person studies shakuhachi in a school in which the emphasis is placed on entertainment shakuhachi playing. Reaching a certain age, this person will feel that something is missing in his or her study and eventually get bored of playing the shakuhachi itself. Conversely, if a vigorous young person starts fuke zen shakuhachi music in his or her youth, he or she would be intimidated by its dark, non-musical nature. This person may draw a hasty conclusion that nothing can be more brutal than shakuhachi music.