Honkyoku

Honkyoku (本曲, "original pieces") are the pieces of shakuhachi music played by mendicant Japanese Zen monks called komusō. Komusō played honkyoku for enlightenment and alms as early as the 13th century. Honkyoku is part of the practice of suizen (吹禅, "blowing Zen"). The Fuke sect which originated from this practice ceased to exist in the 19th century, after which several shakuhachi guilds were formed, and the verbal and written lineage of many honkyoku continues today, though the music is now often practised in a concert or performance setting.

There are many ryū 流, or schools, of honkyoku, each with their own style, emphasis, and teaching methods.

"Motion in honkyoku is significantly static, precisely because of the dominance of the sacred purpose and function, and to a certain extent, it is also subject to breathing meditation, the principle of the suidan - the phrase of one full breath - thus a form of breathing exercise."[1]

Kinko Ryū

In the 18th century, a komusō named Kinko Kurosawa of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism was commissioned to travel Japan and collect these musical pieces. Although it is commonly thought that the 36 pieces of the Kinko Ryū Honkyoku repertoire were collected and played by Kinko Kurosawa, these pieces were significantly changed and codified by later generations, including Miura Kindo and others.

1. Hifumi—Hachigaeshi no Shirabe 一二三鉢返の調
2. Taki-ochi no Kyoku (Taki-otoshi no Kyoku) 瀧落の曲
3. Akita Sugagaki 秋田菅垣
4. Koro Sugagaki 転菅垣
5. Kyūshū Reibo 九州鈴慕
6. Shizu no Kyoku 志図の曲
7. Kyō Reibo 京鈴慕
8. Mukaiji Reibo 霧海箎
9. Kokū Reibo 虚空
10. a) Kokū Kaete (Ikkan-ryū) 虚空替手 (一関流) b) Banshikichō 盤渉調
11. Shin Kyorei 真虚霊
12. Kinsan Kyorei 琴三虚霊
13. Yoshiya Reibo 吉野鈴慕
14. Yūgure no Kyoku 夕暮の曲
15. Sakai Jishi 栄獅子
16. Uchikae Kyorei 打替虚霊
17. Igusa Reibo 葦草鈴慕
18. Izu Reibo 伊豆鈴慕
19. Reibo Nagashi 鈴慕流
20. Sōkaku Reibo 巣鶴鈴慕
21. Sanya Sugagaki 三谷菅垣
22. Shimotsuke Kyorei 下野虚霊
23. Meguro-jishi 目黒獅子
24. Ginryū Kokū 吟龍虚空
25. Sayama Sugagaki 佐山菅垣
26. Sagari Ha no Kyoku 下り葉の曲
27. Namima Reibo 波間鈴慕
28. Shika no Tōne 鹿の遠音
29. Hōshōsu 鳳将雛
30. Akebono no Shirabe 曙の調
31. Akebono Sugagaki 曙菅垣
32. Ashi no Shirabe 芦の調
33. Kotoji no Kyoku 琴柱の曲
34. Kinuta Sugomori 砧巣籠
35. Tsuki no Kyoku 月の曲
36. Kotobuki no Shirabe 寿の調

At least three additional pieces were later added to the Kinko-Ryu repertoire:

1. Kumoi Jishi 雲井獅子
2. Azuma no Kyoku 吾妻の曲
3. Sugagaki 菅垣

Other notable Honkyoku schools:

School	Founder
Chikuho Ryū	Sakai Chikuho I 初世酒井 竹保
Chikushinkai (Dokyoku)	Watazumi Doso 海童道祖 / Yokoyama Katsuya 横山 勝也
Jikishō Ryū	Tajima Tadashi 田嶋直士
Mu Ryû	Miyata Kohachiro 宮田耕八朗
Myoan Shinpo Ryū	Ozaki Shinryu 尾崎真龍
Nezasa Ha / Kimpu Ryū	Kurihara (Einosuke) Kinpu 栗原錦風
Seien Ryū	Kanemoto Seien 兼友西園
Taizan Ha	Higuchi Taizan 樋口対山
Tozan Ryū	Nakao Tozan 中尾都山
Ueda Ryū	Ueda Hodo 上田芳憧

Notes

• Shakuhachi Meditation Music, a 1997 CD release from Sounds True, features 13 selections from the Kinko Ryū, performed by Stan Richardson.[2]

References

1. Matoušek, Vlastislav. "Specifics of the Musical Language of Fuke Honkyoku". shakuhachi.cz.
2. Shakuhachi Meditation Music, Stan Richardson. Boulder, Colorado: Sounds True (1997) (liner notes)

External links

• Kinko Ryū information
• Kinko Ryū repertoire
• Dokyoku repertoire
• The Systemisation of the Musical Language of the Fukezen Shakuhachi Honkyoku