Steven Kōchiku Casano

光竹

尺八 & 学者
scasano@punahou.edu
http://www.stevencasano.com

As a licensed teacher and active performer of the shakuhachi, Steven Casano has performed on the documentary soundtrack, Aloha Akebono (KHON TV) and has given performances and guest lectures in Hawaii at the Japanese Consulate, Bishop Museum, Honolulu Academy of Arts, University of Hawaii at Manoa, East-West Center, Hawaii Theater, Chaminade University, and Kapiolani Community College. He has also performed in Osaka & Bisei, Japan; Albany, New York; Chicago Illinois and is a frequent presentor at the Japanese Studies Association's Freeman Foundation Summer Institute. A recipient of the prestigious Japanese Ministry of Education Scholarship (Monbushou), Steven has conducted extensive research on the modern history of the shakuhachi tradition at Osaka University and under the guidance of world-renowned scholar, Tsukitani Tsuneko, and the Osaka-based Shakuhachi Kenkyuukai of the Osaka University of Arts. Mr. Casano has been published in the international journal, "The World of Music" and has served on the faculty of the Hawaii Shakuhachi Festival 2006, Kauai Shakuhachi Festival 2014, and the Shakuhachi Festival of the Pacific 2017. His teachers include Robert Herr and Riley Lee in Hawaii and Ishikawa Toshimitsu in Japan. Steven was also lucky enough to work directly with the world-renowned Yokoyama Katsuya in both workshops and private lessons in Bisei, Japan. In the last several years he has worked with Zenyōji Keisuke in Tokyo studying honkyoku from Fudaiji Temple and the Nezasaha style of playing and most recently he began studies with Dr. Yamada Fumio, prefectural designated holder of the Japanese intangible treasure Kinpu-ryū Shakuhachi, to further deepen his playing and understanding of the Kinpu-ryū, Nezasaha style. In 2000, Steven received his Jun-Shihan license from Yokoyama Katsuya and Ishikawa Toshimitsu. In 2016 , he received his Shihan license and the name Taizen (泰然）from Grandmaster Riley Lee and in 2024 was granted his Dai-shihan license and the name Kōchiku (光竹).
Steven has released two CDs, The Voice of Bamboo: Take no Koe & San Kyorei: Sacred Music for Shakuhachi. In the Summer of 2022, Steven competed in the World Shakuhachi Festival Online Competition, where he placed 4th in the modern music category and received a special prize for "Best Video." In 2023, he received 1st place in the Hawai'i Regional Osaka International Music Competition. Most recently, Steven received Platinum Medals in the Global International Music Competition, Trinity International Music Competition, Canadian International Music Competition, and the Grand Maestro International Music Competition.

先生

アルバム

The Voice of Bamboo

This recording features pieces of the traditional Japanese shakuhachi flute. Originally brought over from China as part of the ancient Japanese court music, Gagaku, the shakuhachi eventually evolved into an instrument that was used by a sect of Zen Buddhism known as the Fuke sect.

録音した曲

曲	漢字	長さ	アルバム	楽器
Azuma Jishi (Taizan Ha)	吾妻獅子	02'03	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
Chôshi (Yamato)	調子 (大和)	04'05	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
Daha	打波	04'24	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
Hon Shirabe	本調	03'30	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
Murasaki Reibo	紫鈴慕	05'36	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
Sagari Ha (Oshu)	下り葉 (奥州)	03'18	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
San'an	産安	06'01	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
San'ya (Dokyoku)	三谷	06'26	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
Shirabe (Nezasa Ha)	調 (根笹)	03'04	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
Tamuke	手向	03'40	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
Tehodoki Reiho	手解鈴法	03'17	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
Yamagoe (aka Reiho)	鈴法	03'34	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八
Yodogawa Sanjukkoku Fune Uta	淀川三十曲船唄	01'38	The Voice of Bamboo	尺八

文献

タイトル	漢字	出版社	年	ページ	言語
Fron Fuke Shu to Uduboo: Zen and the Transnational Flow of the Shakuhachi Tradition to the West. University of Hawai'i Master of Arts in Music Thesis.			2001	169	English