It’s been my great joy to be a full-time teacher of shakuhachi and a craftsperson providing fine shakuhachi for sale for over twenty years.
I hold the title of Dai Shihan or ‘Grandmaster’ of the shakuhachi and I practice Zen Buddhism, both of which I will cultivate for the rest of my life.
It would be my pleasure to guide you on your pilgrimage down the také no michi or ‘bamboo path’.
Find a shakuhachi that speaks to you...
I handcraft Jinashi and Jimori (地無し•地盛り) — the only types of shakuhachi that preserve the natural inner bore of the bamboo.
From these unique expressions of nature you can find shakuhachi that truly speak to you. Visit my shakuhachi for sale page to see what's available.
Learn how to play the shakuhachi
Over the years, it's been my pleasure to have helped countless people with playing the shakuhachi, from getting their first sounds and all the way to the advanced levels.
Check out my free video course How to Play the Shakuhachi. You can also find information on private, one-on-one shakuhachi lessons with me on my shakuhachi lessons page.
Reach out to me with any questions you may have and I hope to meet you in the bamboo, Josen 常泉
Timeline
b. 1985 Jonathan Harrison Kypros (Κυπριανός)
'01~’02 - Began formal meditation practice and crafting bamboo flutes, age fifteen~sixteen.
'05 to '08 - Moved to NYC to study the Jin Nyodo style under Ron Nyogetsu and Kurahashi Yodo II, also in Kyoto, age nineteen.
Granted the maker's name Shingetsu.
'08 - Among the first to utilize YouTube for shakuhachi instruction (oldest videos were unfortunately deleted).
'10 to '22 - Studied older styles of Honkyoku from Justin Senryu for over a decade culminating in a Dai Shihan 'Grandmaster' license (大師範) and the Chikumei ‘bamboo (shakuhachi) name’ and Kaimyo 'Dharma name' Josen 常泉 which means 'Eternal Spring', as in water spring.
'18 - Fully released The Bell Shakuhachi, the world's first Jinashi and Jimori copies (discontinued).
[I released the first iterations of The Bell Shakuhachi in 2012 and I began working on copying Jinashi all the way back in 2008]
'23 - Introduced Murei 'No Bell' shakuhachi (無鈴); high quality 'above root' bamboo jinashi and jimori shakuhachi.
'23 - Received the Zen Buddhist Precepts and the Rakusu.
The older, regional Honkyoku styles I teach
Below is a list of the older, regional styles of Honkyoku which were passed down to me by my teacher Justin Senryu.
Much of these Honkyoku were preserved in the lineage of Yamaue Getsuzan 山上 月山 (b. 1908).
Yamaue's student Sato Reido 佐藤鈴童 and their student Otsubo Shido both instructed my teacher.
We help to preserve these pieces and others in Justin's Senryu-kai shakuhachi school, in which I hold my Dai Shihan 'Grandmaster' license.
For the Seien Ryu of Fudaiji Temple, we have the late Iwata Seien VI to thank who also taught Justin directly.
While I've strived to perfect all of these styles over the years, I focus on the Fudaiji Honkyoku as passed down in both the original Seien Ryu form
and the wonderfully more complexly ornamented versions from Myoan Taizan Ha.
Fudaiji Temple 普大寺 (Seien Ryu 西園流)
Honkyoku from Fudaiji Temple 普大寺, Hamamatsu and Nagoya.
These are the Honkyoku Higuchi Taizan first learned in his hometown and which he eventually used to form the basis of his 'Myoan Taizan Ryu' or 'Myoan'/'Meian',
as it's commonly referred to, after moving to Kyoto.
Kinpu Ryu (aka. Nezasa-ha) 錦風流 / 根笹派
Honkyoku from Aomori prefecture in the far North which was founded by still active Samurai. Kinpu Ryu has a distinct pulsing breath called Komi buki.
Kyushu-Kei 九州-系
Honkyoku from Kyushu which is said to be the birthplace of Honkyoku. From various Komuso Fuke shu temples such as Icchoken aka Itchoken.
Oshu Kei 奥州-系
Honkyoku from the former Oshu region which included Echigo Myoanji Den 越後国 明暗-伝, Northern Japan: significant influence on Watazumi, and thus his student Yokoyama Katsuya.
Myoan Shinpo Ryu 明暗真法流
Honkyoku from Myoanji temple, Kyoto. Also known as Kyu or 'Old' Myoanji. Shinpo Ryu uses a largely different set of Katakana for its notation (prior to Taizan's Myoanji which has none of the Honkyoku from Kyu Myoanji).
Honkyoku styles from Masters
Myoan Taizan Ha or Ryu 明暗 対山派
I teach select Honkyoku from Myoan Taizan Ha, including all of the Myoan versions of the original eleven Fudaiji Seien Ryu Honkyoku.
Higuchi Taizan 樋口 対山 (1856 - 11/22/1914), the founder of Myoan Taizan Ha, was first a Seien Ryu player.
Taizan then traveled Japan collecting more Honkyoku before settling in Kyoto and founding the Myoan Taizan Ha, as well as reviving Kyoto's Myoanji temple.
In particular, I specialize in transmitting a very faithful version of Ajikan directly based in the lineage of Miyagawa Nyozan 宮川 如山 (7/6/1868 - 11/22/1946).
Jin Nyodo Kei 神 如道-系
Jin Nyodo kei or style was the first I learned at age eighteen in NYC and Kyoto, Japan.
This way of playing has come to have very long phrasing and a spacious feeling that many people enjoy.
Jin Nyodo also made some very masterful arrangements of pieces such as Fudaiji Kyorei, Darani which is based on one of the Reibo from Myoan Shinpo Ryu.
Watazumi and Yokoyama Katsuya
Honkyoku from Watazumi Sensei's Dokyoku and his student Yokyoyama Katsuya's Chikushinkai 竹心会
AKA Kokusai Shakuhachi Kenshukan (国際尺八研修館) or KSK, as it's referred to outside of Japan.
I specialize in the piece Tamuké. I also transmit Hon Shirabe and Yamagoe.
Exploration and Creation - Improvisation and Composition
We can preserve these classics and enjoy the freedom to explore and create.
I would greatly enjoy empowering and encouraging you to explore via improvisation, and maybe even create your own humble compositions.
Like learning how to write, eventually we can make poetry — even if that just means playing the notes our hearts want to hear in the moment…
