From the original Renzoh Calligraphy series. Honshirabe.

About Honshirabe from Taniguchi Yoshinobu.

"Honshirabe" literally means "basic melody". The technical and mental approaches to this piece represent the basic building blocks of shakuhachi honkyoku. It is said that some monks played this song their entire lives as part of a Buddhist training aimed at squeezing everything possible out of it and themselves. Of course, this does not mean that they were continually playing, but, more significantly, that they were "living" shakuhachi as a spiritual discipline. In beginning to practice a shakuhachi honkyoku, the student should ask, "What is necessary to play this piece?" If the answers do not spring off the page, then one hasn't done enough training. For Honshirabe, practice should focus on the extremes. That is to say, similar to language training where one benefits greatly from total immersion or repeated study of tapes, one needs to expand the envelope of shakuhachi practice considerably. Play the Tsu no Dai Meri notes below the Ro pitch. Play the long tapered tones until the last bit of life has been put into each note and a point is reached where the sound blends into nothing. One should practice mura iki not only for Otsu no Ro, but so that Otsu no Ro, Kan no Ro and Ha no Go can be distinctly heard with a myriad of other sounds incorporated into "one sound". Practice Tsu no Meri mura iki as well. Practice the initial Tsu/Re progression by blowing off the finger covering the #2 hole. There is no atari on this sound. This is an exercise designed to force ones complete self both inner and outer - to be put into the shakuhachi and force that finger upwards on the attack. Play the song with as wide a dynamic range as possible as well as quietly as possible. Experience both extremes. Remember that "hon" also refers to "honnin no kyoku" which means "one's own song". It would be strange to always imitate someone else's voice when speaking. The same goes for shakuhachi. In playing this piece, take an active mental approach and create your own song and distinctive voice. On the other hand, while diligent practice of basic techniques in a strict regimen can be very demanding, a commitment to such practice places one on the road to freedom.