Shakuhachi and Suizen

The shakuhachi (尺八^?, pronounced [ɕakɯhatɕi]) is a Japanese end-blown flute.

It was originally introduced from China into Japan in the 6th century and underwent a resurgence in the early Edo Period.

The shakuhachi is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods.

It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of suizen (吹禅^?, Zen blowing meditation).

Its soulful sound made it popular in 1980s pop music in the English-speaking world.

The instrument is normally tuned to the minor pentatonic scale.

The name shakuhachi means "1.8 shaku", referring to its size. It is a compound of two words:

• shaku (尺^?) means "shaku", an archaic unit of length equal to 30.3 centimeters (0.994 English foot) and subdivided in ten subunits.
• hachi (八^?) means "eight", here eight sun, or tenths of a shaku.

Thus, "shaku-hachi" means "one shaku eight sun" (almost 55 centimeters), the standard length of a shakuhachi.
Suizen (吹禅^?) is a Zen practice consisting of playing the shakuhachi bamboo flute as a means of attaining self-realization. The monks from the Fuke sect of Zen who practiced suizen were called komusō (虚無僧; literally "emptiness monks").