Shakuhachi Odyssey - Asahi Falls

This weekend we went down to Izu to visit Baba.   On Saturday I asked her to take us to Asahai Falls where there was once a komuso temple called Rugenji.     I'd read of this  the as being near Izu Ohito, so I was surprised to find that it is actually south of Shuzenji,  quite close to the Laforet resort where Rika and I had our wedding reception.  

"Asahi-taki" is a 100-meter waterfall in the mountains of Izu in Shizuoka prefecture. The piece "Taki-ochi," literally "falling water" is said to have been composed on the banks of the pool at the bottom of this waterfall. "Taki-ochi" is supposedly sometimes played in front of this waterfall. The piece is a honkyoku of the Kinko school but variants are found in other schools as well.

According to Jin Nyodo, when one learns this piece it is important to listen to the sounds of waterfalls. In the case of a pair of waterfalls one must pay attention to which is the "female" (i.e., smaller, less powerful) and which is the "male" (stronger, bigger, etc.). The piece begins with the sound of water dripping; these drops then increase to become a small stream that gradually builds in strength. The second half of the composition describes a large waterfall. This piece features the use of "yuri" and "furi" ornamentation of the melody. It also uses powerful straight breathing and high notes that conjure up the power and scale of a very large waterfall.

Although "Taki-ochi" may have originally been taken from a koto piece by the same name, it must have been greatly altered to suit the shakuhachi. Like many other pieces of the basic repertory, music of other genres was incorporated and varied, resulting in further development of shakuhachi musical styles." 

www.komuso.com/pieces/pieces.pl?piece=2543

Video:  Asahi falls and Takiochi.   Large file so may take some time to load 

As you can see in the video, a path leads about a third of the way up the falls to wide ledge in the waterfall.    "There is a tradition among many Buddhist lineages, including the shakuhachi playing Fuke lineage, of meditating under waterfalls. It is claimed that to play shakuhachi under a cascading waterfall in wintertime may be to experience one-mindedness."