Tadashi Tajima
Shakuhachi No Sekai
Toshiba Records (Japan) 1986
LRS-921 (LP) w/insert.
sleeve : NM-
media : EX-/EX-(some light noises.)
This is a 1986 album by shakuhachi player Tadashi Tajima, who studied under the second-generation Sakai Chikuhō and later apprenticed with Katsuya Yokoyama, mastering classical honkyoku pieces including those from the Kaidō repertoire. In 1994, he founded the Chokushō-ryū style and performed not only in Japan but also across Europe. This is the second installment in a series dedicated to shakuhachi honkyoku performances. It features well-known classical pieces such as Tsuru no Sugomori (The Nesting of Cranes), considered the most famous of the honkyoku repertoire; Mitani, said to have been used in rituals of the Fuke sect; Koden Sugomori, with its clearly defined five-part structure; and Ubuyasu, a piece especially favored by his teacher Yokoyama. Among all the honkyoku shakuhachi recordings I've heard, the timbre here is both supernatural and wild. Tajima’s philosophy—playing in caves, temples, and even within the womb of a Great Buddha—clearly echoes the spirit of Paul Horn. Highly recommended.