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May 25, 2005
Day 3, Shigemi Inoue Repair
Wow, this flute is really coming together. Once I did the inlays, the whole thing started to respond nicely!
I finally finished the whole flute in inlayed rattan and am getting a nice sound. When it first came to me, there was hardly a RO. Now, it's quite velvety.
I like the contrast of the new rattan against the dark aged skin. The owner wants brown urushi painted over the rattan, let's see what she looks like when it's all finished.
The next step is to remove the plaster from the chin rest at the top
It's ironic that the original reason it came to me was because there was a chip in the plaster and I was just going to glue it back in.
All the plaster had to be removed so that the graft will adhere well - bamboo to bamboo.
I had seen such steep angles on other old shakuhachi. I wondered if that's how they liked to play shakuhachi back then. This type of angle creates a buzzier tone. Nice for those who like Honkyoku. Stay tuned for the bamboo graft. First, I have to find the perfect donor. Until tomorrow. Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 01:02 AM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2005
Day 2, Shigemi Repair
Off to a great start with the rattan. Underneath is 20 lbs monofilament encased in 2-ton epoxy. It will surely not open up...ever. Filing the epoxy to the exact recessed depth is quite tricky. I was only able to do three rattan wraps today because ot the intense focus and concentration.
Stay tuned...ouch (pardon the pun)!
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)
Major Shakuahchi Restoration on a Shigemi Inoue
Last week, the stars were aligned. Two Shigemi Inoue flutes came into my shop on the same exact day. Both had a leak. Both were put in my humid box at the same time. One sealed completely and was returned two days later. The other, revealed no change after being in the box for three days. On the fourth day, it exploded
There were little cracks in the lacqer coated bindings and I knew that was a sign of deterioration underneath but little did I know the urushi was rotten. It was slowly giving way before it came to me and basically explode once it was exposed to a little humidity. It was like a bandaged wound that had been needing stiches. Well, the doctor's in the house.
There were cracks in the bore when I got it. Now they are fully opened. There were signs that there was already bore work done then these cracks first split through.
Here is the reason why I never use super glue to fill the cracks. Once you do that, the crack will never seal and if it splits more, there will be a liitle hole underneath the bindings. This is where I suspect the leak was coming from.
There's going to be bore work done. I will restore ti to it's original bore profile.
Another gapping hole underneath the binding.
The old way of holding a crack together. With a kusabi. We know today those things don't work. Makers in Japan no longer use kusabi to repair cracks on shakuhachi.
It's gotta go.
The bottom piece had cracks too. It's time to fully bind the whole flute.
I'm using 20lbs monofilament. It's much stronger than the thread the previous repair man used. That could've been forty years ago.
The back of the utaguchi had Ji built up to cover up where someone had cut away bamboo to create a greater angle. It was too steep so they filled it with Ji. I'm going to restore it by grafting a new piece of bamboo.
The skin of the Shigemi will sit on my bench top for a while. This flute was made about 80 years ago. Let's see what magic theses pieces may bring.
Come back to see the flute fully restored.
Please store your flute in AIRTIGHT containers.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 01:10 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2005
Shakuhachi Bamboo Harvest 2005
Here are a few photos from this year's harvest in January from Japan.
There is this tiny little secluded mountain in the middle of Tokyo with some nice take (Japanese for bamboo). Sorry, it's a secret.
It's good to have company. Once, I was accosted by a hugh black snarling wild boar. This time, I was lucky.
Pushing and pulling, working up a sweat. It can take up to 20 minutes to pull a stubborn root.
The root ball is actually bigger than most people think.
Shaving down the roots so the load will be lighter as we make our way through the grove. Why not just leave it?
Because after half a day of digging through thick bushes, you'll never find the bamboo again if you leave it behind.
after cutting the root ball and trimming the tiny roots.
Heating the bamboo through a process called aburanuki - to remove the oils. Notice how the bamboo turns a pale green. This also helps the bamboo turn golden color quicker.
I like the dark mottled texture throughout the surface.
This one has a root resembling the hoof of a camel. This will be a keeper.
From the middle of Tokyo, Japan to the Upper West Side, New York City, here they are in my window sill waiting for a new life.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 01:07 AM | Comments (3)
May 05, 2005
Beginnings
I received a photo the other day that left me speechless.
I had to show my wife. All she said was "wow".
This is a new shakuhachi community in Texas. I'm extremely proud to have been the maker of many of the instuments seen here.
I had a really tough time through my teenage years. Looking back at it now, I can say with absolute certainty that music helped me through it all. If I accomplish anything at all with the shakuhachi, knowing that I may have helped some young person through some hard times will have made it all worth it.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 10:06 PM | Comments (2)