This is a clip I made from the Komuso Zen Priest playing the Shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) for a promo for Current TV.
It’s up for possible airing here:
Current TV Promo: Stop and Listen
Register and hit the green “I like it!” button, please!
I encountered this Komuso while I was in Nagoya. Komuso ceased to exist from the late 19th Century onwards.
The titles are bits of Zen sayings from samurai and Zen Masters. The subtitles tell the tale of the Komuso and their ultimate fate.
It’s up for possible airing at Current TV:
http://current.com/items/88939627_zen_priest_playing_the_shakuhachi
Register and hit the green “I like it!” button, please!
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Komuso - Japanese Zen Priest
A chance encounter with a vision from Japan’s past
A vision from the past - A Komuso Zen Priest
While I was in Nagoya last month, I was walking to my temporary home for the night (i.e. an internet cafe) when I encountered a vision out of Japan’s past - a Buddhist priest playing a Japanese flute known as a Shakuhachi.
The Shakuhachi player was dressed as a Komuso, a type of Zen Buddhist priest who once wandered throughout Old Japan playing their flutes for alms and meditation. Like some kind of ghost, the komuso just stood there playing his flute while people walked around the him practically ignoring him as he ignored them. It seemed a thing unreal.
Komuso used to play the Shakuhachi (Japanese Bamboo flute) for alms and meditation
Centuries ago in Old Japan the streets of cities and villages were accustomed to the sight of a Buddhist priest playing a bamboo flute with his head completely covered by a straw hat. This was the Komuso. Komuso were Zen Buddhists priests who wandered about Japan playing the Shakuhachi for both meditation and alms.
Komuso belonged to the Fuke sect of Japanese Zen Buddhism. Fuke Zen comes from the teachings of Linji Yixuan, a Zen teacher from China in the 9th Century. Fuke however is the Japanese name for Pahua one of Linji’s peers and co-founders of his sect. Pahua would walk around ringing a bell to summon others to enlightenment. In Japan, it was thought the Shakuhachi could serve this purpose.
Komuso means “Priest of Nothingness”
Fuke Zen came to Japan in the 13th Century. The priest were known first as komoso which means “straw-mat monk.” Later they became known as Komuso which means “priest of nothingness” or “monk of emptiness.” Fuke Zen emphasized pilgrimage and so the sight of wandering Komuso was a familiar one in Old Japan.
Komuso practiced saizen which is meditation through blowing on the Shakuhachi as opposed to the sazen which is meditation through sitting as practiced by most Zen followers.
Komuso wore straw hats which hid their ego and their identity
The shakuhachi flute was the instrument used to achieve this desired state. Shakuhachi derives its name from its size. Shaku is an old unit of measure close to an American measurement of a foot. Hachi is eight which in this case represents the measurement of eight-tenths of a shaku. True Shakuhachi are made of bamboo and can be quite expensive going upwards to $5,000 in modern times.
Komuso wore a woven straw hat which covered their head completely looking like an overturned basket. The concept was that by wearing such a hat they removed their ego. What the hat also did was remove their identity from prying eyes. It’s no wonder that komuso was a popular disguise for spies and supposedly the deadly ninja.
Old and New Japan blending together
When the Tokugawa Shogunate came into power over a unified Japan at the beginning of the 17th Century, the komuso came under the government’s wary eyes. Many komuso had formerly been samurai during the Sengoku (Warring States) Period (16th Century) and were now lay clergy. The potential for trouble was there because many of them had turned ronin when their masters were defeated - most likely by the Shogunate and their allies.
The Shogunate instead of destroying this potential menace instead turned the komuso into a positive force, at least from their perspective. Therefore komuso were granted the rare privilege of traveling through the country without hindrance. The reason for this special permission was that many komuso had been co-opted into becoming spies for the Shogunate. And some were outright spies in komuso disguise.
Many Komuso were former samurai
Only true Komuso, though, could play the honkyoku which were musical pieces of such complexity that only those adept with the Shakuhachi could perform them. Sometimes komuso were asked to perform these pieces to see if they were true komuso or the Shogun’s spies in disguise. However, it mattered little as some of the true komuso were also on the Shogunate’s payroll.
Komuso could move freely throughout Old Japan unlike Ronin (masterless samurai)
In 1868 when power was relinquished by the Shogunate to the Emperor, the komuso bore a significant brunt of the animosity from Imperial forces. Komuso were so synonymous with spies for the Shogunate that the Komuso were utterly abolished in 1871 and even the playing of the shakuhachi as a solo instrument was prohibited for several years.
The komuso had meddled in the affairs of the secular world and ultimately paid the price for it. The practice of the Komuso did not die out entirely though and shakuhachi continues to be played for both entertainment and meditation.
Modern Komuso are faint echoes of their past
Here are some short clips of the Kamogawa Odori Geisha Dance 2006. They’re very brief as I shot them with just a digital photo camera and not a video camera.
This is from the first story of the performance about a handsome fan maker and his fiance Akane. Here, Akane, the fiance of the Fan Maker, dances.
The story also involves Yuki-Onna, the snow woman spirit, who loves the handsome fan maker. He refuses her love because he loves Akane and so she freezes him.
The Fan Maker is rescued by his fiance and they return to Kyoto as Spring begins.
In the second half of the performance, scenes from the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, a court lady of the 10th Century. Maiko (apprentice geisha) dance to represent Spring at Dawn the favorite time for Sei Shonagon:
“In spring it is the dawn that is most beautiful. As the light creeps over the hills their outlines are dyed a faint red and wisps of purplish cloud trail over them.”
Two Geisha dance to represent Autumn Evenings from Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book:
“In autumn the evenings … when the sun sets, one’s heart is moved by the sound of the wind and the hum of the insects.”
This was from a monthly dance event in Tokyo called Tokyo Decadance where people dress in wild outfits and such.
http://www.tokyo-decadance.com/
http://www.myspace.com/tokyodecadance…
This guy wore a combination of Predator and Optimus Prime which he called Preda-Prime. He had two light sabers which he swung around the dance floor.
The music is by Koko T.:
Tokyo Youtube Gathering at a Hub Pub in Shibuya courtesy of Tokyo Cooney. We talk about Tokyo, Youtube, and our lives which are often intertwined.
This is the second half of the Tokyo Youtube Hanami Gathering on March 30, 2008. I missed the first part with the hanami at Yoyogi Park and the last part at Karaoke. I’m bummed about missing the first part but thankful for missing the last part.
I decided to resurrect my old intro - The Roving Ronin Report - which I haven’t used in half-a-year. I always change up the scenes in the middle which different clips of a variety of things.
The following Japan Youtubers gave commentary in the video:
http://www.youtube.com/tokyocooney
http://www.youtube.com/TkyoSam
http://www.youtube.com/shotamerican
http://www.youtube.com/Noellafun
http://www.youtube.com/Gimmeabreakman
http://www.youtube.com/Omikron420
http://www.youtube.com/kkajapan
http://www.youtube.com/33sammi32
http://www.youtube.com/misternes
http://www.youtube.com/tokyokindel
Cameos in the background:
http://www.youtube.com/dallasintokyo
http://www.youtube.com/rodgerswan
http://www.youtube.com/racylaicie
There might be a few more Youtubers in the background that I don’t know about so scan closely.
Intro Music by the Exotic Ones
http://www.myspace.com/exoticones
The music that fades in and out during the video is by Supergirl Juice:
http://www.sgchannel.com
Violence, Robots, Cherry Blossoms, and more Violence!
It’s a Youtuber Hanami Gathering in Tokyo!
See Youtuber ShotAmerican mercilessly pummel fellow Youtuber TkyoSam repeatedly!!!!
This all came about because Tokyocooney put together Tokyo Youtube Hanami Gathering:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJm18Y…
This footage is from the pre-hanami gathering the night before in Ueno Park.
In attendance were:
Gimmeabreakman who lives in Nagoya:
http://www.youtube.com/gimmeabreakman
ShotAmerican whose handle I misspelled with an extra “a” in the video - Sorry!
http://www.youtube.com/shotamerican
TKyoSam:
http://www.youtube.com/TkyoSam
Tokyocooney made a brief appearance as well but I didn’t catch on camera at the time:
http://www.youtube.com/tokyocooney
Music by Mozart and the Exotic Ones:
http://www.myspace.com/exoticones
Sakura - Japanese Cherry Blossoms have been a part of Japanese culture for over a thousand years. They’re the subject of countless poems from waka to haiku.
The Short Happy Life of the Cherry Blossom
This is a photo montage I actually put up a year ago but never made public. It contains shots that I have taken over the years in different locations of sakura. You’ll see scenes from Tokyo, Kyoto, Kamakura, Himeji and few places you may not be aware of such as Ofuna and it’s giant Kannon statue. I put in a few Japanese poems to go along with the photos.
The geisha are from the Miyako Odori which is an annual geisha pulbic dance performance in Gion.
Music by the Secret Commonwealth:
Kinryu-no-Mai or Golden Dragon Dance is performed every year in Asakusa, Tokyo to celebrate the founding of Senso-ji Temple.
On March 18, 628 AD two fisherman found a small gold Buddhist statue in the river. Supposedely, a Golden Dragon appeared in the sky to mark the event. A temple was built for the statue and Asakusa grew from then on.
Music by the Secret Commonwealth:
The Golden Dragon Dance of Tokyo
Golden Dragon Dance Celebrates Asakusa’s Beginning
The Golden Dragon of Asakusa
Once a year in Asakusa, located in the northeast edge of Tokyo, a special kind of early spring ritual dance is held. The dance — called “Kinryu-no-Mai” in Japanese — is conducted not by people but by a golden dragon.
Naturally, it’s not a real dragon but the dance commemorates the visitation of a “real” dragon of golden hue that appeared over 1,300 years ago.
The golden dragon entertains the crowd.
The golden dragon of today is merely a diminutive representation of the mighty majestic beast that dropped from the heavens one day long ago. The copy is a mere 15 meters long and weighs in at 75 kilos, while the real one was reportedly 30 meters long and weighed who knows what.
The golden dragon at rest
What brought about this unexpected celestial visitation was the discovery of a small golden statuette of a Buddhist deity by two fishermen in the Sumida River on March 18, 628. The statue depicted Kannon, a popular deity known for her compassion in the face of human suffering.
Touching the dragon’s head is thought to bring good fortune.
This small statue was enshrined and the area later became a popular spot for pilgrims. Over time, the village of Asakusa expanded and its temple, Sensoji, where the statue was kept, grew in importance.
Had the visiting dragon been of Western extraction, it no doubt would have devoured the two fishermen on the spot and made off with the golden statue and taken it to its private hoard.
The golden dragon about to devour a photographer
Oriental dragons, however, are generally more benevolent. They’re known for dispensing wisdom and happiness rather than fire and poisonous fumes.
Golden dragons are rarely seen because they are often invisible. They only appear at certain moments to mark auspicious events, as one dragon did when the Kannon statue was found.
Ladies in Geisha costume provide the Golden Dragon with Traditional music to dance to
The golden dragon dance is held in honor of both the dragon’s visit and the statue’s discovery which basically help to create Asakusa. Eight men hold the dragon aloft on poles and twist it about while ladies made up like geishas play music on traditional instruments. The dragon dances three times before it disappears for another year.
A mural of the dragon dance on the wall of Asakusa Station
