Watazumi Doso

Watazumi Doso (海童道祖) Roshi (1910 - December 14, 1992) was a master of the end-blown Japanese bamboo flute. He studied Rinzai Zen, attaining the title of roshi. In the 1950s, Watazumi assembled the Dokyoku Honkyoku repertoire of pieces.

Watazumi played the unlacquered hocchiku, in contrast with the modern shakuhachi, stressing that to truly understand nature and oneself, one had to use an instrument of the most raw and natural origin. This belief inspired him to create and lead the Watazumido (or "Way of Watazumi") school of spiritual discipline. He frequently performed on quite large bass instruments. Watazumi was also referred to as Watazumi-do Shuso (also spelled Watazumido Shuso or Watazumido-Shuso), "shuso" meaning "head student," a Zen term referring to the student selected by the Zen master to instruct the other students.

In addition to the hocchiku, Watazumi used and recommended the Jo stick for exercise, invigoration, and strengthening.

Quotations

• "It's fine that you are all deep into music. But there's something deeper and if you would go deeper, if you go to the source of where the music is being made, you'll find something even more interesting. At the source, everyone's individual music is made. If you ask what the deep place is, it's your own life and it's knowing your own life, that own way that you live."
• "When you hear some music or hear some sound, if for some reason you like it very well; the reason is that sound is in balance or in harmony with your pulse. And so making a sound, you try to make various different sounds that imitate various different sounds of the universe, but what you are finally making is your own sound, the sound of yourself."
• "He who blows Ro 10 minutes every day can become a master."

Filmography

• Sukiyaki and Chips: The Japanese Sounds of Music. Produced and directed by Jeremy Marre. A Harcourt Films production for Channel Four.

See also

• Buddhism in Japan
• Yokoyama Katsuya (famous student of Watazumi Doso Roshi)
• Fuke Zen
• List of Rinzai Buddhists
• The Sacrifice  : A Swedish film (1986) directed by Andrei Tarkovsky .

External links

• Watazumi biography and recordings at The International Shakuhachi Society web site