The shakuhachi has a varied history as a solo meditation instrument, a member of the gagaku orchestra, a crucial part of sankyoku, and a participant in jazz and other Western genres. Listen to the guided listening example of Tori Kadotsuke Hachigaeshi (located on the preceeding content page titled "Shakuhachi and Taiko") and answer the following questions:

Required:

a. How does its tone, or timbre, differ from the sound of a Western flute?
b. What qualities of the shakuhachi sound do you think make it desirable and flexible enough to participate in so many different genres?
c. What qualities of Japanese aesthetics, as outlined in the chapter, do you hear in the piece?

The Tori Kadotsuke played from the shakuhachi has a deep and raw sound which is different from the western flutes. While western flutes has more precised and tuned sound, the shakuhachi is deeper and slower.

The sound of shakuhachi can be divided into three octaves and five note scale making it desirable and flexible enough to participate in so many different genres.

In the piece, one can hear the Japanese Aesthetics quality of 'ma', the empty space between beats and breathing, and 'okua-den' lineage.