Japanese Bamboo Flute

weedie · Post by **weedie** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 8:51 pm

G'day all,
I bought a Japanese Bamboo Flute on the E-Bay yesterday and would like to know a bit about it..I reckon it will be about two weeks before it arrives.
It is a one piece,has seven holes,seems to be played like a conventional flute,looks pretty old and has no node division (?) ..
It has some Japanese figures on it and the bloke that I purchased it from translated these to be a family name,Nakabayashi....
Has anyone ever heard of this family ? or does this flute sound at all familiar ???

Thanks a lot,all the best from Australia,Charlie...[im

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mukade · Post by **mukade** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 2:17 am

Use this site to upload the pictures. http://imageshack.us/

I will see what I can find out.

Mukade

weedie · Post by **weedie** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 2:43 am

Here are some pics !!!!!! I hope......
I'm not very good at computering........jeez..my brain hurts !!!
Please click on the image for larger photos...

mukade · Post by **mukade** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 5:05 am

That third character is puzzling me.

The first two are as you said, Nakabayashi - a family name.
The last two are often used in given names and read as yoshi.

It could be that the third character is something known as 'ateji.' Kanji are quite often used for their meaning and the readings are changed to a different sound.
For example. you could write the kanji for Taro and register it as reading 'Banana.'

My closest guess would be Nakabayashi Miyoshi.

As for the flute, it looks like the kind kids often play at festivals.
They are called matsuribue, yokobue or shinobue. It could be that the name is the owner's rather than the maker's.
Most flute makers mark their flutes with a branding iron, and those characters look a little rough for a maker's stamp.

This is all guesswork. I hope it helps.

Mukade

weedie · Post by **weedie** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 6:15 pm

Thank you very much Mukade ,you've been been very helpful...I always like to know a little bit about musical instruments that come my way...it gets the imagination into gear and makes me wonder what situations the flute has been in during its life...in this case perhaps being played at a festival of some sort...........pehaps now,it will play a few Irish tunes !!!
Well done to you Mukade.....

talasiga · Post by **talasiga** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 3:03 am

Hiya Kombu,
Do you remember Shintaro and Tombei the Mist? Well this is the high pitched bamboo flute we heard as part of the exciting and exotic background music which, for me, was the real magic of The Samurai.

I hope you don't mind Kombu. It is more dignified than weedie and shorter than Wakame.

weedie · Post by **weedie** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 5:49 pm

Greetings Mr.Talasiga san....
I dont mind Kombu......as long as it's not Japanese for 'rotund Aussie fluter' or something similar.....a bloke can only take so much you know !!
The purchase of this flute was a bit of impulse buying really.....I saw the photos and thought 'that's something that should come and live here' ..hopefully it will be here when next you visit so you can have a play....
My whole family were BIG fans of Shintaro and the kids in my my street had quite a good production line happening..........making Ninja stars and the like.....amazingly,no one was injured....

I.D.10-t · Post by **I.D.10-t** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:02 pm

Kombu is an edible kelp (or seaweed), as is wakami and it sounds better than dulse or nori. A weed is just a plant that we have not found a use for yet...

talasiga · Post by **talasiga** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:33 pm

I.D.10-t wrote:Kombu is an edible kelp (or seaweed), as is wakami and it sounds better than dulse or nori. A weed is just a plant that we have not found a use for yet...

A weed is a plant that blokes don't think twice about pissing on. See?