I've finally been able to memorize "Yuyake Koyake" (Sunrise,sunset), a Japanese folk/childrens song composed by Shin Kusakawa. It is a song that signals the beginning and end of the school day and is very popular. It is MUCH better to start on the shorter and easier songs than to think I could ever tackle honkyoku or the difficult shakuhachi pieces. This song is so popular that even Shirley Temple made a cover! Well, I can PLAY it now and need to really polish it up a bit to actually record my own version.
Last week, Hideo went out again and this time visited Powell's Books to have his photo taken at the Pillar of Books, just outside the north entrance.
A perfect opportunity to sit in front of the Tao te Ching inscription and reflect on possible origins from China.
While the shakuhachi is Japanese, it possibly came from China centuries before.
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My Sensei said it did come from China.
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