Why do I make shakuhachi? It is a great joy and inspired medium for me--one of the most humbling, rewarding things I have done. Just when one thinks "Ah... now I understand!", try duplicating what you thought you understood. In part, maybe that is why, out of the many countless bamboo shakuhachi ever made, no two look or sound exactly alike.

While I do devote a considerable amount of time to the exterior and fine aesthetic details (just part of my style), it is meaningless if the shakuhachi does not play well, and sound beautiful. If I set it down after playing a while, and can't say "What a great shakuhachi ...", it is not finished. I tend to make subtle tone adjustments over a long period of time, averaging just a handful of instruments every couple of years. While the shakuhachi I make are primarily for my own use, I do, on rare occasions, make one available for sale; info will be listed within the text on its respective page.

One could wonder why, since I am not in the "business" of making shakuhachi, would I stamp it? I also wonder that. I think it is a legacy thing, just as an artist, good or bad, signs their work. Perhaps, someone in the near future, and/or eons down the road, will ponder the life of the conduit, and how this work came to be? Or, if it's really crappy, they will know who to blame.

Loosely, the intended meaning of my hanko was... "to drink from the great river". As I am told, the combination of kanji I selected is readable as "Inga", which goes back thousands of years, spanning many cultures, and with many different meanings: "Rest a while", "The law of cause and effect", "A tree or unusually strong wood", just to name a few. In this case, it is more a pronunciation of the actual kanji, which can also be pronounced "Nomukawa", of which there is no word in Japan.

While I have made many shakuhachi, it is only very recently that I feel my quality level is such that I am willing to actually put my mark on one. When I do, that shakuhachi will have a very special quality about it. Thanks for reading!

Derek Van Choice