Daniel Ryudo

Daniel began learning the shakuhachi from Ikezoe Kyodo, a master of the Chikudosha (literally 'bamboo child group') branch of the Kinko school of shakuhachi in Kochi, Japan in 1987, studying Japanese traditional classical gaikyoku (chamber music from the Edo Period - 1600-1868, played in ensemble with koto and shamisen) and honkyoku ('original music'), solo meditative pieces once played by a sect of Zen monks called Fuke shu, ronin (masterless samurai) who wandered the Japanese countryside during the Edo Period (1600-1868). In 1993 he received his junshihan license and the shakuhachi name Hotei. After eight more years of study and performance of the gaikyoku and honkyoku repertoire, Daniel received the shihan (master's) license and the shakuhachi name Ryudo from Chikudosha's shakuhachi grandmaster Fuji Jido.In addition to performing for various local koto and shakuhachi recitals, he has played traditional pieces for over a decade in the annual spring Kochi Sankyoku Kai, the prefecture's largest traditional music event, and has performed in ensemble with other Kinko ryu Chikudosha players at locations such as Kanai Hall, Yokohama (1993), the National Theatre of Japan, Tokyo (2003), and the Shanghai Concert Hall (1999), the latter in ensemble with the Shanghai Traditional Music Orchestra.Daniel enjoys improvizing in addition to playing the classical Japanese pieces and has performed solo and/or with local musicians in Hong Kong, Paris, Bucharest, Florence, Sheffield, Leiden, and most recently in Oss, Holland with Dutch percussionist Pablitoss and his acoustic trio Mezcla (on tracks 'Udu Takke Talk' and 'Udu No Michi'). In September 2008 he was a guest artist at Georgia State University's School of Music, performing traditional honkyoku and minyo (folk music) pieces at Kopleff Recital Hall. Daniel has attended shakuhachi maestro Yokoyama Katsuya's annual workshops in Bisei, Japan for the last decade and participated in the world shakuhachi festivals in Bisei, Boulder, Tokyo, and New York, and the Australian festival in Melbourne in 2002, performing in shakuhachi orchestral pieces in those events. He currently teaches his own small group of shakuhachi students in Kochi, Japan. For those interested in learning more about shakuhachi, Daniel recommends looking at the site Shakuhachi Forum - World Shakuhachi Discussion, administrated by Brian Ritchie and Ken LaCosse, where he serves as a moderator.