Do you know the meaning of the Japanese proverb, “Peaches and chestnuts take three years to bear fruit, persimmons take eight years”?
This phrase means that peaches and chestnuts bear fruit after three years and persimmons after eight years from the time of budding, and it includes the teaching that “a reasonable number of years is necessary for anything to bear fruit.
The shakuhachi is a perfect instrument for this proverb, and there is a saying, “kubifuri sannen koro hachi nen.
The word “kubifuri” refers to “yuri,” a technique of changing the pitch of the sound in small increments by changing the angle of the breath (think of vibrato), and “koro” refers to “korokoro,” a technique of alternately opening and closing the two finger holes (think of trills).
In other words, the term “kubifuri san-nen koro hachi-nen” is an analogy for the fact that it takes about three years to be able to play “yuri” and about eight years to be able to play “korokoro”.
In general, this would mean that the shakuhachi takes a number of years to be able to handle the sound well.
The shakuhachi requires such proficiency that such a phrase has been invented.
Wouldn’t it be the coolest thing if you could play it well?
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