Japanese Zen Shakuhachi Pentatonic end-blown flute with natura bell root. TOZAN-ryu 1.8 feet professional quality, play all ocataves. Good for seasoned flautist, good for any level player.

My 2nd flute from Johnson arts. Bought the 2.4 as a flute for long tone exercises, breath building. I can play it but will have to work on tone; a big flute! Moving from 1.8 to 2.4 is quite a step for an intermediate player. Just as well crafted as the first one but this one seems to have a bit more bore shaping. Looking forward to beautiful sound from this with some practice. Came with all the accessories needed to keep it in good condition. I was not expecting the surprise addition of offset finger holes for both hands to improve reach! The photo on the shopping page did not show that, so I was ready for the challenge but not so difficult at all now. 😃 Very pleased with this purchase! This flute will do fine for me until I play well enough to rate a much more expensive model, years away.

I plan on doing a more detailed review down the road, but suffice it to say I love my new flute! It’s been 3 years since I’ve had a Shakuhachi, previously I owned a Shakuhachi Yuu, and this is everything I wanted it to be. Well worth the price of admission. (Also, if you haven’t taken lessons, please take lessons; Specifically about the flute embouchure, it is critical to getting this kind of flute to sing, or even make a sound really, haha.)

I am not at all a seasoned shakuhachi player but this bamboo flute is above what I was expecting. Looks are very pleasing and is in tune on a electronic tuner and sounds very quality. The lowest octave is on the quieter/softer side so that could be a plus or minus given your preference. It has something to do with the style of flute making. I was expecting it to be louder in that range but after some research found this to be the way jinashi flutes are made to sound. I am still very pleased with the overall sound quality it produces!

It's a very pretty shakuhachi, and comes in a neat box, bag, etc. It is ideal for trying out the shakuhachi and seeing if you're going to maintain an interest in playing it - it's not that hard to toot out a few notes but it takes a lot of work over a lot of time to become an adept player. It is, however, excellent breathing training, and for the purpose of breathing-meditation, this is perfect and all you need. Plus it looks good enough to hang on the wall.

If you are looking for a professional level shakuhachi from a very reputable shakuhachi maker, I most highly recommend Johnson Art. He is a very highly skilled flute maker. I have two of his flutes and very much enjoy playing them. His madake shakuhachi are excellent and exceptionally well made. His flutes have a very clear pitch, are very responsive, and are well balanced throughout the octaves. They have excellent tone color and warmth. Johnson is very attentive to your particular needs in a flute, and readily addresses them. I would highly recommend you consider getting a shakuhachi from him.

My first shakuhachi from this maker was a lemon. No kinder way to say it, But it was readily replaced with a very satisfactory one, although the shipping time was long (Slow Boat from Guandong). I didn't like it at first, especially after my first experience, but I have now spent hours with it and the issues I had playing it are largely those of a beginner shakuhachi player. Being self-taught, up to now, the question is always: Is it me or the instrument? It was me. Overall, the presentation of the instrument was excellent and I rate it as good for a beginner level musician.

Sounds good for a beginner Shakuhachi, a little off at the higher note but still fun to play.

Very, very nice smooth playing Shakuhachi. Very happy with this product. Would definitely recommend to a friend or buy again worth every penny very nice tone.