Weekly Newsletter for Shinobue Lovers

May 25, 2025

Here’s a secret shinobue exercise from Bunta sensei that nobody talks about, and it’s going to blow your mind. This is definitely going to be a game changer!

But first, I’d like to share a video of me playing "Edo Komoriuta." This beautiful video was filmed in my friend's backyard, which overlooks Lake Erie in Ohio. There are no reverb effects or filters added to this video; it captures the performance exactly as it happened.

My hair is a bit messy because I hurried to put it up and shoot this video before it got too dark!

This beautiful song is an old and well-known lullaby from the Tokyo area. I thought the sunset provided the perfect backdrop for a lullaby.

The version I am playing has many high notes.

4 43 4 6 4 3 134 6 4 3, 六　七　六七　１３　４３　六七　１　六七

But the easier version is in my new shinobue songbook "Japanese Night Songs". It is on sale for $25 until June 10, 2025 at saitomusic.com/books.

I included sheet music for 8, 7, 6, and 3 hon choshi, fingering tutorials, lovely piano accompaniment tracks and performance samples to make learning these beautiful old Japanese songs a breeze.

I created this songbook so you can enjoy these gorgeous tunes as much as I do! Have fun playing! 💓

A Secret Shinobue Exercise from Bunta Sensei

This exercise comes from my teacher, Bunta sensei. It will help you eliminate your preconceived notions about playing the shinobue, which might be blocking you from achieving the beautiful Japanese shinobue tone you dream of.

Pretend it's really cold and you are warming up your hand.

Notice that when you blow air from your mouth as if you are blowing out a candle—like this: "whoooo"—your breath feels cold. To warm up your hand, you should slow down your breath and instead use the sound "Hohhhhh."

When your breath is fast, it feels cold because the speed pulls in cold air from your surroundings. To maintain your body temperature in your breath, you need to breathe out slowly.

To produce a beautiful, resonant sound with shinobue, it's important to learn how to create warm breath. Because warm breath means slow breath, and slow breath produces a beautiful shinobue tone.

Now, close all the holes of your shinobue with your fingers, sealing the mouth hole (utakuchi).

Warm up the shinobue by blowing your warmest breath into it. Aim to increase the temperature inside your shinobue by about 20 degrees (it doesn’t have to be exact; just a mindset).

Next, here comes the mind-blowing part. Hold the shinobue with both hands without sealing any holes.

While you breathe out your warmest breath, just like you did in the previous step, bring the utakuchi to your mouth.

Find a spot where you can create a sound.

Adjust the position of the shinobue on your lips. The utakuchi should be very close to your breath source. Since your breath speed is slow, if the utakuchi is far away, you will never get any sound.

You also need to adjust your mouth shape. When sealing the utakuchi completely, your mouth was open as wide as the utakuchi, but now it should be more closed to produce a sound, while ensuring that your lips are NEVER TIGHT.

Your lips and tongue (yes, your tongue, too) should be VERY SOFT, as if they are about to melt. To find the right embouchure, try this technique using a straw.

At first, you may feel like you will never be able to produce any sound with the warm breath technique. However, with practice, you can learn how to do it.

If the sound you produce seems "windy," that's perfectly fine. This method works much better on lower notes, such as ryo on 1 or 2, compared to ryo on 7 (with all holes open).

In fact, a bit of windiness is preferred in low notes like ryo on 1 and 2, as a squeaky clean sound can diminish the low resonance.

This method is particularly useful for playing low notes, but it is also essential for producing kan on and daikan on with slow air to avoid an aggressive and piercing sound.

When playing the shinobue, it’s important to use slow air for high notes and even slower air for low notes. Bunta sensei does not refer to breath speed as "FAST," because most people tend to breathe too quickly.

Bunta sensei and many other professional shinobue players advise against the idea of “blowing” air into the instrument. Instead, practice playing shinobue using the same breath as if you are warming your hands with warm air; this approach helps you avoid the feeling of blowing into the shinobue, which is key to mastering the technique.

I assure you that with this method, your ryo on 1 will be 100 times more responsive, as long as you maintain a good embouchure and ensure that all necessary finger holes are sealed properly.

Happy practicing! 💓

Let's meet in person!

I'm teaching shinobue in Phoenix on Labor Day weekend at the 2025 North American Taiko Conference.

You can attend my 2-hour session for just $60! There's no need to register for the entire conference.

I'll be offering a beginning shinobue class and an intermediate/advanced class where we will learn to play "Tsuki no Sabaku" (Desert Moon), which is a perfect theme for Arizona!

After two days of teaching at the Taiko Conference on Friday and Saturday, I will be at the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix (Rohoen) on Saturday, August 31, sharing more about shinobue. This beautiful and authentic Japanese garden is located near downtown Phoenix. We are planning to have activities inside their authentic Japanese tea room since the temperature outside will be very hot. More details will be available soon!