Vlastislav Matousek - Mukaiji of Taizan Higuchi

Piece played at Concert of Prague Shakuhachi Summer School 2009 History (Tokuyama Takashi): Together with Koku and Kyorei (recorded on Volumes I and II), this work is treasured as one of the “three traditional masterpieces.“ The story goes that a mendicant, shakuhachi- playing monk, Kichiku, while spending the night at the temple of Kokuzodo on Mt. Asakuma in Ise, had a dream in which he put to sea in a boat, where, enveloped in mist, he heard the dulcet sounds of a flute. On awakening, he created this piece from the melody he had heard in the dream. Though it consists of a simple, repeated phrase, the tune has a grace and elegance about it, and is thought to be the original melody of the shakuhachi classical repertoire, on which many other works are based.