The understanding of the history of the and the
Fuke-shu had long been dominated by the
Keichô Okite Gaki () and the
Kyotaku denki Kokuti Kai (1795), a forged Governmental Decree and a fictional origin-narrative, respectively. Historical research by Nakazuka Chikozan in the 1930s showed the spurious nature of these texts, and a revised history has emerged since then, as set out by and .
Boro and komosō (14th–16th century) Predecessors of the ''komuso's
were beggar-monks with unshaved heads known as boro's
, boroboro
or boronji
, mentioned in the Tsurezurega
(c. 1330). These boro
merged in the late 15th century into the komosō
("straw-mat monks", named after the straw sleeping-mats which they carried along), which played the shakuhachi
, and are depicted in paintings and texts from around 1500 onwards. The komosō'' came to be known as . There is no evidence of any earlier tradition of -playing monks, and it is recorded that in 1518 the was regarded by some as an instrument for court music (), not for religious music. The earliest , predecessors of the later "priests of nothingness", were poor beggar monks without any social status in society. The later , on the other hand, had to be of samurai family, even though the practice of teaching to townspeople had become very popular already in the early 18th century.
Institutionalization and privileges (17th century) The were initially a loose affiliation of monks and lay pilgrims, but solidified as an organized group in the 1600s. After the civil wars of the 15th–16th century, masterless samurai () joined the . Several uprisings involving took place during the first half of the 17th century, and the Tokugawa Shogunate tightened its control of the and and other deviant groups, "extending authority through the Buddhist institutions". In response, the "banded together and formed a sect", members of which, by their own regulations had to be of
samurai descent. Due to the temperaments of the
rōnin, the sect gained the reputation of harbouring troublemakers. Simple lodges provided accommodation for the
komoso, and the
komoso lodge at Shirakata in Kyoto was chosen as its headquarters, calling it
Myōan-ji. A temple was needed to be regarded as a religious sect, and
Myōan-ji was recognized as a temple in the early 17th century, at the beginning of the Edo period. While first a subtemple of
Reiho-ji, in the 18th century a relation with
Kōkoku-ji, founded by Kakushin, was forged, and officially acknowledged in 1767; a move which was apologized in the
Kuotaku Denki. At the request of the government, the headquarters of the were transferred to two temples in Edo, where they could better be controlled. A directive from the government from 1677 marks this recognition, and control over, the , as a distinct institution. The purportedly oldest document granting privileges to the is the
Keichō Okite Gaki (Governmental Decree of the Keichô Years, 1596–1615), a falsified decree signed 1614 but actually dated to around 1680, intended to lend legitimacy to already existing -practices. Presented with this forgery, the shogunate eventually accepted it, to provide refuge to
ronin and gain control over them. Several versions of this document exist, which can be divided in short and long versions, reflecting the power-struggle between the and the government. The short versions show that the government designated the institutionalisation for the lodging of
ronin, limiting and policing the , and instructing them to act as spies. Travel around Japan was heavily restricted in the
Edo period, but the longer versions gave the a rare exemption from the
Tokugawa shogunate, most likely for political reasons. To be given a free pass in these times was a highly unusual and very special exemption from travel restrictions, and rumors from the period held that in return for this privilege the had to report back to the central government about conditions in the provinces, a practice which helped seal the group's demise when the government itself fell. The authenticity of this decree was in doubt, despite it being treated as legitimate and amended by future leaders within the shogunate. While there were over 120
komuso-associated "temple-lodges", early 17th century, their number decreased, as membership of the
komuso was strictly restricted to the
samurai.
Oldest documented (1664) The oldest documentation of any named piece is in the (Collection of Pieces for beginners on Strings and Bamboo, 1664). This text mentions , , and other pieces, but it does not mention any of the pieces considered to be the "three classics" (, , ).
The Kyotaku denki and the Fuke-shū (18th–19th century) The name
Fuke-shū does not appear before the 19th century, and the sect has never been officially acknowledged as a distinct Zen-school. The name is derived from the
Kyotaku denki, a text in classical Chinese that was published in 1795 together with a Japanese translation and commentary, the
Kokuji Kai, "to create a legitimate affiliation between the komusō and the
Rinzai-shu." It was published at a time when the komusō faced difficulties and started to lose privileges, and its publication may have been an attempt to strengthen their position. The legend itself seems to be older, already mentioned in the
Boro-no Techô (1628) and the
Shichiku Shoshin-shû (1664). The
Kyotaku denki pictured a lineage back to the eccentric Zen master
Puhua (J.
Fuke) of
Tang China, a clown-esque figure from the
Record of Linji. According to legend, Puhua roamed the streets ringing a bell while preaching. A man named Zhang Bai asked to become Puhua's student, but was rejected. He then made an instrument of bamboo to imitate the bell. According to the
Kyotaku denki, Fuke Zen was brought to Japan by (心地覚心) (1207–1298), also known as Muhon Kakushin (無本覺心) and posthumously as Hotto Kokushi (法燈國師). Kakushin had travelled in China for six years and studied with the famous Chinese
Chan master
Wumen (無門) of the Linji lineage. Kakushin became a disciple of the lay-teacher Chôsan, who claimed to be a 16th generation dharma-heir of Puhua. Yet, no mention is made in Kakushin's diaries of the shakuhachi, and the four "disciples" who purportedly returned with him to Japan were just servants. No
Fuke-school is known from China, and the
Fuke-shū seems to have been a Japanese creation. Typically, its "members" had no doctrines or scriptures, nor any parishioners, and Fuke-adherents rarely chanted
sutras or other
Buddhist texts.
Codification, laicization, spiritualization and decline (18th–19th century) Initially, membership was restricted to the
samurai, but after the mid-18th century restrictions watered down, and non-samurai who could pay the entrance fee were also admitted. Discipline laxed, and members joined who were only attracted by the privileges of the
komuso. By the late 18th-century, the
komuso had lost their usefulness as spies, due to the peaceful life-circumstances created by the Tokugawa shogunate, which no longer tolerated their privileges. Playing the shakuhachi lost its distinguishing feature, as lay-people from the richer classes learned to play the instrument, a development accompanied by the development of a Zen-derived spiritual narrative, building on the Zen-narrative of the
komuso.
Kurosawa Kinko (1710–1771) Historically, approximately forty komuso temples across Japan nurtured their unique collections of Honkyoku. In the 18th century, the master Kurosawa Kinko (1710–1771), the founder of the Kinko-ryu, embarked on a journey to these temples, seeking out local compositions. He meticulously 'arranged' or 'composed' over 30 pieces, shaping the cornerstone of the Kinko school's Honkyoku repertoire today. According to Deeg, "the systematisation of certainly already existing elements legitimising Fuke-shu in the Denki, probably originated in the proto-organisation of the Kinko-ryu which was itself starting towards the end of the 18th century. This proto-organisation, with its legend and related musical tradition, consolidated the Fuke-shu as a Zen denomination in its own right." Kinko's influence extended beyond musical creation; he played a pivotal role in introducing Fuke shakuhachi teachings to lay practitioners, fostering the ascent of Fuke shakuhachi in the Japanese cultural landscape while supplanting its precursor, the hitoyogiri shakuhachi. Kinko was also instrumental in the spiritualization of the shakuhachi.
Hisamatsu Masagoro Fuyo (1790–1845) Deeg notes that in the 19th century there was a process of laicization, spiritualization and aesthetization of the distinguishing feature of the
komuso, the playing of the shakuhachi. According to Deeg, "The only extant writing which really has Zen-inspired content was composed by Hisamatsu Masagoro Fuyo (1790–1845)", namely
Hitori-gotoba (獨言, "Monologue", before 1830),
Hitori-mondo (獨問答, "Monologous dialogues", 1823) and
Kaisei-hogo (海靜法語, "Dharma-words of the silent sea", 1838). Hisamatsu Fuyo frequently uses expressions like
ichion jobutsu (一音成仏(佛), "to achieve enlightenment by one sound",
chikuzen ichinyo (竹禅一如), and "bamboo [the shakuhachi] and Zen are one and the same"; the shakuhachi is called
hoki (法器), "instrument of the dharma". Nevertheless, according to Deeg, "Hisamatsu’s texts contain amazingly few "Zenist" expressions and instead focus on the actual practice of the playing of the instrument." According to Deeg, Hisamatsu's "spiritualisation and aesthetization" has to be understood in the context of the laicization of shakuhachi-practice, with all the teachers of the
Kinko-ryu, who were not fully ordained
komuso but
shuen josui, "assistant flutists related to the (Fuke-)shu", mainly training lay-people. Deeg concludes that the spiritalization is not a development from within the
kosumo, but "a strategy of legitimation for a more and more bourgeois musical tradition of the late Tokugawa-period", harking back to an (imagined) glorious Zen-past. According to Deeg, the
Denki served also as a legitimation of this laicization, or "bourgeoisization", which explains why householders have such a prominent place in its fabricated lineage.
Abolishment (1871) The
Tokugawa government revoked all formal privileges for the
komusō in 1847. In 1871, after the
fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the start of the
Meiji Restoration, the
komusō ceased to exist as a semi-religious institution. It was prohibited by the Meiji-administration during its persecution of Buddhist institutions. The Meiji government attempted to continue the
Danka system, but the komusō were outlawed as they were not a part of this system. Practice of the
shakuhachi was banned entirely for four years by the Meiji government, after which it was decreed that secular playing was permitted, and practitioners went on to teach the
shakuhachi as a secular instrument. No attempts were made by the Buddhist mainstream to re-establish the sect, possibly due to its marginal position and the loose connection to the Rinzai-shu, and the laicization of shakuhachi-practice.
Secular popularisation (19th–20th century) Survival of the shakuhachi-tradition The
Kinko Ryu Grandmasters Araki Kodo II (Chikuo I) and Yoshida Ittcho successfully petitioned the new government to allow secular shakuhachi music to continue. Practice of the survived thanks to these efforts, and documentation of the musical repertoire of the performers survived through the period.
Present-day schools Several smaller schools persisted, often stemming from local Fuke temples preserving fragments of the original repertoire, and small associations and organizations work to continue this musical tradition in the modern era. Notable Honkyoku schools are: The major schools of shakuhachi music that survive to today come from two guilds: the Meian and Kinko. These guilds are a synthesis of two sects of an earlier
Fuke-shū guild of komusō priests. Members of the general public can learn to play the shakuhachi at the dojo at Icchoken in
Hakata-ku, and players who learn all 60 songs of the tradition can be certified as shakuhachi masters.
Contemporary komusō At least several particular individuals in modern times have been known to pursue temporary itinerant lifestyles as komusō, for spiritual or learning purposes. Hõzan Murata, a famous shakuhachi player, maker, and
dai-shihan (grandmaster), lived as a komusō for 8 months in 1974. Perhaps the most well-known contemporary komusō are
Kokū Nishimura—who famously carried on the tradition of dubbing shakuhachi
kyotaku ("empty bell"), in reference to the legend of Puhua (Fuke)—and
Watazumi Doso, known for his innovations with and revitalization of the shakuhachi repertoire, and the popularization of the
hotchiku. ==Characteristics of the
komusō==