Susudake 2.9
This piece of bamboo spent the last 100 years helping to support a thatched roof in an old farmhouse. The bamboo is in a nearly petrified state from the continuous stream of smoke (susu) from the fireplace. There was no root end, so all I did was poke out the joints, and it plays very nicely. I named this bamboo "Tsukioto" (Moonsound).

The 3rd hole is offset.
The lighter areas are where the rope which tied it to the beams lay.
Tsukioto charachers. (Rotate your head 90 degrees to the right to see these correclty.)The shine is a natural result of 100 years of smoke.
I left a little of the joint wall at the back of the mouthpiece.
No root to work with, so the walls are really thin.
No insert in the mouthpiece, and no lacquer inside the bore.

back to Close up on bamboo