{{Short description|Musical instrument}} {{More citations needed|date=April 2021}} {{Italic title}} thumb|Natural {{transliteration|ja|utaguchi}} without inlay The {{nihongo3|"bamboo of [the] dharma"; {{lit|dharma bamboo}}|{{ruby|法竹|ほっちく}}|'''hotchiku'''}}, sometimes romanized as '''{{transliteration|ja|hocchiku}}''' or '''{{transliteration|ja|hochiku}}''', is a Japanese aerophone, an end-blown bamboo flute, crafted from root sections of bamboo.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://shikan.org/bjones/shaku/hochiku_shaku.html |title=HOCHIKU vs. SHAKUHACHI |last=Deaver |first=Tom |website=shikan.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130705013640/http://shikan.org/bjones/shaku/hochiku_shaku.html |archive-date=5 July 2013}}</ref> The bamboo root is cleaned and sanded, resulting in a surface patterned with many small, circular knots where the roots formerly joined the stalk. The same part of the bamboo plant is also used to produce the {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}} but, unlike the {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}}, the {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}}'s inside (bore) and outside surfaces are left unlacquered, and an inlay is not used in the mouthpiece. The membranes at the nodes inside a {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} bore are generally left more intact than those of a {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}}, though older {{transliteration|ja|komuso shakuhachi}} also share this trait. Together, these characteristics make for a visibly and audibly raw and organic instrument. {{transliteration|ja|Hotchiku}} are sometimes referred to as {{transliteration|ja|jinashi nobekan}}, meaning "without {{transliteration|ja|ji}} [a paste made of clay and lacquer, used to smooth the bore on modern {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}}], one-piece"; {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} are not cut in two pieces for crafting or storage, unlike modern {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}} that are used as musical instruments.thumb|right|Finger hole
{{transliteration|ja|Hotchiku}} have four holes down the front for fingers and one hole on the back for the thumb of the upper hand. The instrument is capable of a range of at least two octaves, and more if the instrument is well-crafted and in the hands of an experienced player; they can be fashioned to any length, suitable bamboo permitting, with longer instruments having their frequency range shifted proportionally lower. {{transliteration|ja|Hotchiku}} are typically longer than other variations of the {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}}, and almost always thicker and heavier.
The techniques for playing the {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} are similar to {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}} techniques, although the sound resulting from {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} is more fragile and possibly less well tuned to musical scales than are modern, refined ({{transliteration|ja|ji-ari}}, or tuned {{transliteration|ja|ji-nashi}}) {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}}. The angle of the {{nihongo3|{{lit|singing mouth}}|歌口|utaguchi}}, or blowing edge, of a {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} is closer to perpendicular to the bore axis than that of a modern {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}}, but this is mostly a choice of the maker depending upon the size of the bamboo. Older {{transliteration|ja|komuso}} and {{transliteration|ja|myoan shakuhachi}} also share this trait, though unlike {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} they usually have an inlaid blowing edge. This property, along with the unlacquered bore, results in a rough and breathy timbre.
Because of its extremely natural construction, the {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} is commonly used for {{nihongo||吹禅|suizen}} (blowing Zen meditation). Playing traditional {{transliteration|ja|honkyoku}} is generally only attempted by highly skilled {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}} musicians, since the blowing and fingering techniques required for {{transliteration|ja|honkyoku}} have to be altered considerably. Since {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} are not generally tuned to a standard musical scale, they do not commonly accompany other instruments.
==Distinctions between {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} and traditional {{transliteration|ja|komuso shakuhachi}}== {{unreferenced section|date=August 2022}} thumb|left|Natural bore, root end.
The term {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} was popularized by Watzumi Doso.{{who|date=August 2022}} Traditional {{transliteration|ja|komuso shakuhachi}} were quite similar, with three primary differences. First, modern {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} performers such as Doso{{who|date=August 2022}} and Okuda{{who|date=August 2022}} often prefer exceptionally long {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}}, while {{transliteration|ja|komuso shakuhachi}} rarely exceeded 2.1 {{transliteration|ja|shaku}}. Second, {{transliteration|ja|komuso shakuhachi}} had an inlaid mouthpiece, which protects the blowing edge from taking on excess moisture and rotting out. Thirdly, though {{transliteration|ja|ji}} is not used, the inside is painted with {{transliteration|ja|urushi}}, a natural lacquer made from the sap of the urushi tree, used in Japan from antiquity. Like the mouthpiece inlay, this protects the bore from taking on excess moisture and contributes to the flute's longevity.
Lacking {{transliteration|ja|urushi}} and a mouthpiece inlay, {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} gradually take on moisture as they are played, making the tone less stable. Though {{transliteration|ja|komuso shakuhachi}} were not tuned to a precise scale either, they could generally be played together. As their hole positions were either calculated or copied from another {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}}, a particular {{transliteration|ja|honkyoku}} piece could be played roughly the same way on any {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}}. {{transliteration|ja|Hotchiku}} take even more freedom; some of Watazumi Doso's instruments were literally a piece of bamboo cut down with some holes seemingly randomly bored into it.
Distinguishing {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} from {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}} in general can be difficult, as there are many types of {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}}. In addition to {{transliteration|ja|komuso shakuhachi}}, there are also modern {{transliteration|ja|ji-nashi nobekan shakuhachi}}, such as those made by John Kaizan Neptune,{{who|date=August 2022}} which are tuned to be played with modern (Western) musical instruments. Again, since the abolition of the Fuke sect in 1871, modern {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}} have been made in two halves in order to tune them more precisely, but {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}} used for Zen practice have been primarily {{transliteration|ja|"nobekan" shakuhachi}} since the beginning. The term {{transliteration|ja|shakuhachi}} encompasses all of these, including {{transliteration|ja|komuso shakuhachi}}, and should not be understood as referring only to the modern, more musical iteration of the instrument.
==Famous {{transliteration|ja|hotchiku}} players== *Watazumi Doso Roshi *Nishimura Koku *Atsuya Okuda
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.fides.dti.ne.jp/~sogawa/englishpage3-1.html Close up of Hotchiku], by Kinya Sogawa *[http://shikan.org/bjones/shaku/hochiku_shaku.html Article detailing differences between hotchiku and shakuhachi], by Tom Deaver *[http://shikan.org/bjones/shaku/Shakumail.2002/0386.html One of several messages in a thread on ''shakumail''], describing the history of the term and concept of hotchiku, contrasted with shakuhachi
{{Flutes}} {{Traditional Japanese musical instruments}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Japanese musical instruments Category:End-blown flutes Category:Bamboo flutes Category:Five tone hole wind instruments