Wataru Kozan Tanifuji

In 1974, at the age of 29, Kozan Tanifuji began studying Tozan-ryu shakuhachi under Kozan Takayama and then under Ginzan Suzuki. In 1991 he achieved the rank of daishihan or grandmaster, and on February 14, 2004 earned the title of shin-Tozanryu chikurinken, the highest possible level in the world of shakuhachi.

Mr. Tanifuji belongs to a number of hogaku groups and performs many styles of music including Honkyoku, Shinkyoku, Jiuta and Modern hogaku. For 19 years, since 1977, he has instructed a junior high school wind ensemble and performed shakuhachi in the piece Figuration for Shakuhachi and Brass composed and conducted by Tetsunosuke Kushida of Kyoto. He also conducted Dokan in 2001 and Nichiren in 2002 composed by Michio Miyagi at the Kitami Art and Culture Hall in Hokkaido, Japan.

Mr. Tanifuji has played the western-style Boehm flute since 1961. In March 2003, he began working with the shakuhachi headjoint for silver flute devised by Monty Levenson. Kozan has wanted to have such an instrument for a long time and named it Shakulute. During the past year, he has composed several musical pieces for this new hybrid instrument. A CD of original compositions for shakulute, biwa and koto is scheduled for release this summer.

Website: http://www.phoenix-c.or.jp/~watarun/top.htm
email: watarun@phoenix-c.or.jp