Gyokusui Kono 1.8

Mid-to-late century Gyokusui Kono 1.8.  Beautiful bamboo, 36.5mm diameter, weight = 436gr, rattan / sterling silver at the joint and sterling Tozan inlay bordering.

Quick sound sample (recorded on an Android). The flute is perfectly pitched at A440; I play in a slight meri position so this clip is a few cents flat of that.

This is one of II’s high-end flutes, quite similar in tone to the Kono Stan Richardson used on 2 of his CD’s–I bought that flute from Stan a while back and there are many similarities in voicing quality.  100% original, unblemished jiari bore, and the tone is extremely pure and refined, across the board.  Kan is absolutely beautiful.  A slight hint of mellowness perfectly compliments this very finely tuned shakuhachi that is a joy to play. Flute is in immaculate condition with only slight wear on the inside back left of the utaguchi. There are no cracks, just a couple of the usual hairlines around the root area (see root end in photo showing both halves / hanko).

Comes with super thick, “real” leather shakuhachi bag and leather utaguchi cap.