August 21, 2008: This was an unfinished shakuhachi begun many years ago by Jeff Cairns, in Kumamoto, Japan, sent to me with a few others that just had some rough work done. Stainless/rattan center rings, larger bore with great projection and tone. The original utaguchi was in good shape and this was a beautiful piece of madake. I really wanted to maintain a larger bell and keep the roots on this one, however there was a significant area of decay that went a few millimeters deep, and the initial shaping was a bit rough and non-uniform–it was necessary to sand, fill and reshape. Once finished, it was sent back to the original creator and received with much praise.
