November, 2012: 1.8 Jiari – Very dense piece of madake harvested in Kumamoto, Japan, about a decade ago; classic natural lower mottling. Average diameter is 36mm, weight 388gr, average hole diameter 10-10.5mm. Buffalo horn Kinko inlay, Japanese cashew lacquer center rings, mentori rattan below the utaguchi where a length adjustment was made, ikageshi added to the chin rest area to correct the larger node membrane growth and accommodate a medium sized bore, very discrete hole #1 movement a few mm north.
I worked on this gradually over a few years, with a reference gauge being a top caliber instrument by a very historical maker. It is a solid, powerful flute that holds a lot of air, effortless & full meris, a beautiful chi, and a very expansive ro. Good tuning well into the 3rd octave; fractionally sharp ri (by just a few cents) and little to no adjustment is typically necessary.
