History (Jin Nyodo):

Choshi (Fudaiji) appears on the following albums

	Album	Artist
	Art of the Shakuhachi Vol I	Shakuhachi : Mitsuhashi Kifu
Choshi is a kind of prelude (take-shirabe) that allows the player to appraise his own breathing and examine the tuning and qualities of the instrument. Many types of takeshirabe are found throughout Japan. The one recorded here was transmitted to Kyoto from the Nagoya area and is today one of the most popular versions of the piece. This composition also requires the use of wedge blowing, and in very concise form includes most of the basic shakuhachi sounds and melodic motives. The Fudaiji, the institution through which this piece was transmitted, was a komuso temple in what is now Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture. After komuso temples were abolished in 1871, the site of the Fudaiji was taken over to become the first musical instrument factory in Japan, the ancestor of the Yamaha company.
	Hōgaku Taikei Vol. 4 - Sōkyoku - Shakuhachi 2 (LP 2)	Shakuhachi : Takahashi Kyohaku
	Jin Nyodo No Shakuhachi 05	Shakuhachi : Jin Nyodo
Fudai-ji: CHOSHI 1-shaku 8-sun 3 min. 34 sec. 1. About the title: Please refer to "Commonly Used Titles." 2. Structure of the piece It is made up of three sections which in terms of pitch form a gently sloping mountain of low - high - low. This is the classical Shirabe or Choshi construction. 3. Special features of the piece: It is played with kusabibuki. In this manner of playing each breath is shaped like a kusabi ("wedge"): at first the breath is blown in strongly, then as the breath diminishes the volume of sound is likewise reduced. As with kyosui, yuri is never used. Since, in playing the shakuhachi, there is no use of tonguing as with Western wind instruments, playing this initial burst of sound is a point that demands rather much practice.
	Sui Zen - Blowing Meditation on the Shakuhachi - 01	Shakuhachi : Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
This form of choshi is a Fudai-Ji piece from the ItchoKen Temple. As previously noted, the name choshi means, "Unity of Heaven and Earth," and also implies good health or condition. It is considered a strengthening piece. Because of its brevity and general character, Fudai-Ji Choshi is often used as a shirabe or warm-up piece, played in conjunction with, and leading into another honkyoku. This piece should be played simply. The notes are not bent and are relatively unornamented, in simple kusabi buh (funnel or wedged) shape. This breathing technique is somewhat like kyosui (straight breathing), but starts more definitely. Each sound should start with a good level of force, and then just fade into silence, "ma." Choshi is similar in both structure and feeling to Daiwagaku a neo-honkyoku which means "the Great Peace." However, Daiwagaku is even simpler, less extraverted, and provides a classic example of pure Sui-Zen meditation, quite a Kyo-Sui, or "empty breath" kind of piece. Daiwagaku is just there, centered, perfect, and peaceful, conveying "immo," a Zen sense of that ineffable experience that might be translated as "suchness" or "thusness." "This is what is; this is where we're at." Fudai-Ji Choshi, on the other hand is a more forceful and outgoing piece; it radiates energy, health, and life, "Hi there! Here we are!" It's played here on a 1.8. Chohaku to honor and imitate the sound of Fuke Zenji's famous bell. This piece supposedly was then brought to Japan by a monk Kakushin. While Kyochiku was traveling - some say at a temple in Nara, others say at the Kokuzodo Temple on the peak of Mount Asamagatake in Ise - he had dreams in which he heard two additional pieces, Koku and Mukaiji. He returned to his temple to receive permission to transmit these new revealed pieces, as well. Because these are such old pieces, some purists feel they should be played using an older technique, in which notes are flattened ("meri") only by lowering the head. Half-holes are not used. Modem shakuhachi players use a combination of the two techniques. However, before 1900, shakuhachi were made so that one could not be sure of getting a reliable sound if the holes were partially covered, so the lowered pitch of traditional Zen style could be achieved only through head movements. This gives a special sort of feeling and tone color.
	Tsuru no Sugomori - Komuso Shakuhachi	Shakuhachi : Zenyoji Keisuke
Fudaiji was a komuso temple in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. The "Choshi" is a traditional piece not from Tohoku (northern Japan) area where all pieces on this album are from. Like "Shirabe", it means to tune the playing condition. Different from Tohoku style this Choshi is relatively simple and is performed with very little technical; virtuosity and is typical of the Fudaiji shakuhachi tradition. This simple piece is nothing but crystallized essence of Komuso (Zen) Shakuhachi.