Aoki Reibo was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1890. Both his father and brother were shakuhachi players. Inspired by them, he joined Kawase Junsuke’s school in Tokyo, Chikuyusha, at the age of 18 and attained his shihan (masters license) at 20. In 1921, he left Chikuyusha and began teaching. He also studied Kinko-ryū honkyoku with Miura Kindō and Nezasa-ha Kinpū-ryū honkyoku with Nagano Kyokuei. He opened his own music store, Aoki Gakkiten, in Tokyo, and began publishing Kinko-ryū notation. He was a director of the Japan Sankyoku Association and the president of the Shakuhachi Association.
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