History (John Singer):

Sokaku Reibo appears on the following albums

	Album	Artist
	Bell Ringing in the Empty Sky, A	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Depicting the Cranes in Their Nest - is one of the Thirty-Six Classics of Kinko Kurosawa, who was inspired by a musical piece of the Fuke priests that depicts the affection between cranes and their offspring. In arranging the original into his own composition, Kinko Kurosawa used special finger-techniques called takane and korone to express respectively the joy of the child when he leaves the nest, and the sorrow of the parent.
	Castles In the Sky	Shakuhachi : Allen Nyoshin Steir
	Complete Collection of Honkyoku from the Kinko School - Vol 2 - Disc 4	Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
	Crux - Selected Solo Wind Works (1989-1992), The
	Feel It On	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Ginyu	Shakuhachi : Gunnar Jinmei Linder
	Grand Masters of the Shakuhachi Flute	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Known popularly as "Tsuru no Sugomori (Nesting of a Crane)", it has the above formal title in Kinko-ryu. They say that it symbolizes the parental love of the bird. An old syaing, "Pheasants in the burning fields and cranes in the night", expresses the idea of maternal love in that mother pheasants protect their babies from fire and mother cranes from coldness. The music is programmatic, exceptionally to the general characteristics of Classical Honkyoku as a kind of absolute music. It depicts a scene of parent cranes departing from their children when they have grown up. An onomatopoeticed technique is applied. Another technique is used in describing the sounds of flapping. It has twelve sections with frequent repetition of melodies and phrases. In former days many different versions of "Tsuru no Sugomori" were being transmitted in komuso temples in various parts of the country. Nowadays, however, this version of "Sokaku Reibo" of Kinko-ryu is most widespread. "Sokaku Reibo", Shika no tone", etc., are called gaiten-kyoku and are artistic in purpose rather than ceremonial or ritualistic as are other pieces.
	Hogaku Meikyoku Sen - Collection of Famous Classical Music - Shakuhachi	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Hogaku Meikyoku Sen; Shakuhachi	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	IN THE MOMENT
	Japan - Music of the Shakuhachi	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Also known as Tsuru no sugomori (The Nesting Crane), this is one of several pieces bearing this title. The origins of the piece as recounted within the Kinko school are associated with a monk named Zansui from the Ichigatsu-ji temple in the province of Shimosa who is said to have been taught it by a monk named Ryoan at the Kyuko-an temple in Uji near Kyoto. Zansui is said then to have transmitted the piece to Kurosawa Kinko. Consisting of twelve sections (dan), this programmatic piece describes the growth of a crane from birth until it leaves its nest and its mother dies. A relatively strong sense of metre is a noteworthy feature of this piece. The music is interlarded with imitative sound effects and unusual techniques which demand a high level of technical proficiency. A distinctive melody is repeated on many occasions, giving the music a more evocative effect than most honkyoku, which tend to be in a more abstract and conceptual vein. Together with Shika no tone, this is one of the most well-known pieces in the repertoire. The following story is told about the background to the piece. One cold winter, a mother crane is unable to find any food to give to her chicks. Ready to sacrifice herself for her offspring, she feeds them on the meat from her own stomach. The chicks regain their strength and fly off , but the mother quietly expires. In Japan, the crane is regarded as a symbol of good fortune. A religious message seems to be contained in the expression of deep affection between the mother crane and her chicks. But irrespective of the religious background to the piece, the music is of wonderful perfection, giving expression as it does to the subtle variations in tonal colour and wide variety of techniques of which the shakuhachi is capable. The piece is performed here by Yamaguchi Goro, the sole exponent of the Kinko school today who has been honoured with the title of Living National Treasure. Yamaguchi presents a superb performance characterised by subtlety and profound artistry within a mood of utter calm and collectedness.
	Jin Nyodo No Shakuhachi 04	Shakuhachi : Jin Nyodo
	Kinko Ryu Honkyoku - 8	Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
	Kinko Ryu Shakuhachi - Hogaku Vol 19	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Kinko Ryū Shakuhachi Honkyoku Senshū - 1	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Kinko Ryū Shakuhachi Meikyoku Sen	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Kokuh	Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
	Mysterious Sounds of the Japanese Bamboo Flute, The	Shakuhachi : Fukuda Teruhisa
	Nihon no Dento Vol 2 (Japanese Traditions)	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Pathway	Shakuhachi : Robert Herr
One of a group of strictly programmatic honkyoku depicting the affection between cranes and their offspring, Tsuru no Sugomori (Nesting of the cranes) employs special techniques to imitate the cooing of the birds. Cranes are considered a sacred bird and are believed to show a deep love between the parent bird and its child. This portrays the joy of a young crane learning to fly and also reflects the mother crane's sadness in anticipation of the loneliness her empty nest will bring once her child is gone.
	Shakuhachi - Classical Modern Best 30 - 01	Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
	Shakuhachi - Reibo Aoki	Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
	Shakuhachi - Yamaguchi Goro	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Shakuhachi Banquet	Shakuhachi : Fukuda Teruhisa
	Shakuhachi no Shinzui-Shakuhachi Honkyoku - 08	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Shakuhachi Nyumon	Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
	Shakuhachi Tokusen	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Souvenir of Japan - Shakuhachi Fuhin	Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
	Sui Zen - Blowing Meditation on the Shakuhachi - 05	Shakuhachi : Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
This Kinko School version of the piece is also called Tsuru No Sugomori and has 12 dan, or sections. It has become the most popular and widely played of the crane works. Kinko Kurosawa was inspired by the many different versions of Tsuru No Sugomori played by the Fuke priests in different temples, especially by Ryoan in the Kyuku Temple near Kyoto, and Zansui (Ichigetsu-ji) in Shimosa. Kurahashi Yodo said that this piece can be thought of as having four sections, "Sound of the Bell," "Mother Crane Comes Home to the Nest," "They Fly Together," and "Back to the Nest." He said that it is important to remember that a baby that stays in the nest will not get a chance to experience the world.
	Take-Ikkan	Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
	True Spirit of Emptiness, The	Shakuhachi : Andreas Fuyu Gutzwiller
Sokaku means 'nest of the cranes'. The piece belongs to those of the 36 honkyoku that were not played in the religious context. There are twelve sections, in each of which a particular playing technique is treated musically- e. g. korokoro (a kind of double trill), or tamane (flutter-tonguing). The pieces recorded here are played according to the complete edition of the honkyoku of the Kinko school prepared by Miura Kindo, Tokyo 1927.
	Wind in the Reeds	Shakuhachi : Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
This is one of the many well-known versions of "Reibo" (the Passing of the Bell. which is perhaps the most famous of all honkyoku. It is played in honor of the "founder" of the Zen tradition of the shakuhachi, the legendary monk Fuke Zenji, who is said to have always rung a small bell in one hand while he walked or played shakuhachi. This version is called "Sokaku," or "Nesting Crane"- it also goes by the name "Tsuru no Sugomori," which has the same meaning - and the music expresses the theme of the safety and security of the home nest, as contrasted to the dangers of the outside world. The music is in four sections (1) the sound of the bell: (2) the image of a crane flying home to her nest: (3) a mother and baby crane flying about together: (4) the return of both cranes to the nest. In the music a special trill-like technique represents the sounds of the cranes calling out to each other.
	World of Shakuhachi	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	World of Shakuhachi, The	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Yamaguchi Gorō - Kinko-ryū Shakuhachi Honkyoku Zenshū 7	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
	Zen Music - VI	Shakuhachi : Yamaguchi Gorō
Known popularly as "Tsuru no Sugomori (Nesting of a Crane)', it has the above formal title in Kinko-ryu. They say that it symbolizes the parental love of the bird. An old saying, 'Pheasants in the burning field and cranes in the night', expresses the idea of maternal love in that mother pheasants protect their babies from fire and mother cranes from coldness. The music is programmatic, exceptionally to the general characteristics of Classical Honkyoku as a kind of absolute music. It depicts a scene of parent cranes departing from their children when they have grown up. The korone technique is onomatopoetically applied. The tabane technique is also used in describing the sounds of flapping. It has twelve sections with frequent repetition of melodies and phrases, a few of which the performer omits as to this disk. In former days many different versions of 'Tsuru o Sugomori' were being transmitted in komuso temples in various parts of the country. Nowadays, however, this version of 'Sokaku Reibo' of Kinko-ryu is most widespread. 'Sokaku Reibo', 'Shika no Tone', etc., are called gaiten-kyoku and are artistic in purpose rather than ceremonial or ritualistic as are other pieces.
	Zen Shakuhachi Duets	Shakuhachi : Mizuno Kohmei Shakuhachi : John Singer