Kiku Day
Kiku (Kikutsubo 菊壺) Day, born in Tokyo 19 October, 1965, is a ji-nashi shakuhachi (地なし尺八, also called kyotaku 虚鐸 or hocchiku 法竹) player from Denmark, with roots from Japan, USA, Ireland, and Russia. Between 1989 and 1999, she studied honkyoku 本曲, the traditional repertoire of the komusō 虚無僧monks, with Okuda Atsuya 奥田敦也 (1945-) in Tokyo, during which time she also studied ji-nashi shakuhachi-making with Murai Eigorō 村井英五郎 (1932-).
During her BA studies in ethnomusicology at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (2002-2004), her interest turned more and more towards the music of today. After receiving her MA in Performance and Literature (2005) at Mills College, Oakland, California, where she focused on improvisation and the performance of contemporary music on the ji-nashi shakuhachi, Kiku Day returned to SOAS, where she is presently pursuing a doctorate in ethnomusicology and performance. Fascinated by the depth and timbre of the ji-nashi shakuahchi sound, she continues to explore both the traditional repertoire and the ji-nashi shakuhachi’s possibilities in contemporary music.
An experienced shakuhachi activist and prime mover of the first-ever European Shakuhachi Summer School, recently held at SOAS (2006), she is also one of the founders of the European Shakuhachi Society.
During the last decade, Ms Day has performed throughout Europe, USA, Japan and New Zealand in everything from classical honkyoku concerts to modern operas.
Discography
Kiku Day plays the shakuhachi on the following CDs:
- Henry Kaiser: Domo Arigato Derek-Sensei! Balance Point Acoustics. bpaltd202
- Myles Boisen & Jon Raskin: Music + One. An Improvisation Compendium. Rastascan Records. BRD 054
- Fred Frith: The Happy End Problem. Fred Records. RēR/FRA 05