The oldest shakuhachi in Japan, "Shosoin Shakuhachi（正倉院尺八）"｜History of the Shakuhachi
The oldest shakuhachi in Japan
The shakuhachi was introduced from Tang China during the Nara period （710-794）as an instrument for Gagaku *（雅楽 : ancient Japanese court music）.
* But the shakuhachi is not used in Gagaku today.
The oldest shakuhachi in Japan remains in the Shosoin Repository （正倉院）in Nara. This shakuhachi is also called " Shosoin shakuhachi（正倉院尺八） ", and although some old books state that Prince Shotoku（聖徳太子）played it, the actual data of his life （574-622）is much older, and therefore, it has little scholarly credence.
The shosoin shakuhachi is quite small, measuring about 40cm in length. The mouth part of the flute is just a slanting slice of bamboo without any reinforcement.
It has six holes
It is simply left with the joints pilled out and has no internal tuning. Such a shakuhachi depends entirely on the luck of finding the right piece of bamboo.
It has 5 holes on the front and 1 hole on the back, total 6 holes.
This has one more hole than the 5-hole shakuhachi commonly used today. It is not well known how the holes were held in place.
