I can only guess that Jon Kypros has been asked the same questions so many times that he thought the best way of dealing with them during his performances was to nod in the direction of the brochures he’s prepared in advance. This is probably a wide call on his part, as — due to the nature of the music he plays — it can be quite some time between pieces, and it’s not entirely clear where one song ends and another begins. As a Komuso monk (described in the brochure as a “priest of nothingness”) playing a kind of music characterized by “no-sound” — not to mention doing so while wearing the “ego-suppressing” Tengai basket hat — it’s probably best to have a simple handout ready for the curious. And it may also be a handy business idea, as Kypros teaches and performs the shakuhachi professionally, and sells his own handmade flutes through his website. Here’s a brief video showing Kypros in action.
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