Alcvin Ryuzen Ramos is a

shakuhachi A is a Japanese and ancient Chinese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

teacher, performer, composer, and maker based in Canada. Born in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Ramos has also lived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and now lives in Western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In 2003, he founded the Bamboo-In Shakuhachi Space on the Sunshine Coast. Ramos studied shakuhachi in Japan under several teachers, including Kaoru Kakizakai, Teruo Furuya,

Atsuya Okuda Atsuya Okuda (奥田敦也 ''Okuda Atsuya'') is a Japanese-born master player and teacher jinashi shakuhachi, an unrefined bamboo flute. Prior to dedicating his efforts to the bamboo flute, he was a professional jazz trumpet player from approxima ...

, Yoshinobu Taniguchi and more recently with Takashi Tokuyama. He received his ''

shihan is a Japanese term that is used in many Japanese martial arts as an honorific title for expert or senior instructors. It can be translated as "master instructor". The use of the term is specific to a school or organization, as is the process of ...

'' (master) license from Kaoru Kakizakai and

Katsuya Yokoyama was a Japanese musician who played the ''shakuhachi'', a traditional vertical bamboo flute. Early life He was born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1934 and studied Kinko-ryu and Azuma styles of music with his father, Rampo Yokoyama, and grandfather, ...

. Ramos received an honorary Dai Shihan (grand master) title from Yoshinobu Taniguchi, taking the name, "Ryuzen" (Dragon Meditation) making him the first Canadian and one of only a handful of non-Japanese to receive this honor. He also cites

Watazumi Doso Roshi (November 20, 1911 - December 14, 1992) was a master of the end-blown Japanese bamboo flute. He studied Rinzai school, Rinzai Zen, attaining the title of rōshi. Born as Tanaka Masaru, he was also known as Tanaka Fumon, Itcho Fumon, Wataz ...

, teacher of Yokoyama, and his Dokyoku

honkyoku ''Honkyoku'' (本曲, "original pieces") are the pieces of shakuhachi music collected in the 18th century by a Komuso of the Japanese Fuke sect Kinko Kurosawa. It was believed that these pieces were played by the members of the Fuke Sect. The Fuk ...

repertoire as a strong influence. In addition to teaching, performing and composing, Ramos is a shakuhachi flute craftsman, specializing in the

hocchiku The , sometimes romanized as or , is a Japanese aerophone, an end-blown bamboo flute, crafted from root sections of bamboo. The bamboo root is cleaned and sanded, resulting in a surface patterned with many small, circular knots where the root ...

variety of ''jinashikan'' (natural bore flutes, "without ji" or paste). Ramos is currently studying jiari shakuhachi construction with Miura Ryuho in Akita Prefecture. Ramos also plays ''

shinobue The ''shinobue'' (kanji: 篠笛; also called ''takebue'' (kanji: 竹笛) in the context of Japanese traditional arts) is a Japanese transverse flute or fue that has a high-pitched sound. It is found in hayashi and nagauta ensembles, and plays ...

(a Japanese side-blown flute), Shinkin (''three-stringed fretted, Chinese lute), and '' Tsugaru Shamisen (''Japanese spiked

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

). He is the inventor of the ''Tenkan,'' a shakuhachi/didgeridoo hybrid flute. Ramos latest release (2021) is called "Kitsune" with Italian ambient music producer, jarguna (Marco Billi) on

Projekt Records Projekt is a Portland, Oregon-based independent record label started by Sam Rosenthal in 1983. Projekt releases music in the styles of darkwave, ambient, shoegaze, gothic rock, ethereal, dream-pop, and dark cabaret. Projekt artists include Sam ...

. Ramos is married to the ceramic artist
Sandra Ramos

Discography

* "Japanese Traditional Koto and Shakuhachi Music". Satomi Saeki (

koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

) & Alcvin Takegawa Ramos (shakuahchi). Oliver Sudden Productions Inc. 2005. * "Ontophony

Mearingstone, Uzume Taiko, Alcvin Takegawa Ramos, & Duncan Miller. 2006. * "Japanese Traditional Flute for Meditation ; Zen Shakuhachi Vol.1 ". Alcvin Takegawa Ramos Oliver Sudden Productions Inc. 2007. * "Japanese Traditional Flute for Meditation ; Zen Shakuhachi Vol.2". Alcvin Takegawa Ramos. Oliver Sudden Productions Inc. 2008. * "Japanese Bamboo Flute: Shakuhachi" Alcvin Ryuzen Ramos. Oliver Sudden Productions Inc. 2011. *"Kitsune" jarguna + Alcvin Ryuzen Ramos. Projekt Records Inc. 2021

External links

Alcvin's Biography

Alcvin's Website

Oliver Sudden Productions
Biography
from 2004 New York Shakuhachi Festival
Review and interview with Ramos
from Georgia Straight, August 11, 2005. Year of birth missing (living people) Japanese emigrants to Canada Canadian musicians of Japanese descent Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Shakuhachi players Musicians from British Columbia {{Canada-composer-stub