Koten Honkyoku: Nezasaha Shirabe 

Nezasa Ha Kimpu Ryû - 根笹派 /錦風流
Chikuho Ryû
Original Tuning of the Nezasa Sect
One of a group of short honkyoku pieces called Shirabe or Choshi, played as warm-ups or preludes to larger honkyoku pieces. More than that, they serve as a renewal of the relationship between the bamboo and the performer, a searching of the balance between the two that is most conducive to mediation. This particular Shirabe is the version which is said to have been transmitted by the Nesasa ("bamboo grass") sect of shakuhachi from Northern Japan. Nesasa pieces are noted for the technique of komibuki, a pulsating breath believed to be conducive to meditation.