Hichiriki Reed "Kiwami" *Ready to Play - Last of the Year*

Thank you for viewing. This reed is made from carefully selected, high-quality reeds from Udonodani. After being air-dried for approximately 1.5 to 2 years, it has been subjected to soot-coating over a hearth for over 10 years. It is no exaggeration to say that this is a top-quality reed that combines both sound quality and durability. We have also paid close attention to the cap, binder, and Japanese paper, using the finest materials cultivated over many years. We believe that past reviews of our reeds will help you understand this.

Allow me to elaborate a bit. When we talk about soot-coating, there are various methods. Some involve using smoke from waste wood, fallen leaves, or dead leaves in a smoker to artificially apply soot, or applying soot for several months or years. While these are all forms of soot-coating, what is true soot-coating? It is not like that. The natural oils in trees felled from the mountains rise with the smoke and are applied to the reeds over many years, developing them into resilient and firm reeds. As you know,笙 (shō), 篳篥 (hichiriki), and flutes made from soot-smoked bamboo are highly valuable. In recent years, materials for soot-smoked bamboo are nearly depleted. In fact, materials for the main joint of the shō and the main soot-smoked bamboo used for the ryūteki will likely not be available in the future. True soot-smoked bamboo is bamboo that has been smoked for hundreds of years. While instruments like the shō and ryūteki are sometimes seen made from bamboo artificially smoked in a smoker, they are merely adequate instruments.

Customers who have used reeds made from such meticulously crafted reeds, including repeat customers, have given us numerous rave reviews such as, What were the previous reeds I used? and I've never used a reed like this before... the tone is completely different! If you have a preference, we can also accommodate requests for thicker or thinner reeds, so please let us know when you order.

While we have finished them so that even beginners and women can play them easily, please be aware in advance that they will not produce sound with a light or weak breath. As our master teacher says, To produce a good resonance and tone, it is essential to blow with full breath. Although the price per reed is a bit high, we will offer returns or exchanges if you are not satisfied. We are confident that you will be satisfied with our reeds, so please try them at least once. This has been a long explanation, but thank you for reading to the end.