Japanese Shakuhachi, 1.8 Shaku (D), Jiari

The 1.8 shaku length is the instrument's namesake, taking its designation from the old Japanese units of measurement: one shaku and eight sun, totaling roughly 54 cm. It sounds a fundamental of D with all holes covered and is the most versatile size in the repertoire. The shakuhachi is strongly associated with honkyoku, the solo repertoire connected with older Zen-based practice, where pieces often use space, asymmetrical phrasing, and detailed tone shaping; it also appears in sankyoku, a chamber setting often involving koto and shamisen, where it must blend, answer, and support melodic lines rather than stand alone as a meditative voice.

This is a jiari instrument, meaning the bore has been worked with ji, a paste of stone powder mixed with urushi (Japanese lacquer), applied along most or all of its interior. Jiari instruments generally have a smooth bore, and their construction requires great skill from the maker in controlling the inner dimensions to within tiny fractions of millimetres, in order to give the required tone colour and for each note to be stable and in tune. This is the standard and most common type of modern shakuhachi. The flute carries the traditional five-hole configuration, four holes on the front and one on the back.

The body bears a gold-filled maker's seal and a decorative gold floral motif near the top. The instrument was brought from Japan in the mid-1990s and shows light use consistent with occasional playing.