Hōzan Yamamoto

Born in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan on October 6, 1937, Hōzan Yamamoto was a Japanese shakuhachi player and composer. The shakuhachi is a Japanese and ancient Chinese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. When he was 9 years old, Yamamoto’s father began teaching him to play the instrument. He graduated from Kyoto Junior College of Foreign Studies in 1958 and Seiha Music College in 1962. The first album he appeared on was Music for Zen Meditation (1964) alongside koto player Shinichi Yuize and Tony Scott. He formed the Shakuhachi Sanbon Kai trio in 1966. In 1968, he released the album Oriental Bossa Sounds: A Union of Koto, Shakuhachi and Big Band. Yamamoto started collaborating with other artists in the studio including Jean-Pierre Rampal, Chris Hinze, Gary Peacock, Ravi Shankar, Helen Merrill, and others. He continued to collaborate with other artists and record his own albums in the 1970s and 1980s including Hibiki – Contemporary Music for Japanese Traditional Instruments (1970), Ginkai (1971), Keden (1974), Bamboo Suite (1975), Bamboo Beatles (1978), and so many others. Over the decades, he received numerous awards for his contribution to Japanese music and culture including the Japanese Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Education Ministerial awards for his performances, recordings, and compositions. He was designated Living National Treasure of Japan in 2002. Other honors bestowed upon him included the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2004. Yamamoto died on February 10, 2014 at the age of 76.

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