Musical Instruments from the Estate of Masakazu Yoshizawa

For more information, or to purchase items, please contact Bruce Jones, sugagaki@gmail.com

Personal Nohkan of Masakazu Yoshizawa

The nohkan was taken to Japan, where it was examined by professional nohkan players. Here's what they had to say:

This is possibly a modified Nohkan. The flute was longer than the average Nohkan to start with.
The space between the finger-holes and the hole you blow into is noticeably longer than an ordinary Nohkan.
It was either made that way or modified so that the sound would blend better with a Western orchestra. It is really unique in that respect.
It is not particularly suitable for classic Noh.
It would be more appropriate for contemporary music that blends East and West.

Understood within this context, this is an exceptional nohkan. Masa Yoshizawa was a world class musician, and extremely fussy about his instruments.

Masa played this flute on films from Jurasic Park I
to Memoirs of a Geisha,
as well as in concert halls around the world.

Price: $1000

The binding material appears to be a very fine copper wire.

Head end
Tail end
Four rotations of the head of the flute

Masa Yoshizawa's Yokobue

Masa's personal set of shinobue, #4 thru #10, in an oak case.

Price: $1000.00

While these may look like your average shinobue, they're not.
When Masa wanted new flutes - yokobue or shakuhachi - he would go to the factory and pick through as many instruments as necessary to find ones that produced good tone and were properly in pitch.
He was more than a bit fussy about such things (which is a little like saying the Pope is a bit fussy about the New Testament - no disrespect for either (Masa or the Pope) intended).