shakuhachi

Where does the word "shakuhachi" come from? It comes from Japanese shakuhachi, and was adopted directly into English (1800s-1900s).

Shakuhachi’s story begins in Japanese: shakuhachi meant “a bamboo end-blown flute.” Named for its standard length, one shaku eight sun, a bamboo end-blown flute. It reached English by 1800s-1900s as shakuhachi. Named for its length, 'one shaku eight sun', about 54 cm; played by Zen komusō monks. Today, shakuhachi means a traditional Japanese end-blown bamboo flute.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · medieval shakuhachi "a bamboo end-blown flute", named for its standard length, one shaku eight sun, a bamboo end-blown flute.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1800s-1900s shakuhachi "a traditional Japanese bamboo flute", named for its length, 'one shaku eight sun', about 54 cm; played by Zen komusō monks.