shakuhachi

Definition

A Japanese flute which is tuned to a pentatonic scale and is end-blown like a recorder instead of being held transversely like the Western transverse flute.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 尺八 (しゃくはち, shakuhachi), from 尺 (tsyhek, an archaic measure of length approximately equal to 30 centimeters) + 八 (peat, “eight”), corresponding to the standard length of the instrument (approximately 55 centimeters).

Example Sentences

• "Sampled shakuhachi sounds on the E-mu Emulator II were heard in the 1980s in TV ads and also appeared prominently in popular songs, as in the opening section of Peter Gabriel's 1986 “Sledgehammer,”[…]"