Hocchiku

Hochiku, or as some write, Hocchiku, flutes are always (except for the exceptions) one piece flutes, without the familiar connecting joint near the center of the length. Shakuhachi are almost always made in two pieces with the joint near the center of the length. Any shakuhachi made in one piece is called "nobe". The "be" of "nobe" sounds like the "ba" of "baby". "Nobe" can be translated into English as "total".

Hochiku are mostly bamboo bores that have grown while shakuhachi are bamboo and some other material bores that have been made. 0n certain occasions for whatever reasons filling material is added to the grown bore while on other occasions for perhaps other reasons bamboo material is removed from the grown bore.

Hochiku, as bamboo flutes and as a term used and understood by Kodama, are as long as or longer than about nishaku-gosun or rokusun. Some of the shorter big fat flutes used by Watazumi would not be hochiku according to Kodama. Further, what might be called semi-hochiku which have some but not a lot of filler in the bore (some call them "ji-nashi" = without "ji" or filler), could not be classes as hochiku by Kodama because of the added filler.