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A Homecoming of the Heart: Shakuhachi Player Bruce Huebner

  • Bruce Huebner (right) plays the shakuhachi during a performance in Kōri, Fukushima Prefecture. The audience includes evacuees from the nearby town of Namie.

    Bruce Huebner (right) plays the shakuhachi during a performance in Kōri, Fukushima Prefecture. The audience includes evacuees from the nearby town of Namie.

  • Huebner gives a brief performance in front of a 450-year-old pine on the grounds of the Buddhist temple Munōji.

    Huebner gives a brief performance in front of a 450-year-old pine on the grounds of the Buddhist temple Munōji.

  • Parishioners of Munōji sing Buddhist hymns as Huebner accompanies the chorus on the shakuhachi.

    Parishioners of Munōji sing Buddhist hymns as Huebner accompanies the chorus on the shakuhachi.

  • Fellow shakuhachi player Tachibana Ryōmei joins Huebner to explain the finer points of the instrument to audience members.

    Fellow shakuhachi player Tachibana Ryōmei joins Huebner to explain the finer points of the instrument to audience members.

  • Huebner is also an accomplished composer of shakuhachi pieces. When writing, he says, he likes to camp on secluded Onuma Lake of Fukushima and let the sounds of nature be his muse.

    Huebner is also an accomplished composer of shakuhachi pieces. When writing, he says, he likes to camp on secluded Onuma Lake of Fukushima and let the sounds of nature be his muse.

  • Huebner performs min’yo folk songs for residents living on the front lines of the disaster. He has made over 100 such trips since March 2011. (© Bruce Huebner)

    Huebner performs min’yo folk songs for residents living on the front lines of the disaster. He has made over 100 such trips since March 2011. (© Bruce Huebner)

  • A Homecoming of the Heart: Shakuhachi Player Bruce Huebner

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