KOZAN TANIFUJI was born in Abashiri, Hokkaido, Japan in 1945. In 1974, at the age of 29, he began studying Tozan-ryu shakuhachi under Kozan Takayama, and later under Ginzan Suzuki. In 1991, he achieved the rank of Daishihan (Grandmaster). On February 14, 2004, he was awarded the title of shin-Tozan-ryu Chikurinken, the highest possible rank in the world of shakuhachi.

Mr. Tanifuji belongs to a number of hogaku groups and performs many styles of music including honkyoku, shinkyoku, jiuta, and modern hogaku. For 19 years, starting in 1977, he instructed a junior high school wind ensemble. In 1988, with the ensemble, he performed "Figuration for Shakuhachi and Brass", composed and conducted by Kushida Tetsunosuke of Kyoto. Soon thereafter, he joined Mr. Kushida in performances of "Dokan" and "Nichiren", composed by Miyagi Michio, at the Kitami Art and Culture Hall in Hokkaido.

2001-2019 Mr. Tanifuji established and led the Engaru Junior High School Hogaku Club. This musical group was unique in all of Japan, incorporating shakuhachi, shamisen, koto, and jushinchigen played by young musicians. Kozan’s tireless dedication educating and nurturing the next generation of traditional Japanese musicians put the small town of Engaru on the hogaku map.

Mr. Tanifuji has played the Western-style Boehm flute since 1961. In March of 2003, he began working with the shakuhachi headjoint for silver flute devised by Monty Levenson. Kozan wanted to have such an instrument for a long time. He gave it the name Shakulute.

Since 2009, annual “Shakulute Gatherings” have been held in many places throughout Japan, including Tokyo, Sapporo, Hakodate, Nagoya, Kitami, Asahikawa (twice), and Engaru (twice).

S-T8b SO FU: Azure Wind / 谷藤 紅山

Tanifuji Kozan's first Shakulute album came out in 2004 and included eight original pieces I composed for this new hybrid instrument. On this second album, he has expanded the repertoire and range of the Shakulute by including works of some of his favorite composers. These ensemble pieces are accompanied by two pianists and a jushichigen koto player, all of who live in his hometown of Engaru in Hokkaido, Japan.

1. 尺八独奏曲「蒼風」
So Fu / Azure Wind (8:29)

2.「中山道」（いにしえの日本の街道）
Nakasen Do / Nakasen Do Road (3:47)

3.ピアノと尺八のための幻想協奏曲「ルナ」（月）
Fantasy Concerto Luna / Moon (11:39)

4.「哀歌」～沈める瞳
Aika: Shizumeru Hitomi / Elergy: Gloomy Eyes (11:09)

5. 「松尾芭蕉の俳句による三章」
Matsuo Basho’s Haiku / Three Movements (17:20)

Runtime: 52:24

Recorded in Hokkaido, Japan.

S-T8a SHAKULUTE: Live In Concert

Original compositions played on the Shakulute, a new hybrid instrument featuring shakuhachi headjoint and the classical Western silver flute.

1. Impromptu No. 1 (5:36)

2. Impromptu No.2 (6:30)
3. Pastoral (7:23)
4. Wind Patterns on the Sand (7:40)
5. The Bamboo and the Mulberry (4:38)
6. Taken with Dancing Snow (7:16)
7. A Talk with One-Legged Gateway (5:15)
8. In the Space Between the Forest & the Lake (6:15)

Runtime: 51:54

Recorded in Hokkaido, Japan.