Yoshinobu Taniguchi is one of the foremost living masters of shakuhachi in Japan today. In addition to having studied under three great pillars of shakuhachi -Aoki Reibo, Yamaguchi Goro and Yokoyama Katsuya - he has also mastered the playing styles and repertoire of many other shakuhachi sects. Mr. Taniguchi is a recipient of the transmission of Koden Honkyoku through Watazumido Shuso and Yokoyama Katsuya.

He has received several honors for his work in Japan including acknowledgement as top performer at the Osaka Geijutsu Sai. He was also given the honorary title of Sen Shin Kutsu Dai Shihan at the young age of 32, a title usually reserved for senior "ambassadors" of shakuhachi.

Mr. Taniguchi was Visiting Professor of Shakuhachi at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio where he taught in 1982. He presently resides in Mineyama-cho, a small city near the Sea of Japan outside of Kyoto. Despite widespread recognition as a master of the shakuhachi, Mr. Taniguchi shuns the spotlight, preferring to focus on his personal training and preparations for a few select performances each year.