The shakuhachi

Once again, the shakuhachi is a Japanese endblown flute. It is typically made from bamboo and features a beveled lip or "utaguchi". This instrument has four finger holes on top and a thumb hole on the bottom. Traditionally, finger holes are burned into the flute with a red hot poker. They are large and wide: on the order of one third of an inch apiece. The shakuhachi's range is over two octaves--remarkable for just five holes. I purchased this bamboo shakuhachi from an ebay seller.

 This is a PVC shakuhachi I bought from an ebay seller who lives in Thailand.

Here's a PVC shakuhachi I made from scratch, using the one from Thailand as a model.