It is said that kagura began with the metalworking specialists who in ancient times left their native Korea for Shimane prefecture in Japan. They would summon up memories of their homeland with this kind of music. Whatever the festival, whatever the rice planting celebrations, the sound of the flute was always there. As a prayer to the gods, it had the necessary quiet purity of tone as well as a beautiful freshness. This accounts for the holes in this the forefather of the modern Hero flute being relatively small.
The original Iwami Kagura flute is made from the finest Japanese bamboo: a fitting material for a flute that has sung Japan's haunting melodies since time immemorial.
