The Straw Thatched Music Hall

The official name for our Kayabuki Ongaku-do, The Straw Thatched Music Hall, is 'Kalavinkutsu', or 'Dwelling Place of Kalavin'. Kalavin (Sanskrit) is a mythical bird with the head of a beautiful woman. Together with Buddhism it arrived in Japan, it's song is supposed to be incredibly beautiful, comparable to the voice of the Buddha. This name for our hall was bestowed by Hirata Roshi, the head of the Tenryu-ji temple in Kyoto. Our Ongaku-do used to be a Zen temple on a hill in a village in Fukui-prefecture called Kawakami, which belonged to the parish of Hirata Roshi, the resident priest there being a student of his.

It was built in the 4th year of the reign of emperor Temmei, in 1783. The temple was in a rather dilapidated state, the congregation balked at the cost for its repair and upkeep, while the young priest did not want to move into the old building. So it was decided to build a new temple for him by the village.  At that time I was thinking of building a studio for myself on the elevation above our house, since the children had taken over every square inch of living space and I had no more room to practise the piano. I heard of the temple, went there immediately and was offered the whole structure for free, if I would have it dismantled and moved away! The project was daunting by its sheer size and difficulty. The only access to the temple was one of those long-long stone staircases. Rather than putting in a new road for trucks, it was decided to make bundles from all the beams, tie them with wire ropes and have them whirled down to the road by helicopter. All this in the rain, which had dissolved the clay walls. Loaded unto trucks, all 1500 pieces, the dismantled structure made its way to our village, some 40 miles south. There it was all put together again, like a puzzle, the pieces being numbered. No inside walls, no sliding doors, just one big space for music, the straw roof exposed to the inside of the hall, the roof beam some 25 feet over the floor. It took 50 people half a year. At opening time still part of the roof was missing, exposing the blue sky. The guests were asked to bring and donate pillows for sitting on the floor, Japanese style, in lieu of an entrance fee. Hundreds of people on the train from Kyoto carrying floor pillows! TV and mass media had a field day. For the next concerts we asked for floor boards to be donated. Over time the hall got walls, made from 1 inch thick cherry wood, recycled floor boads from the gym of a grammar school, which was taken down. Polished and worn thin in spots by little feet. Acoustic panels were added high up in the air, ply wood, painted with spray paint by children from an art class. A beautiful painting by one of the foremost Japanese painters adorns the sliding doors for the closets holding the over 300 seat cushions. A big gong from China, brought back by ourselves, sounds the beginning of performances. Finally, since we are charging a modest fee for our concerts, a brand new Steinway concert grand piano made its way from Hamburg, Germany, to our stage. Thus we became the lucky owners of our own concert hall. For details of concert performances please click on concerts, Kayabuki. Kayabuki Ongaku-do Access Map>>>