Okraulo

Overview

The okraulo is a vertical metal flute developed in Japan in the early twentieth century. It combines features of two distant traditions: the end-blown mouthpiece of the Japanese shakuhachi and the key system of the modern Western flute. The result is an instrument that can be played by a flutist using familiar fingerings while producing a tone closer to a bamboo end-blown flute.

Origin & History

The okraulo is generally credited to the Japanese industrialist and patron Okura Kihachiro, whose name is reflected in the instrument’s name. It was developed in the 1930s as part of an effort to create new hybrid instruments that bridged Japanese and Western musical practice. Production was small in scale, and the instrument did not enter wide use, but a number of original examples survive in Japanese collections.

How It’s Played

The player blows across the end of the instrument, much as a shakuhachi player does, controlling tone with embouchure and breath pressure. Pitch is selected with keys arranged like those of a Western Boehm-system flute, allowing chromatic playing without the open finger holes of the shakuhachi. The combination gives a breathy, slightly hollow tone with the technical flexibility of a key-system flute.

Cultural Significance

The okraulo is a small but interesting chapter in the history of cross-cultural instrument design. It belongs to the same wider effort that produced other Japanese hybrids of the early twentieth century, in which traditional instruments were adapted to Western pitch systems. Today it is mainly a subject of museum interest and occasional performance by specialists.

Related Instruments

• Shakuhachi – the Japanese end-blown bamboo flute that inspired the mouthpiece
• Flute – the modern Western transverse flute that supplied the key system
• Hocchiku – a related Japanese end-blown flute
• Quena – an Andean end-blown flute parallel
• Recorder – a contrasting European keyless flute

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the okraulo Japanese or Western?
It is a Japanese instrument that combines a shakuhachi-style mouthpiece with Western Boehm-system keys.

Is the okraulo still made today?
Production was small in the original period, and the instrument is now mainly a museum and specialist item.

Image credit: see Wikimedia Commons category “Okraulo” for available photographs.