It breathes and is happy in it's "wasbi" beauty and rejoices in it's masters spittle...long live jinashikun!
 

From what I've read jinashikun = jinashi shakuhachi (the flute/object itself, rather than just an adjective that describes (a) shakuhachi) I'm not sure if kun = flute, or something it could be the same suffix you're talking about. - i think I read it on Perry's web page or something..

re: the poem, I suppose it's somewhat cryptic - the inspiration for the 2nd part came from a piece of twine (that I was using to tie the makeshift/cloth cover that I've been using as a shakuhachi case) ... in this case, this piece had been in use, since I was down at your place (about 3-4 weeks) and was starting to shed it's fibers... So basically the second part is an observation of impermanance/ comparison of a piece of twine, and jinashi shakuhachi, which is intrumental in creating (beautiful) music, despite (or perhaps because of) it's organic impermanance.


 

It's a pretty popular term these days, I think that Levinson really coined this phrase to describe his long natural bore instruments....