KYOTO -- A gala concert by shakuhachi grandmaster Genzan Miyoshi Dec. 3 at the Kyoto Concert Hall promises something for everyone: An array of traditional and modern pieces performed as solos, "hogaku orchestras" and everything in between.

Besides this unusual chance to hear many of Kansai's best hogaku artists on the same stage, the concert will also feature several special guests from Kanto: shakuhachi master Hozan Yamamoto, renowned shamisen artists Seikin Tomiyama and Koji Kikuhara, as well as a performance by John Kaizan Neptune and his Take Dake ensemble of bamboo instruments. Shizuo Yamagawa will be the concert presenter.

Miyoshi is of the Tozan school of shakuhachi, especially strong in Kansai since it was founded in the 1800s by Nakao Tozan of Osaka. As one of the newer schools of shakuhachi, it was particularly marked by the influences of the 20th century -- namely, a secular approach to the artistic process and socioeconomic transformation. After the Kinko school, it has become the second largest shakuhachi school today.