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From the Chicaago Shempo interview at the 2017 Japanese Festival:
Jia Senghe of Chicago exhibited and sold some vintage shakuhachi from Japan at the Japanese Festival. Some of them were handmade by him. He also played shakuhachi for the visitors, and his sound was subtle and profound.
• He was born in Chicago and lived in Japan for 2 years and a half with his family when he was a boy. He said, “I was impacted by the culture of Japan as a very young child just because the country was so older, clean, and the people were so polite. When I came back to America even though I was only a child, I knew something didn’t feel quite right.”
• In 1972, he learned how to play the side blown flute, then the shakuhachi in 1984. It was in 1983 that I first heard Masayuki Koga on his tape, 'The Distant Cry of Deer', I was blown away. After that it was all shakuhachi for me.
• He was born in Chicago and lived in Japan for 2 years and a half with his family when he was a boy. He said, “I was impacted by the culture of Japan as a very young child just because the country was so older, clean, and the people were so polite. When I came back to America even though I was only a child, I knew something didn’t feel quite right.”
• In 1972, he learned how to play the side blown flute, then the shakuhachi in 1984. It was in 1983 that I first heard Masayuki Koga on his tape, 'The Distant Cry of Deer', I was blown away. After that it was all shakuhachi for me.
He said, “Shakuhachi is really a marvelous and unlimited instrument. Players are committed to learning and practicing how they can produce all kinds of wonderful sounds such as those from nature, like water, birds, and even strong intense sounds like the wind.”
• He also composes pieces for shakuhachi. Since he doesn’t read the music, he listens to shakuhachi masters’ music very closely, then imitates and creates from their inspirations. In later years, he began to make shakuhachi and other bamboo flutes. He has a booklet he wrote to introduce how to play shakuhachi and its history. He said, “I’ve introduced shakuhachi to approximately 300 people in my lifetime. So I like to introduce it and bring people into the wonderful culture of shakuhachi.”
• He also composes pieces for shakuhachi. Since he doesn’t read the music, he listens to shakuhachi masters’ music very closely, then imitates and creates from their inspirations. In later years, he began to make shakuhachi and other bamboo flutes. He has a booklet he wrote to introduce how to play shakuhachi and its history. He said, “I’ve introduced shakuhachi to approximately 300 people in my lifetime. So I like to introduce it and bring people into the wonderful culture of shakuhachi.”