Hi David

> as our culture evolves so does our language.

The simplest evolution I can think of is for the term "master" to become
applicable to both genders. (Is it not already?) After all, I'm not sure the
verb "to master" is gender specific.

If a player or teacher is not officially qualified, someone might feel that
player or teacher is a "master", and so call them a master. That is their
subjective judgement. The same can apply for other aspects of life, such as
"Guru", which is a term a spiritual teacher gets when they are perceived as
such.

However, in the shakuhachi world, shakuhachi "master" is usually a translation
of the Japanese term "shihan". This is a qualification as shakuhachi teacher.
The issuing of licenses dates back to the Edo period, when licenses were issued
by the temples. In that case, to answer your question "what is a master", I
would say generally in this case it is referring to someone who is licensed as a
qualified shakuhachi teacher. In some schools there is also a qualification "Dai
Shihan", such as in Tozan-ryu. That is often translated as "Grand Master", which
however I feel is misleading, as Grand Master to me implies the head of a
lineage. Anyway, once you learn what these terms are referring to in the
context, there is not much confusion. It is a traditional system of training
students to attain a high enough level as to be qualified in teaching and
continuing the tradition, and the process generally takes many years.

There are also women here in Japan who have gone through the traditional
training and attained the rank of shihan, and also foreign women who have
similarly attained shihan, here in Japan and most probably abroad too.

It's not too much different from attaining qualifications and titles in the
Western education establishments, which are used as a way of ensuring quality,
and a proof of the level achieved in ones study.

Good luck with your shakuhachi studies!

Justin
http://senryushakuhachi.com/