Ce lexique, tronqué et traduit est directement tiré de celui plus exhaustif du site de l’ESS.

Atari (当り) – « attaque » permettant d’articuler les mélodies (« yubi atari » attaque de doigt, « iki atari » attaque du souffle…)
Biwa (琵琶) – Luth japonais antique à 4 ou 5 cordes joué avec un large plectre
Boroboro (ボロボロ) – Moines mendiants et ascètes antérieurs aux moines Komusō et jouant le Shakuhachi. Ils sont mentionnés dans le livre Tsurezuregusa vers 1300.
Dai shihan (大師範) – titre de grand maitre (ou grand professeur).
Danmono  (段物) – Pièce du répertoire Sankyoku divisée en « Dan » (mouvements ou sections) et sans partie vocale.
Dōkyoku (童曲) – Chansons pour enfants (Dokyoku est aussi le nom donné aux pièces de honkyoku composées par Watasumi Doso)
Fuke-shū (普化宗) – La secte Fuke issue du bouddhisme Zen Rinzai à laquelle appartenaient les moines Komusō
Gagaku (雅楽) – Musique de cour impériale (importée de Chine via la Corée au 77me siècle).
Gaikyoku (外曲) – Lit. pièces extérieures. Toutes les autres pièces qui ne faisaient pas partie du répertoire Honkyoku des moines. Cela comprend le Sankyoku, Min’yō et Shinkyoku mais désigne plus couramment le Sankyoku.
Hitoyogiri (一節切) – Flute Shakuhachi antique faite dans un seul entre nœud considérée comme le lien entre le Shakuhachi Gagaku et le Fuke. Assez répendu du 14ème au 18ème siècle; très peu aujourd’hui.
Hōgaku (邦楽) – Terme inventé au début du 20ème siècle pour désigner toutes les musiques traditionnelles japonaises par opposition aux musiques occidentales.
Honkyoku (本曲) – Le répertoire traditionnel des moines Komusō de la secte Fuke.
Hotchiku (法竹) – Type de Shakuhachi inventé par Watazumi Dōso Rōshi.

Ichion Jobutsu  一音成仏 – Atteindre l’éveil avec un seul son.

Iemoto (家元) – désigne le leader d’une école dans les arts japonais. Dans ce système hiérarchique, ce titre se transmet par le sang.

Ji (地) – A paste made of urushi, stone powder and water, which is used to build up the bore of the modern jinuri/jiari shakuhachi.
Jimori shakuhachi (地盛り尺八) – Shakuhachi where the tuning methods has been using ji in strategic places in the bore and not all over the bore as in jinuri shakuhachi. Jimori shakuhachi is also sometimes called spot-tuned shakuhachi.
Jinashi shakuhachi (地なし尺八) – Shakuhachi tuned without the use of ji, where only the natural bamboo remains. This was the traditional method of making shakuhachi during the Edo period.
Jiari shakuhachi (地有り尺八) – See jinuri shakuhachi.
Jinuri shakuhachi (地塗り尺八) – A shakuhachi with a mid-joint where the bore is built up with ji. This method of tuning and instrument making became the mainstream after the Fuke sect was abolished.
Jiuta (地歌) – Music originally composed for shamisen
Jiuta sōkyoku (地歌箏曲) – Music composed for shamisen and koto
Jun shihan (準師範) – Often translated as teacher’s license.
Kan (甲) – Upper register
Keiko (稽古) – Practice, study.
Kari (カリ) – One of the two main head positions in shakuhachi playing with raised chin. To be played on the open holed ro tsu re chi ri etc.
Kokyū (胡弓) – Three-string bowed spike fiddle. The only bowed fiddle in Japan.
Komi Buki (コミ吹き) – Big breath. Vibrato created by diaphragm. Representative for the repertoire of the Nezasaha.
Komusō (虚無僧) – Shakuhachi playing monks of the Fuke sect of Rinzai Zen. The komusō monks were wandering mendicant monks playing the shakuhachi for alms.
Korokoro (コロコロ) – Shakuhachi playing technique. A tremolo is created by alternatively opening and closing holes one and two.
Koto (箏) – Japanese 13-string zither.
Kyotaku (虚鐸) – Lit., hollow bell or bell without substance (often translated as empty bell). Name for shakuhachi used in the historical document Kyotaku Denki Kokujikai from 1795. Today a group of players formerly led by Nishimura Kokū (1915–2002) calls their instruments for kyotaku.
Kyotaku Denki Kokujikai – [The legend of the empty bell translated to Japanese] from 1795 written by Yamamoto Morihide (山本守秀). It is claimed to be an annotation in Japanese of a 13th century Chinese book entitled Kyotaku Denki (虚鐸伝記). Nakatsuka Chikusen (1887–1944) was the first person to question its authenticity. The legend remains, however, the single most important work in the literature defining the identity of many shakuhachi honkyoku players.

Ma (間) – Lit., in between, space or interval. In musical terms it describes the silence between sound events. This is often described as vacuum plenum, and is an important part of Japanese musical aesthetics.
Madake (真竹) – A common type of bamboo in Japan, from which the shakuhachi is made. Latin: phyllostachys bambusoides

Meri (メリ) – Blow by putting the chin down, to lower the tone Shakuhachi playing technique describing the head positioning. In meri, the head is lowered and the lips are closer to the mouthpiece (utaguchi). This technique produces a sound, which has less volume and is considered having a ‘darker’ character.
Min’yō (民謡) – Folk song. The shakuhachi is widely used as accompaniment to min’yō.
Muraiki (ムライキ　斑息) – Lit., uneven breath. Shakuhachi playing technique producing a characteristic breathy sound.
Myōanji (明暗寺) – Myōan temple, established within the compound of the Tōfukuji temple in Kyoto. Myōanji was founded by Kyochiku Zenji and was throughout the Edo period a prominent and influential centre of shakuhachi musicianship especially in the Kansai region. Myōanji remained the centre for the Fuke style shakuhachi playing in which spirituality continued to have great importance in shakuhachi playing.
Nakatsugi (中継ぎ) – The attachable mid-joint on jinuri shakuhachi.
Nayashi (ナヤシ) – To begin pitch meri and rise to standard pitch Shakuhachi playing technique. A short bend in the beginning of a note, middle of a note most frequently produced by head movements. This can vary depending on the school.
Nobekan (延べ管) – Shakuhachi made in one piece rather than in two attachable pieces, as is the norm today. There is thus no mid-joint.

Otsu (乙) – the low register on the shakuhachi

Ryū (流) – Refers to an artistic lineage and its accompanying style in an art form. In the case of shakuhachi, kinko ryū is the Kinko style of shakuhachi playing.

Sankyoku (三曲) – lit. three pieces. Chamber music of Japan from the Edo period. The instrumentation is: koto (13-stringed zither), shamisen (three-stringed long-necked lute) and shakuhachi. The shakuhachi replaced the kokyû around the turn of the 20th century.
Shaku (尺) – Japanese measurement. 1 shaku = 30.30 cm
Shakuhachi Sanbonkai (尺八三本会) – Three Shakuhachi Group. A shakuhachi group founded in 1964 across different ryūha by top players, Aoki Reibo II (b. 1935), Yamamoto Hōzan (b. 1937) and Yokoyama Katsuya (b. 1934).
Shamisen (三味線) – Japanese three-stringed long-necked lute.
Shihan (師範) – Often translated as a master licence.
Shinkyoku (新曲) – New pieces. This refers to 20th century pieces, thus neither honkyoku nor sankyoku.
Shō (笙) – A Japanese mouth organ. Part of the gagaku ensemble.
Suizen (吹禅) – Lit: Blowing Zen. The act of playing the shakuhachi as an act of meditation. Although widely used, this word is, according to Tsukitani Tsuneko (conversation, 2007), a post-Edo period creation.
Sun (寸) – Japanese measurement. 1/10th of a shaku = 3.03 cm
Suri (スリ) – Slide. Shakuhachi playing technique. A passing note with a short portamento to an intermediate pitch.
Suriage (スリ上) – A slide upwards
Suri sage (スリ下) – A slide downwards

Takane (高音) – Section of a honkyoku piece usually played in the upper octave, often containing the climax of the piece.
Tamane (玉音) – Flutter tongue technique
Tegoto (手事) – Musical Interlude
Tegotomono (手事物) – Musical form with Tegoto

Utaguchi (歌口) – The sharp blowing edge of the shakuhachi

Yuri (ユリ) – Vibrato created by head movements
Tateyuri (立ユリ) – vibrato created by  vertical head movements
Yokoyuri (横ユリ) – vibrato created by  horizontal head movements
Mawashiyuri (回ユリ) – vibrato created by  circular head movements
Tsukiyuri – vibrato created by  moving the shakuhachi towards the chin