Wikipedia on the fascinating flute-playing basket monk sect of seventeenth-to-nineteenth century Japan. Across cultures, specific articles of clothing are commonly worn to conceal oneself for purposes of modesty, conformity, or strategic anonymity. However, the concept of the straw basket is more extreme–all identity and ego are removed:
A komusō was a Japanese mendicant monk of the Fukè school of Zen Buddhism. Komusō wore a woven straw hat which covered their head completely looking like an overturned basket or a woven beehive. The concept was that by wearing such a hat they removed their ego. Komusō means ”priest of nothingness” or “monk of emptiness.”
They are also known for playing solo pieces on the shakuhachi (bamboo flute) as a method of attaining enlightenment and as a healing modality. The Japanese government introduced reforms after the Edo period, abolishing the Fukè sect. Records of the musical repertoire survived, and are being revived in the 21st century.
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