The Shakuhachi is a five-holed, end-blown bamboo flute with origins in India and China. It initially came to Japan in 752 in a much different form, (see photos below), and became part of the traditional Court Music called Gagaku, but fell out of favor and virtually disappeared from Japanese culture. It re-appeared several centuries later, with a form more consistent with modern Japanese shakuhachi, being used as a tool for meditation by itinerant monks called Komusō. By the 1800s it was being incorporated, along with shamisen and koto, into the popular music of Japan. The beginning of the 20th Century saw the shakuhachi being used in every style of music imaginable, from Westernized popular song to complex contemporary orchestral pieces. Throughout the world, the sound of the shakuhachi continues to capture the hearts of all who hear it.
More about the shakuhachi and its history here: