National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

Ōteki, also called ryūteki (lit. dragon flute or omobue), is a seven-holed flute used for playing tōgaku (Tang music or the Japanese gagaku (court music) based on it) together with shakuhachi. Two bamboo tubes are combined at the point between the nozzle and the first finger hole (tsuzukikan: lit. continuous-pipe) and the entire surface except for the holes is wrapped with narrow strips of cherry bark (kabamaki). The top end of the body is plugged with beeswax, the other end is decorated with gold brocade on a blue base and bordered by red lacquer. Garan Honzon Reihō Mokuroku (catalogue of the objects of worship and the treasures of Hōryūji) refers to this piece as "[this] ōteki [was] owned by the ex-emperor (hō-ō) of Reikōin temple," which indicates that it was kept in the Western Hall of Hōryūji temple, together with the Seven-string Koto and the Kakko Drum.