In this article I attempt a partly new way of analysing the clusters of sound that constitute the building blocks – kata – of the fundamental repertoire of the Japanese bamboo flute shakuhachi. These kata can be perceived as structural entities of the music, but some Japanese scholars regard them as intangible prescriptive entities that are implicit in any of the traditional art forms that exist (or have existed) in Japan. I challenge the notion that these kata should be seen as motifs, and suggest a new terminology that I find appropriate for describing the musical events that occur in the sound clusters.