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Tanaka Yūdō

田中 右童

Tanaka Yūdō
10/17/1922 - ????

Shakuhachi

Tanaka Yūdō (Motonobu) was born just outside of Kobe, Japan in 1922 (October 17). He was raised with a nominal affiliation to the Shingon Sect, along with his two brothers, and eventually attended Kwansei Gakuin University in Nishinomiya where he graduated from the Economics Faculty in 1947. In 1959 he accepted the position of Director of the Student Union of Kwansei Gakuin University, a role he has occupied with distinction, particularly during the period of student unrest in 1969.

After sampling several Western instruments during the 40's he became attracted to the sound of the shakuhachi as performed by Ikeda Kōdō I (Yasuo), 1902-70, a distinguished student of Nōtomi Judō (Yasuji), 1895-1976, who founded a shakuhachi study group named Kōyū-kai for the purposes of transmitting the techniques(tenaoshi) of the Kantō (Tokyo) based Judō to the shakuhachi performers in the Kansai (Kyoto-Osaka) area. Tanaka Motonobu began his strict tuition in 1941 and, by 1963, acquired his "Dōgō-Sha" certification along with his professional name, Yūdō. After the death of Kōdō I, he became the head of the Kôyû-kai and continues to direct its activities up to the present time. The members of the association include Sessu II (Iida), a master shakuhachi craftsman, and Ikeda Kōdō II (Eiji), the son of Kōdō I. In 1980 he was recognized as an Iemoto by the Board of Regents of the Dōmon-Kai, the association founded by Nōtomi Judō and others with the purpose of drawing together all the Kai that trace their sensei lineage through Araki Kodō III (Shinnosuke), 1870-1935, to Araki Kodō II (Hanzaburo), 1823-1908, nee "Chikuō".

Yūdō has a prominent career as a sensei for foreigners (notably Professor Elliot Weisgarber, the author of the first scholarly study devoted entirely to the music of the shakuhachi in English) as well as native Japanese, including many students of Kwansei Gakuin University. As a performer, he has created a unique name for himself by newly arranging solo Honkyoku for performance as duets and trios, using as a model the Koro Sugagaki duet honkyoku arrangement by Nōtomi Judō, performed by Yūdō and his otōto-deshi, Chica Jundō, for the Beiju (88th Birthday) celebrations for Nōtomi Judō in Tokyo. Thereafter he arranged Reibo Nagashi as a duet for the 3rd annual Dōmon-Kai concert (1977) and combined Akita Sugagaki and Sayama Sugagaki as a fukiyose duet, the first such arrangement in the history of the Honkyoku repertoire, for the 7th annual Dōmon-Kai concert (1981). For his efforts, he has been singled out for special mention in the 1974 publication Nippon no Dento (Traditions of Japan), issued by Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai.

Despite the seemingly high profile of Tanaka Yūdō’s acomplishments, his style and demeanor are very modest and self-effacing. Rather than live the paradox of an unassuming personality and flamboyant "stage" presence as many professional shakuhachi players do, his style of playing reflects his respect for, and commitment to, the Zen Buddhist principles of naturalness(Shizen), austerity (shibui), and "roughness" (sabi). The unsuspecting listener may mistake his sound as an ingenuous sonority, and therein lies his consummate skill and decades of experience.(This same quality of crafted simplicity is cited as the zenithal aesthetic of the most frequently recommended recording of Koku Reibo, heard on Shakuhachi no Shinzui (Zen Music), Vol.11, RCA Victor Japan: SJL-2062, perfomed by Nōtomi Judō.) Those who understand his single-mindedness of spirit (kokoro) catch a glimpse of the possibilities of an enlightened mind.

Biography written by Dr. Norman Stanfield, Ph.D.

También Conocido Como 田中 基展 (Tanaka Motonobu)
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