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1959: William P. Malm Quoting Tanabe Hisao Who Quoted Nakatsuka Chikuzen?
- What to Say About That Apparently Somehow Controversial "Idea"
that Early Kyōto Myōan Temple 'Komusō' Were Christians in Disguise,
Catholic Converts Hiding from the Sects Inquisition Bureau?
キリシタン教 - 虚無僧 - 明暗寺
KIRISHITAN-KYŌ - KOMUSŌ - MYŌAN-JI
Renowned US musicology professor William P. Malm, 1928-2024, was the first Westerner who,
in 1959, published a now memorable book that attempted to describe all the different genres
of traditional Japanese music in English, to Western readers.
That included a chapter on the 'Shakuhachi' and the Edo Period 'Komusō'.
William P. Malm and his 1959 book. Source of portrait:
https://ii.umich.edu/cjs/news-events/news/search-news/professor-william-p--malm-to-receive-the-order-of-the-rising-sun.html
So, quoting from that book's pages 153 and 154:
William P. Malm, 1959, pages 153 & 154.
Selected passage:
"It is believed that one group of these desperate men [masterless samurai/rōnin, ed.] formed a komuso group in Kyoto
called the Fukeshu {[* note 3].
They secretly purchased a building which was associated with one of the larger Buddhist temples, in hopes the the shogun
would not view their group as a Christian revival.
This headquarters they named the Meian Temple."
Then, let's take a close look at note 3 on page 153, bottom, that reads:
* Note 3:
"The following account is based on the incomplete research of the late Chikuzen Nakatsuka.
A resumé of his work can be found in ref. 16, 224-28."
"Ref. 16" (Malm p. 282) points to this specific Japanese language source of information:
Tanabe Hisao: Nihon no ongaku.
Bunka Kenkyūsha, 2nd impression, 1954.
Here you have all those five pages scanned for public display:
Tanabe Hisao, 1954, pages 224-228.
Well, at that time, Tanabe Hisao could only have known and referred to Nakatsuka Chikuzen's many articles that
were published from 1936 through 1939 in the important Japanese traditional music magazine titled Sankyoku,
三曲.
Tanabe Hisao did not specify precisely which of Nakatsuka's articles he was referring to, unfortunately.
Nakatsuka's monumental shakuhachi research contributions were first re-published in a 600+ pages volume in 1979, by Nihon Ongaku-sha.
Now, regarding Nakatsuka Chikuzen's 1936-1939 writings on Christianity in Japan and the origin of the Kyōto Myōan Temple,
the 1979 anthology contains at least two chapters of special interest, namely:
「切支丹宗門改」
'Kirishitan shūmon aratame'
"The Inquisition of Christianity" - Nakatsuka 1979, pp. 276-282.
「明暗寺はイツ出来たか」
'Myōan-ji wa itsu dekita ka'
"When was Myōan-ji established?" - Nakatsuka 1979, pp. 250-254.
More to follow very soon ... :-)
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