Nagata Chosen (1872-1937) was a sinologist and one of the last
qin _??_ Players to inherit the
qin tradition of Toko-zenji Shin'etsu (Ch. Xin-yue _??__??_, 1639-1712), the founder of the
qin tradition in Japan. Nagata Chosen, named Takashige, styled Shijun, with the literary name Chosen and the common name Junjiro, was born in the village of Minami Toyoshima, Toyonogun, Osaka-fu, on 20 January, 1872. He studied sinology and was excellent at composing Chinese poems. He began his study of the
qin under the instruction of Obata Shoha (1855-1936) and later mastered the instrument under Mega Yusho (1826-1896). In the drafts of his lectures on the music of the
qin he called himself the eighth descendant in the Kansai district of the
qin tradition of Shin'etsu. Engaging in earnest research into the history of the
qin and its music in both China andJapan, he tried to maintain and promote the
qin tradition through his lectures and broadcasting.
Chosen's
qin materials which are now preserved at the Research Archives for Japanese Music, Ueno Gakuen College, are classified into the following three groups: (1) printed
qin handbooks; (2) hand-written
qin manuscripts; and (3) drafts for his lectures and broadcasts, letters, genealogies of the
qin tradition of Shin'etsu, and other miscellaneous documents.
(1) Only three printed
qin handbooks are preserved: a part of the
Qin-xue-cong-shu _??__??__??__??_ (
Qin-sui _??__??_4 vols.,
Qin-hua _??__??_4 vols.,
Qin-bu _??__??_3 vols.), the
Cheng-yi-dang-qin-bu-da-chuan _??__??__??__??__??__??__??_, and the
Qin-xue-ru-men _??__??__??__??_.
(2) (a) Nine manuscripts which can be ascribed to Chosen's transcription, including five of (J.)
Toko-kimpu _??__??__??__??_. (b) (J.)
Dankin _??__??_ by Matsui Yuseki (1859-1926) and two manuscripts of
Toko-kimpu once owned by Ga Reishi. The transcribers of these manuscripts are unknown.
(3) Some drafts for broadcasts and lectures madethrough Osaka Chuo Broadcasting Corporation on 29 May, 1927, and read at the Buddhist Hall in Osaka on 2 November, 1935. Among five letters three were addressed to Chosen by Matsui Yuseki, and mention the sources of some
qin handbooks. One of the three genealogical tables of the
qin tradition after Shin'etsu is written very precisely with concise remarks on each
qin performer, and emphasises the tradition of the Kansai district. Among miscellaneous documents are: the program for a concert in memory of Shin'etsu held at the Kanzanji temple in Osaka on 4 November, 1926; letters of invitation to the concert; an article concerning the concert taken from the newspaper
Geijutsu-tsushin, issue of 15 November, 1926; and so on.
His intensely scholarly attitude towards the investigation of many
qin handbooks and the correction of errors in hand-writing in the manuscripts give evidence of his accomplishment on the instrument. The drafts made for his lectures and broadcasts also illustrate his enthusiastic inquiry into the history and techniques of
qin music. Yuseki's letters to Chosen suggest that they were close friends and that Chosen was greatly assisted by Yuoseki's knowledge of the
qin tradition and of
qin handbooks. Yuseki wrote
Dankin, a book in two volumes on
qin music and
qin players in Japan. This book seems not to have been published, but was copied and preserved by Chosen and Obata Shoun, the eldest son of Shoha, although the second volume is not found in Chosen's
qin materials.
According to Chosen's
qin genealogy after Shin'etsu, the first transmitters of the tradition were Hitomi Chikudo and Sugiura Kinzen, the second Onoda Tozen, the third transmitter and the founder of the Kansai tradition was Sugiura Baigaku, the fourth Nagata Rado, the fifth the priest Chokai, the sixth
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