Tomita Keizan
富田 溪山
12/1/1884 - ????
Shakuhachi
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Tomita Keizan (Tomita Seigorō) always walked the path of integrity as a soldier, an orderly, a commander, and an entertainer, and as a master of Tozan-ryū shakuhachi he trained over a thousand students. His career was one of honesty throughout his life. He was born in Hyōgo on December 1, 1884. He joined the 20th Fukuchiyama Infantry Regiment at the age of conscription during the brutal Russo-Japanese War(1904-1905). He went to war in September 1905, and returned in January of the following year, covered in the dust of war. He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 8th Class and returned home in November of 1906. In February of the following year, 1907, he was appointed as a communications clerk at the Kobe Post Office, and in 1911, he was transferred to the post of assistant clerk at the Postal Service. In March of 1909 he discovered an interest in the shakuhachi, and he became a student of Tozan-ryū master Furubayashi Shūzan. Armed with the research and self-teaching he had acquired, and with the enthusiastic and kind guidance of his teacher, he earned his Chuden rank certification and took the name Shūkei in March 1911. Continuing his studies, he received his Okuden license in March the following year, 1912, and obtained his initial teaching license in November. Along the way, he decided to make a living specializing in the shakuhachi, and while setting up a training group in Hyōgo, he resigned from his official position in August the following year, 1913. After that, alone and enduring hardships in a region where the popularity of the shakuhachi was not yet at its peak, he continued to teach, studying morning and evening under his teacher Shūzan, and his skills reached their maturity. In November 1915, he was awarded the Kaiden degree, and in April 1916, he overcame the difficulties of the only recently-established Jun-Shihan (associate instructor) examination, and received the professional name Keizan. Within a short time he became well-known in the region, and many students began to enter the school. After that, he was often appointed to perform at special performances in various places, or to be a committee member for Jun-Shihan and Shihan examinations, and was awarded several achievement awards and prizes. In October 1921, he was promoted to Shihan (master), and in March 1923, he was elected to the third term of the Tozan-ryū council. He also held public office in local governments and, after being elected as head of the health association in 1925, he was entrusted with the duties of the town council for several years. In February 1926, He was promoted to Dai-Shihan (Grand Master), the highest rank in the school, and were granted the title of Chikurinken, becoming a senior leader of the Tozan-ryū along with his mentor Shūzan.
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| Also Known As 富田 清五郎 (Tomita Seigorō) |
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Teachers Students
Konishi Kunzan 1909 - ???? |