Kawamoto Itsudō I - La International Shakuhachi Society

Kawamoto Itsudō I

初代河本逸童 (初代川本逸童)

8/21/1882 - 11/3/1947

Shakuhachi & Estudioso

The first headmaster of the Itsudō School of the Kinko-ryū, Kawamoto Itsudō, whose birth name was Misaki Kenjirō, was born in Nagoya on August 21, 1882.
Raised in a disadvantaged family, Kenjirō had a difficult childhood, including being sent to a temple in Osaka as a child.
At the age of 14, he learned to play the shakuhachi under Yamamoto Itsuō. Later, he studied under Okada Rosan, who was descended from Murase Chikuga, and learned Kinko-ryū honkyoku.
He also studied under Kanetomo Seien, (the first generation of the Seien school), where he acquired a wide range of training.
Around 1905, he studied under Araki Kodō II, who was then a dominant figure in the shakuhachi world, and also acquired the style of the Araki school.
On February 15, 1911, he married and took the name Kawamoto-dō, and set his sights on establishing his own school.
As a first step, he devised and published shakuhachi music scores using timing notation based on Rokushiro Uehara's theories of traditional Japanese music. This was done because he remembered the difficulties he had experienced in his training days when there was no sheet music available. These scores were published using the name Tokyo Shakuhachi Kōshūkai (Tokyo Shakuhachi Workshop).
He established his school in Sakuragi-cho, Ueno, Tokyo, and devoted all his energy to training his students.
Kawamoto's enthusiastic personality may have been the reason why some of his students were members of the imperial family, and the Itsudō school prospered.
Perhaps due to circumstances, he changed his name to Misaki Itsuō on December 25, 1918, but on July 5, 1919, he changed it again to Kawamoto Itsudō (changing the kanji for Kawamoto from 川本 to 河本).
In the Taishō era (1912-1926), the Itsudō school entered its heyday. The number of members reached 10,000, and branches were established not only in Japan but also in Manchuria, Korea, and other regions, where active promotional activities were conducted.
It is said that Kawamoto spent five years traveling throughout Japan to visit all the chapters.
In the early days, monthly fees were not fixed as they were later. At the entrance to the training hall, the master would write down what was needed for daily life, such as "rice, miso, and sake for the next lesson," and the students would bring their own supplies accordingly.
With Japan's defeat becoming imminent during World War II, Kawamoto Itsudō left his private residence in Sakuragi-cho, Ueno, and moved to Sanei-cho, Shinjuku. He and his wife, Shimizu Itsukan, began reorganizing to make a fresh start. However, because their new residence was located on a hill directly in front of the headquarters of the Japanese Army General Staff, it was bombed by the U.S. Army, and all their household possessions were destroyed by fire. Later, he temporarily evacuated to Kofu, but was unfortunately injured in an air raid there as well. With his injured body, he evacuated to Nagoya, his birthplace, where he experienced yet another air attack.
On November 3, 1947, Kawamoto Itsudō passed away at the age of 66 in a municipal housing complex in Nagoya.
(from an article by Nakajima Seizan)

También Conocido Como 見崎健次郎 (Misaki Kenjirō)

Profesores

Estudiantes

1917 - ????

1906 - ????

Hirokado Reifū 1903 - 1987

Gōnai Reifū