History of the Shimpo ryu – The original honkyoku of the first Myoan-ji (temple) in Kyoto
Myoan-ji (ji means “temple”) served as the main shakuhachi temple in the Kansai region. The shakuhachi style from this temple is highly refined with subtle nuance. Myoan-ji was largely independent from the Fuke sect’s headquarters in the capital (Ichigetsu-ji and Reiho-ji). This was reflected in the music which had an entirely different notation system (Fu, Ho, U, We, Ya). According to one document the first ryu or “school” founded at Myoan-ji (ji=temple) was called the Kichiku ryu.
Ozaki Shinryo (1820-1888) taught the honkyoku of Myoan-ji and his student, and eventual successor, Katsuura Shozan (1856-1942) named the school Shimpo and added more honkyoku pieces to the repertoire. Katsuura Shozan attracted many students and was known as the “last Komuso“. Myoan-ji was destroyed during the Meiji Restoration’s persecution of all things Buddhist. It is now referred to as Kyu Myoan-ji or “Old” Myoan-ji to differentiate it from the second Myoan-ji. The second and current Myoan-ji was established years later in the Meiji period after the persecutions had ended by Higuchi Taizan for his style which contains none of the honkyoku from the first Myoan-ji temple.
‘Fu Ho U’ Notation
It’s through Yamaue Getsuzan’s (b. 1908) lineage that the original ‘fu ho u we ya’ (フホウ) notation of Kyu Myoan-ji continued to be taught as well as the most complete Shimpo ryu repertoire. This notation is different from the notation of other regions known as ‘ro tsu re chi ri/ha’ (ロツレ). Other teachers passed on the few pieces they learned from the Shimpo ryu in their own notation systems. I also decided to re-notated these pieces into “ro tsu re chi ha”, however, I provide the original notation and I explain how to read it. In this way students can choose to read one, the other, or both.
Confusion over Myoan – Higuchi Taizan’s Myoan vs Shimpu ryu or Kyu Myoan
After the destruction of Myoan-ji and end of the Edo period a Seien ryu shakuhachi master from Nagoya named Suzuki Kodo moved to Kyoto to teach Sankyoku music. He changed his name to Higuchi Taizan and after failing to succeed as a Sankyoku teacher he began rearranging various honkyoku he had learned mainly from the Seien and Kinko ryu’s. However, he had far more Gagaku students even at the height of his career teaching his honkyoku. He rented a new space in Kyoto which he named Myoan-ji after the temple that had been destroyed years earlier. It acted as, and remains, the base of operations for his style. His style actually contains none of the Shimpo ryu pieces, however, his school is most often called “Myoan” after the temple he founded in Kyoto. When the names “Myoan ryu” or “Myoan” are heard today it almost always refers to Taizan’s school.
The significance of the Shimpo ryu Myoan-ji honkyoku for the student
I prefer to teach Shimpo ryu to my students after they have become proficient in the Seien ryu style. Shimpo ryu teaches students to play with more dynamics and especially with greater subtlety.