Tsuji, Shoichi

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Tsuji, Shōichi

Tsuji, Shōichi, Japanese musicologist; b. Gifu, Dec. 20, 1895; d. Tokyo, April 21, 1987. He took a degree in psychology at the Univ. of Tokyo (1920), and also studied composition and conducting with Ryütarö Hirota, violin with Shin Kusakawa, and gagaku with Yoshiisa Oku. He taught at St. Paul’s Univ., Tokyo (1922-65), and also lectured at the Univ. of Tokyo, the Tokyo National Univ. of Fine Arts and Music, and Kyüshü Univ. In 1968 he became a prof, at Kunitachi Music Coll. Tsuji, the first important Japanese scholar to specialize in Western music, introduced musicology to Japan. He specialized in J.S. Bach and Protestant church music, and wrote biographies of Bach, Mozart, and Schubert. He was one of the founders of the Japanese Musicological Soc; served as its president (1964-70). After his death, St. Paul’s Univ. instituted the annual Shōichi Tsuji Award for achievement in the enhancement of Christian music studies and/or performance.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire