Hasegawa Tôgaku, Konashi Reisui and his students Uramoto Setchô, all of whom wereresponsible for transmitting the pieces centered at Fudaiken Temple in Sendai.
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Jimbô Masanosuke of Renkôken Temple in Fukushima.
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Nyui Kenzô, Nagano Kyokû and Orito Jôgetsu of Hirosaki's Nezasa Sect, and Nagano's student Jin Nyôdô.
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Miyagawa Nyôzan and Itchô Fumon (later known as Watazumi Dô, the founder of theWatazumi style) of Itchôken Temple in Hakata, and Nyôzen's students Tani Kyôchikuand Takahashi Kûzan.
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Kiyomizu Seizan from Itchôken Temple and Tsunoda Rogetsu from Kumamoto. Both studied under Taizan, and Seizan started the Kyûshû Myôan sect, and Rogetsu theMyôan Rogetsu sect.
One major problem in trying to trace the styles and lineages of the Myôan-style shakuhachi players lies in the fact that each one learned from a number of teachers and was influenced by several styles.
An obvious example of this is Takahashi Kûzan, a player active until his death in the late 1980s. Kûzan not only studied under Miyagawa Nyôzan,but also with Takase Sukeharu, Kobayashi Haô, Kojitomo Tarô, Kobayashi Shizan, Ozaki Meidô, and Katsuura Seizan. Kûzan also studied the classical pieces of the Kinpû style and other styles, mastering over 150 pieces in all.
Jin Nyôdô of the Kinpû style tried to learn all the extant pieces for the shakuhachi. He took the effort to travel around the country collecting music handed down from the various komusô temples. He learnde the Myôan Shimpô style, the Taizan style, the Seien style, as well as the Kinko style, and he also composed and studied ensemble pieces, learning the koto and shamisen.
Kûzan and Nyôdô are representative of the Myôan players, therefore it is difficult to draw a distinct chart showing the relationship and lineages of the teachers and their students.
The problem is compounded by the fact that often times players who have learned several of the traditional pieces from various sources created a new style or sect. One could go so far to say that each individual player becomes a sect himself, and that the number of sects in Japan equals the number of players.
This condition has come about due to the openness of the shakuhachi world since the Meiji Restoration. Unlike the elitist Fuke sect,there were no secret or special societies and no ironclad rules to prevent a student from studying other styles or discovering his own musical expression. The Zen philosophy which allowed performers to interpret each honkyoku as they saw fit fostered individualityand kept students from being bound strictly to one style.
Nonetheless, the players of the various Myôan styles, except for a few exceptions, played only the classical suizen-honkyoku pieces and had little interest in the other genres of shakuhachi music – a situation which tended toward musical stagnation. To them, the honkyoku was not a type of music to be played in public concerts. Although this supposedly kept their music "pure“, it did little to provide public exposure and support.
After World War II, however, these classical honkyoku were rediscovered, and gained attention from modern composers, musicians, and musicologists, both from Japan and abroad. The influence of theses classical pieces on the modern shakuhachi world is quite extensive, with players from all styles absorbing and integrating these suizen honkyoku into their own performances. The Myôan-style players have been quietly learning and transmitting their pieces, providing a base from which the post-war shakuhachi world has received a tremendous inspiration. For this reason, these guardians of the suizen-honkyoku shakuhachi pieces have played a valuable role.
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