Gen Teiho
Gen Teihô was a Ryukyuan scholar-aristocrat who served a notable role in teaching and training musicians for various official court events.
Teihô studied in China as a young man, in 1753, and then in 1759, at the age of 28, he was appointed alongside Ryô Kokuen to serve as a master within the shoin of Shuri castle, training pages (koshô) who were responsible for playing music, performing dances, and participating otherwise in a variety of court ceremonies. He was reappointed to a similar position the following year, alongside Kin Jôtoku and Kin Yûka.
In 1767, he was then asked by the lord of Satsuma han to come to Kagoshima, to train the lord's own pages in Chinese and Ryukyuan music. Teihô thus traveled to Kagoshima alongside two Ryukyuan officials bearing the titles of Yoneji satunushi peechin and Kushi peechin, where they served as music masters (ongaku-shi) for roughly half a year. During that time, they performed before the lord on a number of occasions, and were also called upon to entertain him by delivering talks in Mandarin Chinese.
References
- Kaneshiro Atsumi, "Gakudôji, gakushi, kagakushi - uzagaku o tsutaeta hitobito" 「楽童子・楽師・歌楽師－御座楽を伝えた人々」, in Uzagaku no fukugen ni mukete 御座楽の復元に向けて, Naha, Okinawa: Uzagaku fukugen ensô kenkyûkai 御座楽復元演奏研究会 (2007), 79.
- Liao Zhenpei 廖真珮, "Ryûkyû kyûtei ni okeru Chûgoku kei ongaku no ensô to denshô" 琉球宮廷における中国系音楽の演奏と伝承, in Uzagaku no fukugen ni mukete, 111, citing Naha shishi 那覇市史, vol 6 上, Naha City Office (1980), p179-180.
- Watanabe Miki 渡辺美季, "Nihon no naka no Kumemura jin"「日本のなかの久米村人」, in Kuninda: Ryûkyû to Chûgoku no kakehashi 久米村・琉球と中国の架け橋, Okinawa Prefectual Museum, p49.