Hisao Tanabe

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Hisao Tanabe (田辺尚雄, August 16, 1883 – March 5, 1984) was a Japanese musicologist who helped start the study of Asian music in Japan. He began studying musicology in 1920 with guidance from a French missionary and researched the music of Japan’s Imperial Court. In April 1921, he visited Korea and helped protect the Joseon court’s musical traditions. When Korea’s Royal Music Institute was dissolved by the Japanese government, Tanabe argued that traditional music and dance like aak would be lost without government support. He made film and audio recordings and published a report praising Korea’s court music and comparing it with Japan’s court music. Later in 1921, he invented a new type of kokyū (a bowed string instrument) for playing high notes. In 1981, he was named a Person of Cultural Merit. The Tanabe Hisao Prize is named in his honor.