Yakov Dmitriyevich Tikhai ( pronounced tee-'high) was a Russian orthodox composer, liturgist, and missionary. With Dmitri Lvovsky, he established a liturgical music school in Tokyo on the grounds of the Japanese mission to educate Japanese Christians in the new forms of music and to teach Japanese choir leaders for the new parishes.

Life

Не graduated from the Chişinău Theological Seminary. He was recommended by his older brother,

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

Anatoly (Tikhai), to then archimandrite

Nicholas of Japan Nicholas (Kasatkin), Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan, born Ivan Dmitrovich Kasatkin (; – 16 February 1912) was a Russian Orthodox priest, monk, and bishop. He introduced the Eastern Orthodox Church to Japan.''"Святый Н� ...

, and became Fr. Nicholas' principal arranger of Russian liturgical music to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese translations during the early decades of the Japanese mission. Yakov Tikhai came from the Romanian village of Tărăsăuţi, in the Hotin district in northern

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

(

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

), and arrived to Japan in early 1874 to assist his brother the Archimandrite Anatoly at his assignment to the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

, Japan. Fr. Anatoly had succeeded Fr. Nicholas in the Hakodate parish when Fr. Nicholas transferred his mission headquarters to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Later, Yakov was invited by Fr. Nicholas to serve as choirmaster at Suragadai Kanda. Under the guidance of Bp. Nicholas, Yakov arranged the music for almost all the needed texts used in the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

, major feasts,

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

, funerals, the first week of

Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast (Greek language, Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, ''Megali Tessarakosti'' or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, ''Megali Nisteia'', meaning "Great 40 Days", and "Great Fast", respectively), is the most impor ...

, and Passion Week. As his successor, Victor Pokrovsky under Metr. Sergius needed to do, Yakov found it necessary to change the music to meet the different sense and structure of the Japanese language. Yakov married Yelena Yokoi, daughter of a prominent Japanese family, in 1876. During a visit to

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

in 1887, Yakov died. His wife and children later returned to Japan.

External links

* Orthodox Church Singing in Japan

Paschal Troparion in three languages (In Church Slavonic, Koine Greek, and Japanese)
*
MISIONARI ŞI APOSTOLI ORTODOCŞI ROMÂNI ÎN JAPONIA SECOLULUI XIX

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tikhai, Yakov Year of birth missing People from Chernivtsi Oblast 1887 deaths Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox missionaries Romanian Christian missionaries Romanian expatriates in Japan Orthodox Church in Japan Christian missionaries in Japan