Yakov Dmitriyevich Tikhai (russian: Яков Дмитриевич Тихай 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 ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...

Anatoly (Tikhai), to then archimandrite

Nicholas of Japan Saint Nicholas (Kasatkin), Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan, born Ivan Dmitrovich Kasatkin (russian: Иван Дмитриевич Касаткин; – 16 February 1912) was a Russian Orthodox priest, monk, and bishop. He introdu ...

, and became Fr. Nicholas' principal arranger of Russian liturgical music to Japanese 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 ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

(

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') 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 ...

), 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 Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of ...

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

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. 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 ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...

, major feasts,

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

, funerals, the first week of Great Lent, and

Passion Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, wh ...

. 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 Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

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