Zōroku Murata

Soroku Murata (Japanese 無量塔 蔵六; real name Shōichirō Murata, Japanese 村田 昭一郎; * March 4, 1927, in Tokyo, † January 30, 2020, ibidem) was the first Japanese violinmaker with a German master craftsman’s diploma.

Life Soroku Murata was born on March 4, 1927, in Oi-machi, Ebara-gun in Tokyo. He graduated from Dokkyō Junior High School in the 55th class.

To avoid being drafted during World War II, he joined his uncle as a factory worker. On the job, he showed his talent for manual craftsmanship and was therefore assigned to metal casting. After the war ended, he became a member of the Kyoto Opera Company Orchestra in 1947, the Shimbashi Florida Dance Hall in 1949, and of the Hospital Orchestra at the American Army Officers' Club. However, due to the professional musicians returning from the war service, he lost his employments.

In 1951 he became self-taught in violin making as well as repair.

In 1955, he joined Noboru Nagasako's study group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology to study acoustics for violin making.

The Japanese-American luthier Hiroshi Iizuka was an apprentice of Murata’s. He began his apprenticeship in 1971.

In 1974, he was commissioned by the Japan Gagaku Society to restore a Kugo harp,

In 1976, he won the gold medal in the Violin Society of America's violin making competition on the occasion of the USA’s Bicentennial of Independence.

In 1986, he was the first person from Asia to become a member of the Entente International des Luthiers et Architiers (EILA, engl. International Society of Violin and Bow Makers Entente Internationale des Maitres Luthiers et Archetiers d'Art (EILA) ).

He was a regular jury member of the Prague International Violin Making Competition (1986-1993), the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Making Competition (1986-2001), the International Tchaikovsky Competition (1986-2002), the Sofia International String Competition (1987-1996), and a jury member of the Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition in 1990.

In July 1998, he became an honorary member of the Japan String Instrument Makers’ Association.

Trivia The inspiration for his pseudonym Soroku Murata (無量塔 蔵六) comes from his great-grandfather, who was a follower of Soroku Murata (Japanese 村田蔵六, real name Masujirō Ōmura; Japanese 大村益次郎). Students of Murata’s violin making school received the status of German journeyman craftsmen upon successful completion of their studies, and could also qualify for the master craftsman's examination (Meisterprüfung) by working under a German master craftsman for the duration of three years.

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