________________ MISCELLANEOUS COMMUNICATIONS YAMAGUCHI SUSUMU 27.1.1895-21.10.1976 With the death of Yamaguchi Susumu the world of Buddhist scholarship has lost one of the most prominent scholars of recent times. Yamaguchi began his scholarly career in the early twenties and in the course of more than fifty years he published many books and articles. His aeuvre has had a decisive influence on Buddhist studies in Japan. His outstanding merit resides in the fact that early in his career he realised ciencies of the traditional Japanese methods of studying Indian Buddhist texts exclusively through their Chinese translations and commentaries. In 1918 Yamaguchi completed his course of studies at the Shinshu Otani Daigaku, the forerunner of the Otani University. During the three following years he studied in the Faculty of Letters of Kyoto University. Among his teachers he mentions especially Sumida Chiken, an authority on the doctrines of the Jodo school and author of the Jodo genryushu kaisetsu (Kyoto, 1925) and Funahashi Suisai, who has written several works on the Abhidharmakosa: Kusha tetsugaku (Tokyo, 1906) Kusharon Kogi (Tokyo, 1933), Kusharon no kyogi oyobi sono rekishi (Kyoto, 1940). Yamaguchi's Sanskrit teacher was Sasaki Ryosaburo (1872-1946), the editor of the Mahavyutpatti (Kyoto, 1916-1925). He learned Tibetan from Teramoto Enga (1872-1940). Very important was the influence of Sasaki Gessho (1875-1926). At his request Yamaguchi compared the Chinese versions of Vasubandhu's Vimsatika with the Tibetan version (2). Yamaguchi also contributed an edition of the Tibetan version of the Mahayanasamgraha to Sasaki's synoptic edition of the four Chinese translations (3). In 1924 Yamaguchi became associate professor at the Otani University, but in the beginning of 1927 he left for Paris where he remained until the autumn of 1929. Yamaguchi had been attracted to Paris by the fame of Sylvain Levi whose recently published edition of the Sanskrit text of the Vimsatika and the Trimsika (Paris, 1925) had been received with great interest in Japan. Yamaguchi enjoyed the friendship of many prominent French scholars and also entered into close relations with La Vallee Poussin. In his later life Yamaguchi wrote repeatedly with great affection and admiration of French scholars and Buddhist studies in France. In 1954 he published a collection of articles on Buddhist studies in France under the title Fifty years of Buddhist studies in France (25). In 1933 Yamaguchi ? For biographical information I have made use of the following sources: Nagao's preface to the volume published in honour of Yamaguchi in 1955; Yamaguchi's lecture, entitled "Reflections on Buddhist Studies', published in his Bukkyogaku no hanashi; his introduction to the two volumes of his collected articles. See Bibliography no. 1. The numbers quoted in round brackets refer to the numbers of the Bibliography. Indo-Iranian Journal 19 (1977) 99-103. All Rights Reserved Copyright (c) 1977 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht-Holland
