William Maxfield Garrott
6/20/1910 - 6/26/1974
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William Maxfield Garrott was born on June 20, 1910 in Batesville, Arkansas, the eldest son of a pastor's family. From his youth he excelled at his studies and, given permission to skip grades, he entered Hendrix College at the age of 15. He was particularly fond of languages, mathematics and music, and had a natural talent for these subjects. His ambition was to become a foreign missionary. He went on to complete a master’s degree and then completed a doctorate (Ph.D.) in Biblical studies. He received his doctorate in May 1934 and immediately applied to be sent as a missionary to Japan. He was accepted and arrived in Yokohama on September 9th. On September 1st 1936, Garrott became a teacher at the Seinan Gakuin Senior High School (Department of Theology). Although there were not many students in the theology department, it is thought that he also taught Bible and English classes in other departments, and was well-regarded by many students. The following article can be found in a column of the “Seinan Gakuin Shimbun” newspaper: “Now that we've mentioned music, there's something I can't leave out. The other day, before going back to the US, Mr. Garrott, the teacher, played the shakuhachi for us. I think shakuhachi and Westerners are a topic for discussion. It is said that a shakuhachi can be unbearable to listen to, but that just makes it more interesting to Dr. Garrott. When we associate the shakuhachi with Westerners, it seems strange to us, though we don't feel any strangeness when we play the [Western] flute. However, I feel that there is a unique problem for Westerners in understanding Japanese culture. Leaving aside that digression, when we welcome the return of Mr. Garrott next year, I would like to ask him to properly demonstrate his shakuhachi skills.” (Column “Professor's Office” in the Seinan Gakuin Shimbun, No. 35). How Dr. Garrott came to own a shakuhachi is still a matter of speculation, but we do know that he sought out the services of Yoshida Seifū (who, at the time, had become quite famous thanks to his collaborations with composer/koto master Miyagi Michio) as his teacher. Under Yoshida’s tutelage Garrott became quite proficient. Because of the ongoing war efforts in Japan, Garrott was forced to take up a post as professor at the newly established Japan Baptist Theological Seminary in Denenchofu, Tokyo. In December 1941, after the outbreak of war between Japan and the United States, he wished to remain in Japan as a professor at the Japan Baptist Theological Seminary and missionary, but was forcibly interned in an enemy alien internment camp. In June 1942 he was sent back to the United States on a Japan-US exchange ship. After the war he returned to Japan and became Principal of Seinan Gakuin. On June 26, 1974 he underwent heart surgery at Bowman Gray Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but died suddenly two hours after the operation. He was 64 years old. (Information courtesy of Matt Gillan)
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