was a Japanese

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. Dan was born in

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 ...

, the descendant of a prominent family, his grandfather Baron

Dan Takuma was a Japanese businessman who was Director-General of Mitsui, one of the leading Japanese zaibatsu (family conglomerates). He was a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was married to the younger sister of statesman Kaneko Ke ...

having been President of

Mitsui is a Japanese corporate group and '' keiretsu'' that traces its roots to the ''zaibatsu'' groups that were dissolved after World War II. Unlike the ''zaibatsu'' of the pre-war period, there is no controlling company with regulatory power. Ins ...

before being assassinated in 1932. He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin and

Tokyo Music School or is a school of art and music in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, crafts, inter- ...

in 1946. He studied with teachers including Kosaku Yamada, Kunihiko Hashimoto, Kan'ichi Shimofusa,

Saburō Moroi was a Japanese composer. Life Moroi was self-taught in composition while studying at the Tokyo Imperial University before moving in 1932 to Germany to study in the Berlin Musikhochschule under Leo Schrattenholz and Walter Gmeindl. While Moro ...

, and Midori Hosokawa. During his career he completed six symphonies, all recorded and released on the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

label in Japan, and wrote seven operas as well as a number of filmscores, and many songs. He wrote celebratory music for the Japanese imperial family, actively promoted cultural exchange with China (from 1979 until his death in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, in 2001), and received the commission to write an opera (''

Takeru is a masculine Japanese given name. Orthography Takeru can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: * 武, "warrior" * 猛, "fierce" * 健, "health" * 尊, "noble" * 岳, "mountain" The name can also be written in hiragana or ka ...

'') for the 1997 opening of the New National Theatre, Tokyo, Japan's main opera house. Dan is known in Japan for his 1951 opera '' Yūzuru'' (Twilight Crane), which is regularly revived there.

Honors

* 19th

Yomiuri Prize The is a literary award in Japan. The prize was founded in 1949 by the Yomiuri Shimbun Company to help form a "strong cultural nation". The winner is awarded two million Japanese yen and an inkstone. Award categories For the first two years, ...

, 1968 *

Japan Foundation The is a Japanese foundation that spreads Japanese culture around the world. Based in Tokyo, it was established in 1972 by an Act of the National Diet as a special legal entity to undertake international dissemination of Japanese culture. I ...

Award, 1998

Works

Stage

* '' Yūzuru'' (Twilight Crane), opera in 1 act, text by

Junji Kinoshita was a Japanese playwright. He was the foremost playwright of modern drama in postwar Japan. He was also a translator and scholar of Shakespeare's plays. Kinoshita’s achievements were not limited to Japan.Kinoshita, Junji. Between God and Man: A ...

, (

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, 1952) * ''Kikimimizukin'' (The Listening Cap), opera in 3 acts, text by Junji Kinoshita (Osaka, 1955) * ''Yōkihi'' (Yang Guifei), opera in 3 acts, text by

Jirō Osaragi was the pen-name of a popular Japanese writer in Shōwa period Japan, known primarily for his historical fiction novels, which appeared serialized in newspapers and magazines. His real name was . Early life Osaragi Jirō was born in Yokohama. H ...

(Tokyo, 1958) * ''Futari Shizuka'', dance drama (1961) * ''Hikarigoke'' (Luminous Moss), opera in 2 acts, text by Taijun Takeda (Osaka, 1972) * ''Chanchiki'', opera in 2 acts, text by Yoko Mizuki (Tokyo, 1975) * ''Master Flute Player'', ballet (1989) * ''Susanō'', opera, text by Ikuma Dan (1994) * ''

'', opera, text by Ikuma Dan and Kenya Oda (Tokyo, 1997)

Symphonies

* Symphony No. 1 in A (1948-49/56-57) * Symphony à la Burlesque (1954) * Symphony No. 2 in B (1955-56/88) * Symphony No. 3 (1960) * Symphony No. 4 "''1965 Kanagawa''" (1965) * Symphony No. 5 "''Suruga''" (1965) * Sinfonietta (1974) * Symphony No. 6 ''"Hiroshima"'' for soprano,

nohkan The is a high pitched, Japanese transverse bamboo flute, or . It is commonly used in traditional Imperial Noh and Kabuki theatre. The nohkan flute was created by Kan'ami and his son Zeami in the 15th century, during the time when the two we ...

shinobue The ''shinobue'' (kanji: 篠笛; also called ''takebue'' (kanji: 竹笛) in the context of Japanese traditional arts) is a Japanese transverse flute or fue that has a high-pitched sound. Usage It is found in hayashi and nagauta ensemb ...

and orchestra, text by

Edmund Blunden Edmund Charles Blunden (1 November 1896 – 20 January 1974) was an English poet, author, and critic. Like his friend Siegfried Sassoon, he wrote of his experiences in World War I in both verse and prose. For most of his career, Blunden was als ...

(1985) * Symphony No. 7 "''Jashūmon'' (''Heretics'')", text by

Hakushū Kitahara is the pen-name of , a Japanese ''tanka'' poet active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan. He is regarded as one of the most popular and important poets in modern Japanese literature. Early life Kitahara was born in Yanagawa, Fuku ...

- unfinished

Orchestral

* Dance Suite (1948) * Symphonic Poem "''Peace Coming''" (1948) * Orchestral Suite "''The Silk Road''" (1955) * Symphonic Suite "''Journey through Arabia''" (1958) * Symphonic Reportage "''Arab''" (1958) * ''Grand March "Celebration"'' for wind orchestra (1959) * Overture "''Tokyo Olympic''" (1963) * Festival Overture (1965) * Concerto Grosso (1965) * Letters from Japan No. 1 (1967) * Letters from Japan No. 2 (1968) * Letters from Japan No. 3 (1974) * Symphonic Poem "''Nagasaki''" for mixed chorus and orchestra (1974) * Fantasia No. 1 for violin and orchestra (1974) * Symphonic Poem "''Imari''" for mixed chorus and orchestra (1979) * "''Night''" for orchestra (1982) * Fantasia No. 2 for violin and orchestra (1983) * Symphonic Fantasy "''The Great Wall of China''" (1984) * ''Fantasia all'antica'' for two violins and string orchestra (1988) * ''Nocturne Et Dance'' for flute and orchestra (1990) * Orchestral Fantasy "''Flying Devi''" (1991) * ''Grand March "The Royal Wedding"'' for wind orchestra (1992)

Chamber and instrumental

* ''Three Intermezzi'' for piano (1937–38) * String Trio in A minor (1947) * Piano Sonata in C (1947) * String Quartet in B (1948) * ''Divertimento'' for piano 4 hands (1949) * String Quartet in C (1953) * ''Fantasia No. 1'' for violin and piano (1973) * "''Night''" for 12 cellos (1981) * ''3 Novelettes'' for piano (1983) * ''Fantasia No. 2'' for violin and piano (1983) * ''Fantasia No. 3'' for violin and piano (1984) * Sonata for flute and piano (1986) * Sonata for 4 bassoons (1988) * Sonata for violin and piano (1990) * "''Hagoromo''" for flute and harp (1992) * Sonata for solo cello (1998) * Sonata for bassoon quartet (1988) * Sonata for solo violin No. 1 (1998) * Sonata for solo violin No. 2 (1999) * "''Three Letters''" for trombone and harp (1999) * "''Black and Yellow''" for solo violin and string quartet (2001)

Vocal

* , text by

(1945) * ''Five Fragments'', text by

(1945) * ''Four Songs by Sakutaro Hagiwara'' (1948) * ''To the People of Mino'', text by

(1950) * ''Three Flowers Songs'' (1955) * ''Three ko-uta'', text by

(1958) * ''Huit morceaux de Cocteau'' (1962) * ''Chansons Malaises'', text by

Yvan Goll Yvan Goll (also written Iwan Goll, Ivan Goll; born Isaac Lang; 29 March 1891 – 27 February 1950) was a French-German poet who was bilingual and wrote in both French and German. He had close ties to both German expressionism and to French surr ...

(2000) ;Popular songs * , text by Shōko Ema (1947) ;Children's songs * , text by Ei-ichi Sekine * , text by Michio Mado (1952) * , text by Michio Mado *

Choral works

* Suite "''The Chikugo River''" for mixed chorus and piano/orchestra (1968) * "''Ode to Saikai''" for mixed chorus and orchestra (1969)

Film scores

* '' Dedication of the Great Buddha'' (1952) * '' Sword for Hire'' (1952) * '' An Inlet of Muddy Water'' (1953) * '' Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto'' (1954) * '' Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple'' (1955) * '' Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island'' (1956) * ''

Rickshaw Man , also released as ''Muhomatsu, the Rickshaw Man'' or ''The Rikisha-Man'', is a 1958 color Japanese film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. It is a remake of his own 1943 film. In the 1943 version Tsumasaburo Bando played the role of Muhōmatsu. In Oc ...

'' (aka "The Life of Wild Matsu") (1958) * '' Submarine I-57 Will Not Surrender'' (1959) * '' Storm Over the Pacific'' (1960) * '' The Twilight Story'' (1960) * '' The Last War'' (1961) * '' Sayonara Jupiter'' (1984)

Music for the radio

* ''The Second Radio taiso'' (1952)

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Ikuma Dan - List of Works

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dan, Ikuma 1924 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Japanese classical composers 20th-century Japanese essayists 20th-century Japanese male musicians Composers from Tokyo Japanese film score composers Japanese male film score composers Japanese opera composers Japanese male opera composers Tokyo Music School alumni Yomiuri Prize winners