(sometimes transliterated Satoh) was a Japanese composer of
film scores
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
. Following the 1955 death of
Fumio Hayasaka
Fumio Hayasaka (早坂 文雄 ''Hayasaka Fumio''; August 19, 1914 – October 15, 1955) was a Japanese composer of classical music and film scores.
Early life
Hayasaka was born in the city of Sendai on the main Japanese island of Honshū. In ...
, whom Sato studied under, Sato was the composer of
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
Rumoi, Hokkaido
is a city located in Rumoi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Rumoi Subprefecture.
As of September 2016, the city has an estimated population of 22,242 and the density of 75 persons per km2. The total area is 297.44 km2.
...
, and raised in
Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...
. While studying at the National Music Academy, Sato came under the influence of
Fumio Hayasaka
Fumio Hayasaka (早坂 文雄 ''Hayasaka Fumio''; August 19, 1914 – October 15, 1955) was a Japanese composer of classical music and film scores.
Early life
Hayasaka was born in the city of Sendai on the main Japanese island of Honshū. In ...
,
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
's regular composer for his earlier films. He became a pupil of Hayasaka's, studying film scoring with him at
Toho
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
Studios, and working on the orchestration of '' Seven Samurai'' (1954). When the older composer died suddenly in 1955, leaving the scores to
Kenji Mizoguchi
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), '' The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Ugets ...
Godzilla Raids Again
is a 1955 Japanese '' kaiju'' film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the second film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. The film stars Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wa ...
'' in 1955. He wrote the music to all of Kurosawa's movies for the next decade, including ''
Throne of Blood
is a 1957 Japanese '' jidaigeki'' film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' from Medieval Scotland to feudal ...
'', ''
The Bad Sleep Well
is a 1960 Japanese crime mystery film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It was the first film to be produced under Kurosawa's own independent production company. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.
The film stars Toshiro ...
'', ''
Yojimbo
is a 1961 Japanese Samurai cinema, samurai film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, and Ats ...
'', ''
Sanjuro
is a 1962 black-and-white Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. It is a sequel to Kurosawa's 1961 ''Yojimbo''.
Originally an adaptation of the Shūgorō Yamamoto novel ''Hibi Heian'', the script ...
'', and ''
Red Beard
is a 1965 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, in his last collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune. Based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1959 short story collection, '' Akahige Shinryōtan'', the film takes p ...
''. According to Stephen Prince, Sato stopped working with Kurosawa due to the director's "penchant for meddling" with his music and trying to rewrite it. In addition to Mizoguchi and Kurosawa, Sato worked with
Hideo Gosha
was a Japanese film director.
Born in Arasaka, Tokyo Prefecture, Gosha graduated from high school and served in the Imperial Navy during the Second World War. After earning a business degree at Meiji University, he joined Nippon television as a ...
.
His work in the realm of popular film continued throughout his career, composing the scores to
Ishirō Honda
was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 44 feature films in a career spanning 59 years. The most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki, his films have had a significant influence on the film industry.
Honda enter ...
's ''
Half Human
is a 1955 Japanese science fiction horror film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akemi Negishi, Sachio Sakai, and Nobuo Nakamura, with Sanshiro Sagara as the Abomina ...
'' (1955) and ''
The H-Man
is a Japanese science fiction thriller film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects directed by Eiji Tsuburaya.
Plot
On a rainy night in the outskirts of Tokyo, a drug smuggler, Misaki, is killed while trying to escape in a getaway ...
'' (1958),
Senkichi Taniguchi
(February 19, 1912 – October 29, 2007) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter.
Born in Tokyo, Japan, he attended Waseda University but left before graduating due to his involvement in a left-wing theater troupe. He joined P.C.L. ...
's ''
The Lost World of Sinbad
is a 1963 Japanese drama action film directed by Senkichi Taniguchi, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film stars Toshiro Mifune and Mie Hama.
'' (1963), and four ''
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...
'' films: ''
Godzilla Raids Again
is a 1955 Japanese '' kaiju'' film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the second film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. The film stars Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wa ...
'' (1955), ''
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
is a 1966 Japanese '' kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda and produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. The film stars Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Akihiko Hirata and Eisei Amamoto, and features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, M ...
'' (1966), ''
Son of Godzilla
is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa, under the supervision of Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the eighth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. It st ...
'' (1967), and ''
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
is a 1974 Japanese Kaiju, ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects subsidiary Toho–Eizo, it is the 14th film of the Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla ...
'' (1974). During his 44-year association with Toho Studios, he wrote more than 300 film scores. He also created the music for such Japanese television series as ''The Water Margin''.
Musical style
Sato's style differs considerably from
Akira Ifukube
was a Japanese classical and film music composer, best known for his works on the ''Godzilla'' franchise.
Biography Early years in Hokkaido
Akira Ifukube was born on 31 May 1914 in Kushiro, Japan as the third son of a police officer Toshimi ...
, the principal composer of the ''Godzilla'' films. Ifukube's scores show strong roots in European classical music, as well as influences from Japanese traditional and Ainu folk music. Sato, however, employed Western popular styles and light
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
in his film scores. Unlike Ifukube, Sato apparently never felt the need to compose for the concert stage, writing exclusively for film.
Selected works
Film scores
* ''
Rokunin no Ansatsusha
is a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Eisuke Takizawa.
The film won 1956 Blue Ribbon Awards for best screenplay by Ryūzō Kikushima.I Live in Fear'' (1955)
* ''
Godzilla Raids Again
is a 1955 Japanese '' kaiju'' film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the second film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. The film stars Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wa ...
'' (1955)
* ''
Half Human
is a 1955 Japanese science fiction horror film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akemi Negishi, Sachio Sakai, and Nobuo Nakamura, with Sanshiro Sagara as the Abomina ...
''（1955）
* ''
Season of the Sun
is a Japanese novel written in 1955 by Shintaro Ishihara, who later became a politician and was governor of Tokyo for 13 years from 1999 to 2012. It is the source of the name of the rebellious taiyōzoku () youth culture which emerged after W ...
'' (1956)
* ''
Crazed Fruit
, also known as ''Juvenile Jungle'', is a 1956 Japanese Sun Tribe film directed by Kō Nakahira. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Shintaro Ishihara, the older brother of cast member Yujiro Ishihara,Marc Moha"Crazed Fruit: ...
'' (1956)
* ''
Throne of Blood
is a 1957 Japanese '' jidaigeki'' film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' from Medieval Scotland to feudal ...
'' (1957)
* ''
Ikiteiru Koheiji
aka ''The Living Koheiji'' is a 1957 black-and-white musical Japanese film directed by Nobuo Aoyagi
(27 March 1903 - 17 May 1976) was a Japanese film director and film producer. Born in Kanagawa Prefecture, he attended Meiji University but ...
The Lower Depths
''The Lower Depths'' (russian: На дне, translit=Na dne, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902 under the direction of Konstantin ...
Rusty Knife
is a 1958 action Japanese film directed by Toshio Masuda. ''Rusty Knife'' was part of the Nikkatsu film studio's wave of Japanese ''noir'' films, made in order to compete with popular American and French films at the Japanese box office. The fil ...
'' (1958)
* ''
A Slope in the Sun
aka ''A Slope in the Sun'' is a 1958 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Tomotaka Tasaka.日活アクションの華麗な世界：1954-1971 第四章言語のユートピア-裕次郎の青春ドラマの意味 2「一緒にいる ...
'' (1958)
* ''
The H-Man
is a Japanese science fiction thriller film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects directed by Eiji Tsuburaya.
Plot
On a rainy night in the outskirts of Tokyo, a drug smuggler, Misaki, is killed while trying to escape in a getaway ...
'' (1958)
* ''
The Hidden Fortress
is a 1958 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' adventure film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It tells the story of two peasants who agree to escort a man and a woman across enemy lines in return for gold without knowing that he is a general and the woman is a pr ...
'' (1958)
* ''
The Bad Sleep Well
is a 1960 Japanese crime mystery film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It was the first film to be produced under Kurosawa's own independent production company. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.
The film stars Toshiro ...
'' (1960)
* ''
Yojimbo
is a 1961 Japanese Samurai cinema, samurai film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, and Ats ...
'' (1961)
* ''
Sanjuro
is a 1962 black-and-white Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. It is a sequel to Kurosawa's 1961 ''Yojimbo''.
Originally an adaptation of the Shūgorō Yamamoto novel ''Hibi Heian'', the script ...
Red Beard
is a 1965 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, in his last collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune. Based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1959 short story collection, '' Akahige Shinryōtan'', the film takes p ...
'' (1965)
* ''
Kiri no Hata
is a 1965 Japanese crime film directed by Yoji Yamada. It is based on Seichō Matsumoto's novel of the same title.
Plot
A robbery murder of an old moneylender woman occurs in the countryside of Kyushu, and Kiriko Yanagida's older brother, Mas ...
'' (1965)
* ''
The Sword of Doom
''The Sword of Doom'', known in Japan as , is a 1966 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring Tatsuya Nakadai. It is based on the serial novel of the same title by Kaizan Nakazato.
Plot
The story follows the life of Ry ...
'' (1966)
* ''
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
is a 1966 Japanese '' kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda and produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. The film stars Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Akihiko Hirata and Eisei Amamoto, and features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, M ...
'' (1966)
* ''
Son of Godzilla
is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa, under the supervision of Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the eighth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. It st ...
'' (1967)
* ''
Japan's Longest Day
is a 1967 Japanese war film directed by Kihachi Okamoto. The subject of the majority of the movie is the period between noon on August 14, 1945 and noon on August 15, 1945, when Emperor Hirohito's decision to surrender to the Allies in World ...
'' (1967)
* ''
Kill!
is a 1968 Japanese comedy- chambara film directed by Kihachi Okamoto. The film had a screenplay written by Akira Murao and Okamoto, and is based on the story ''Torideyama no jushichinichi'' () in '' Yamamoto Shugoro zenshu'' (1964) by Shūgor ...
Karei-naru Ichizoku is a 1973 novel by Toyoko Yamasaki. It has been adapted into a film in 1974 and then three times as a television series in 1974, 2007, and 2021.
Plot
Set in the post-World War II climate of the 1960s in Kobe, the show explores the struggle for po ...
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
is a 1974 Japanese Kaiju, ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects subsidiary Toho–Eizo, it is the 14th film of the Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla ...
'' (1974)
* ''
Fumō Chitai
is a novel by Toyoko Yamasaki
was a Japanese novelist.
A native of Osaka, Yamasaki worked as a journalist for the Mainichi Shimbun from 1945 to 1959 after graduating from Kyoto Women's University in Japanese literature. She published her fi ...
'' (1976)
* ''
The Yellow Handkerchief The Yellow Handkerchief or Yellow Handkerchief may refer to:
* ''The Yellow Handkerchief'' (1977 film), Japanese film
*''Yellow Handkerchief'', 2003 television program broadcast by Korean Broadcasting System
* ''The Yellow Handkerchief'' (2008 fil ...
Hunter in the Dark
''Hunter in the Dark'' is a young adult novel by Monica Hughes, first published in 1982 and has been the subject of school study. It is about a boy with leukemia who goes on a hunting expedition.
Plot summary
Mike Rankin is an athletic teenag ...
Sanada Yukimura no Bōryaku
is a 1979 Japanese film directed by Sadao Nakajima. The film deals Sanada Yukimura and Siege of Osaka.
Cast
*Hiroki Matsukata as Sanada Yukimura
*Chiezō Kataoka as Sanada Masayuki
*Tatsuo Umemiya as Sanada Nobuyuki
*Teruhiko Aoi as Sanada Ten B ...
'' (1979)
* ''
Toward the Terra
is a Japanese science fiction manga series by Keiko Takemiya. It was originally serialized in Asahi Sonorama's ''Gekkan Manga Shōnen'' magazine, between January 1977 and May 1980. In 1978, it won the first Seiun Award for manga, and ...
Fireflies in the North
is a 1984 Japanese film directed by Hideo Gosha. The lead star is Tatsuya Nakadai.
Plot
The film depicts the conflict between the prisoners forced to work as manpower of Hokkaido settlers and the administrators of the Kabato district as well a ...
'' (1984)
* ''
The Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
Rainbow Kids
is a 1991 Japanese comedy film directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring Tanie Kitabayashi and Ken Ogata. The film won several Japanese film awards, including Tanie Kitabayashi who won awards for Best Actress at Kinema Junpo Awards, Mainichi Fi ...
The Water Margin
''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''.
The story, which is ...