is a Japanese musician best known as the former keyboardist of the

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...

band Casiopea and producer of the

Train Simulator series ''Train Simulator'' (''トレインシミュレーター'', ''Torein Shimyurētā'' or abbreviated ''"TS"'') is a Japanese train simulation game series produced by Ongakukan. The game is significant as it was one of the earliest of its kind si ...

of Japanese video games. Mukaiya joined Casiopea during its formation in 1977 (with guitarist Issei Noro, drummer Takashi Sasaki ( ja) and bassist

Tetsuo Sakurai is a Japanese bassist. To date, he has released a total of 37 albums as a member of Casiopea and Jimsaku and solo artist, and has also made 3 bass instructional videos. History Tetsuo Sakurai started playing bass when he was 13 years old. In ...

) and remained in the group until their hiatus in 2006. Since leaving the band he has created his own musical production team, "Mukaiya Club." He also serves as the President and CEO of the company Ongakukan ( ja), which produces professional train simulators for Japanese transit systems and has distributed video games to the general public. Mukaiya has also appeared in the event of Nico Nico Douga. Mukaiya has composed around 200 distinct

melodies A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinati ...

for over 110 subway stations in Japan. In 2019, British television presenter

James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...

interviewed Mukaiya for episode 3 of '' James May: Our Man in Japan'', discussing Mukaiya's involvement in composing melodies for train stations. __TOC__

Discography

Solo works

* Welcome to Minoru's Land (1985) * Tickle The Ivory (1993) * Sega Rally 2: Rearrange Album (1999)

Other

*Announcement chime in the trains of the Kyushu Shinkansen (2004) *Departure music at the major stations operated by

Keihan Electric Railway , known colloquially as the , , or simply , is a major Japanese private railway operator in Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga Prefectures. The transit network includes seven lines; four main lines with heavy rolling stock, two interurban lines, and a funic ...

in the Kansai region (June 2007) *Approaching music and departure music at the major stations operated by

Hanshin Electric Railway is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. The first character for Kobe (神戸) and the second character for Osaka (大阪) combine to form the ...

in the Kansai region (January 2009) *Announcement chime and horn melody of the new Keisei AE trains being built for

Keisei Electric Railway The (stylized as K'SEI since 2001) is a major private railway in Chiba Prefecture and Tokyo, Japan. The name ''Keisei'' is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railway's main line connects. The combination uses diffe ...

's ''

Skyliner The is an airport limited express train service between Tokyo and Narita Airport in Japan. It is operated by Keisei Electric Railway and runs on the Narita Sky Access route. This article also covers the and services. Service The ''Skyli ...

'' (2009) *Announcement chime for the

Tokyu Toyoko Line Tokyu may refer to: * Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered on Tokyu Corporation ** Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese railway company, the largest member and parent company of the group ** Tokyu Car Corporation, a former Japanese railway vehicle ...

Shibuya Terminal's last two weeks of operation from 1 March 2013 until 15 March 2013, "Final Approach". *Departure melody for the

shared terminal with the

Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line The , formally the , is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin line carries 362,65 ...

starting from 16 March 2013, "Departing from New Shibuya Terminal". * On-board announcement chime for the Seibu Railway ''Fifty-two Seats of Happiness'' train operating since April 2016

References

External links

Ongakukan website

Minoru Land blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukaiya, Minoru 1956 births Living people Japanese jazz keyboardists Jazz fusion keyboardists Musicians from Tokyo Japanese people in rail transport Casiopea members