HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

was a Japanese composer of
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
and film scores.


Early life

Hayasaka was born in the city of
Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...
on the main Japanese island of
Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...
. In 1918, Hayasaka and his family moved to
Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
on the northern island of
Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...
. In 1933, Hayasaka and Akira Ifukube organized the New Music League, which held a new music festival the year after. Hayasaka won a number of prizes for his early concert works; in 1935, his piece ''Futatsu no sanka e no zensōkyoku'' won first prize in a radio competition, and another concert piece, ''Kodai no bukyoku'', won the 1938 Weingartner Prize. Other early works include a ''Nocturne'' (1936) for
piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
and the orchestral ''Ancient Dance'' (1938). In 1939, Hayasaka moved to
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 ...
to begin a career as film composer. By early 1940, Hayasaka was seen as "a major composer for Japanese Cinema".


Post-War film music

After the war, Hayasaka continued working on films, quickly winning recognition for his abilities. In 1946, he received the film music award for ''An Enemy of the People'' (
Minshū no Teki is a 1946 Japanese drama film directed by Tadashi Imai. It was released on April 25, 1946. Cast *Susumu Fujita *Akitake Kōno *Kogiku Hanayagi *Ureo Egawa *Takashi Shimura *Ichiro Sugai Reception At the 1st Mainichi Film Award, Tadashi Imai won ...
, 1946) at the first annual '' Mainichi Film Awards''.Tsuzuki, Masaaki. "Working with Fumio Hayasaka", from Kurosawa Akira: Sono Ningen no Kenkyu (Akira Kurosawa: A Study of the Man). Tokyo: Maruju Company/Internal Publishing, (1976), 1: 290-99, courtesy of the publisher. Translated by Michael Baskett for Perspectives on Akira Kurosawa, edited by James Goodwin, New York: G.K. Hall & Co., 1994 James Goodwin. Pg. 76 The year after, 1947, Hayasaka received the Mainichi film music award for
Teinosuke Kinugasa was a Japanese filmmaker and actor. His best-known films include the Silent film, silent Experimental film, avant-garde films ''A Page of Madness'' and ''Crossroads (1928 film), Crossroads'' and the Academy Awards, Academy Award-winning historic ...
's ''Actress'' (Joyu). In the late 1940s, Hayasaka invited his friend Akira Ifukube to write film music with him at
Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...
Studios. Ifukube's first film score for Toho was for
Senkichi Taniguchi (February 19, 1912 – October 29, 2007) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Tokyo, Japan, he attended Waseda University but left before graduating due to his involvement in a left-wing theater troupe. He ...
's '' Snow Trail'' (Ginrei no hate) in 1947. Toshirō Mifune, who later starred in most of Kurosawa's films, first met Kurosawa at a pre-screening of this movie.Mifune, Toshiro. "Mifune Toshiro wa Kataru: Satsuei Genba de Jitaku de Shaberu Akahige to iu Otoko no Hanashi", Kinema Jumpo, 5 September 1964 (special issue no. 10): 93-95. Translated by Michael Baskett. Printed in ''Perspectives on Akira Kurosawa'', edited by James Goodwin, New York: G.K. Hall & Co., 1994 James Goodwin. On 22 June 1948 a concerto by Fumio Hayasaka was premiered 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 ...
with Hiroshi Kajiwara as soloist on the
grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
and the Toho Symphony Orchestra (today's Tokyo Symphony Orchestra) under Masashi Ueda.


Relationship with Akira Kurosawa

Fumio Hayasaka had a celebrated association with the pre-eminent Japanese director
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
which was short-lived due to Hayasaka's early death. The 1948 film ''Drunken Angel (Yoidore tenshi)'' was the first film directed by Akira Kurosawa that Hayasaka composed music for. The director and composer collaborated to test "oppositional handling of music and performance". Their collaboration turned into a very deep artistic relationship, with Hayasaka contributing ideas to the visual part of the film. In his autobiography, Kurosawa would say that working with Hayasaka changed his views on how film music should be used; from then on, he viewed music as "counterpoint" to the image and not just an "accompaniment". This is also the first film that Kurosawa used
Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. He often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commandin ...
as an actor. Among the films Hayasaka scored for Kurosawa are '' Stray Dog (1949)'', ''
Rashomon is a 1950 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shinobu Hashimoto. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura, it follows various people who describe how a ...
'' (1950), '' Ikiru'' (1952) and ''
Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Taking place in 1586 in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, it follows the story of a villag ...
'' (1954). During the 1950s, Hayasaka also composed the scores for some of the final works of another Japanese director,
Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese filmmaker who directed roughly 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), '' Ugetsu'' (1953), and ' ...
. Hayasaka composed music for '' Ugetsu'' (1953), ''
Sansho the Bailiff is a 1954 Japanese period film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi based on a 1915 short story of the same name by Mori Ōgai (translated as "Sanshō the Steward" in English), which in turn was based on a (oral lore) appearing in written form in the ...
'' (1954), and '' The Crucified Lovers'' (1954). The 1950 film ''Rashomon'' was especially significant for Hayasaka. This film won the 1951 Golden Lion from the Venice film festival, and is considered the first Japanese film to be widely seen in the West. In the Japanese film culture, directors normally wanted music that sounded like well-known Western works; Kurosawa specifically had asked Hayasaka to compose music that sounded like Maurice Ravel's ''
Boléro ''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. It is one of Ravel's most famous compositions. It was also one of his last completed works before illness diminished his ability to write music. Composition T ...
''. Masaru Satō, then a young composer, was so impressed with the music that he decided to study with Hayasaka. This film was also related to the atomic scar of the Japanese culture; although the American occupation forces forbade the Japanese media from "criticizing America's role in the tragedy" of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ''Rashomon'' depicts a historical era of Japan where her cities are in ruin and social chaos abounds. Hayasaka was continually productive in the years leading up to his death. In 1950, he founded the Association of Film Music. The 1953 film ''Ugetsu'', directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, featured a score by Hayasaka; the film won the silver prize at the 1953
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
. The year after, 1954, Hayasaka did another Mizoguchi film, the jidai-geki ''Sansho the Bailiff (Sansho dayu)''. This film shared the 1954 Silver Lion prize from the Venice Film Festival with Kazan's ''
On the Waterfront ''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning and Eva Marie Saint in her film de ...
'', Fellini's ''
La Strada ''La Strada'', also translated into English as ''The Road'', is a 1954 Italian Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Federico Fellini and co-written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film tells the story of Gelsomin ...
'', and Kurosawa's ''
Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Taking place in 1586 in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, it follows the story of a villag ...
''. ''Seven Samurai'', a Kurosawa jidai-geki film, also features music by Hayasaka. At the time, it was the largest Japanese film production ever. This film featured strong directorial music choices that are closely related to Western symphonic concert music. Masaru Sato assisted with the orchestration of Hayasaka's score. This score utilized the leitmotif, which is a method of compositional organization borrowed from western operas. During his time in Tokyo, Hayasaka also wrote several notable concert works including ''Ancient Dances of the Left and on the Right'' (1941), a ''Piano Concerto'' (1948) and the orchestral suite ''Yukara'' (1955). Hayasaka served as a musical mentor to both Masaru Satō and
Tōru Takemitsu was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu was admired for the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre. He is known for combining elements of oriental and occidental phil ...
.


Death

In 1955, Hayasaka died of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
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 ...
at the age of 41. He died while working on the score for '' I Live in Fear (Record of a Living Being, Ikimono no kiroku)'', so Masaru Sato completed the score. The depth of the relationship between Hayasaka and Kurosawa is shown in that this film was based on a conversation between the two friends. Hayasaka was very ill at the time, and pondering the fear of his own death. Weak and sickly from TB, he told Kurosawa that "with this illness threatening my life, I can't work." Kurosawa was deeply affected by his friend's death and "fell into a deep depression".Tsuzuki, Masaaki. "Working with Fumio Hayasaka", from Kurosawa Akira: Sono Ningen no Kenkyu (Akira Kurosawa: A Study of the Man). Tokyo: Maruju Company/Internal Publishing, 1976), 1: 290-99, courtesy of the publisher. Translated by Michael Baskett for Perspectives on Akira Kurosawa, edited by James Goodwin, New York: G.K. Hall & Co., 1994 James Goodwin. pg. 81 The film ''Record of a Living Being'' combined his depression and the Japanese atomic scar to create a film that illustrates the "human experience in the atomic age".


Influence on other composers

Akira Ifukube, influenced by Hayasaka to work with films, scored Toho Studio's ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
'', sealing his fame as a composer of music for
Japanese horror films Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
. This movie was another of a series of postwar films that displayed a Japanese fear of the effects of
atomic weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear explo ...
. After finishing Hayasaka's score for ''I Live in Fear'', Masuro Sato went on to score seven more films by Kurosawa. Keeping with Hayasaka's western-orchestral influence, for Kurosawa's 1957 jidai-geki film, ''
Throne of Blood is a 1957 Japanese epic ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of English dramatist William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' (1606) fr ...
(Kumonosu-jo)'', Sato composed a score that also borrows from the western composer
Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...
. Sato continued to use demonstrate deep western influences through the rest of his career, making his scores (and the films they accompany) "especially accessible to non-Oriental listeners". This was another film of Kurosawa's that indirectly alluded to the atomic bombs, being set in "a period after cataclysmic destruction to a center of Japanese life and political power". In his memory, as an homage,
Tōru Takemitsu was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu was admired for the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre. He is known for combining elements of oriental and occidental phil ...
wrote his ''Requiem for strings'' in 1957.


Musical style

Hayasaka's early musical style was late-Romantic with influences of traditional Japanese music. In the years before his death his style drifted towards atonality and modernism. Keeping with tradition and the demands of film makers, while scoring for films his music was closely related to (and often borrowed from) western orchestral music.


Selected list of classical works


Orchestral works

*''Prelude for Two Hymns'' (1936) *''Ancient Dance'' (1938) *''Overture in D'' (1939) *''Adagio for strings'' (1940) *''Ancient Dances on the Left and on the Right'' (1941) *''The Tale of the Tree of Muku'' (1946) *''Piano Concerto'' (1948) *''Metamorphosis for orchestra'' (1953) *''Yukara'' (1955)


Chamber/instrumental works

*''Kunshi no Iori'', for piano (1934) *''Nocturne No. 1'', for piano (1937) *''Piano Pieces for Chamber'' (1941) *''Four unaccompanied songs to poems by Haruo Sato for solo soprano'' (1944) *''Romance'', for Piano *''Nocturne No. 2'', for piano (1947) *''Autumn'', for piano (1947) *''String Quartet'' (1950) *''Suite in Seven Parts'' (1952)


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Fumio Hayasaka
at the
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayasaka, Fumio 1914 births 1955 deaths 20th-century Japanese classical composers 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis 20th-century Japanese male musicians Japanese film score composers Japanese male classical composers Japanese male film score composers Musicians from Sendai Tuberculosis deaths in Japan Varèse Sarabande Records artists