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 Defi ...

who wrote the film scores for directors such as

Kōzaburō Yoshimura was a Japanese film director. Biography Born in Shiga Prefecture, he joined the Shōchiku studio in 1929. He debuted as director in 1934, but continued working as an assistant director for such filmmakers as Yasujirō Ozu and Yasujirō Shimazu ...

Yūzō Kawashima was a Japanese film director, most famous for making tragi-comic films and satires. Career Kawashima was born in Mutsu, Aomori in the Shimokita Peninsula. From his youth, he suffered from a paralysis that affected his right leg and arm. He was ...

Yasuzō Masumura was a Japanese film director. Biography Masumura was born in Kōfu, Yamanashi. After graduating from the law department at the University of Tokyo, he worked as an assistant director at the Daiei Film studio. He later returned to university t ...

and new wave filmmaker Yoshishige Yoshida. Ikeno was born 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 city ...

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island 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 the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. In 1950, he entered the Tokyo Music School (now Tokyo University of the Arts) and studied under Tomojirō Ikenouchi and

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 ...

. In addition to writing film and other music work, he lectured on composition and orchestration at the

Tokyo College of Music is a private music school in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It was founded as in Kanda, Tokyo, in 1907. History The college moved to Toshima in Tokyo in 1924 after the original campus was destroyed by the Great Kantō earthquake. Some notable gradu ...

and the Tokyo University of the Arts. He died in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in 2004.

Film music (selected)

* 1956: ''

Night River , also titled Undercurrent and River of Night, is a 1956 Japanese drama film directed by Kōzaburō Yoshimura. It was Yoshimura's first film photographed in colour. The screenplay by Sumie Tanaka is based on a novel by Hisao Sawano. Plot Kiwa Fu ...

'' (dir. Kōzaburō Yoshimura) * 1961: ''Women Are Born Twice'' (dir. Yūzō Kawashima) * 1962: ''The Temple of the Wild Geese'' (dir. Yūzō Kawashima) * 1962: ''Black Test Car'' (dir. Yasuzō Masumura) * 1962: ''A Woman's Life'' (dir. Yasuzō Masumura) * 1962: ''

The Graceful Brute is a 1962 Japanese satire, satirical comedy film directed by Yuzo Kawashima, Yūzō Kawashima and written by Kaneto Shindō. Plot The family of ex-naval officer Tokizo Maeda lives in a small urban concrete block apartment, always quick at hiding ...

'' (dir. Yūzō Kawashima) * 1963: ''Bamboo Doll of Echizen'' (dir. Kōzaburō Yoshimura) * 1964: ''

Zatoichi's Flashing Sword is a 1964 Japanese chambara film directed by Kazuo Ikehiro starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind masseur Zatoichi. It was originally released by the Daiei Motion Picture Company (later acquired by Kadokawa Pictures). ''Zatoichi's Flashing Sword'' ...

'' (dir.

Kazuo Ikehiro is a Japanese film director. He is known for directing Zatoichi series and the highly acclaimed Malay film Onna Gokuakuchō. In 1950, he joined the Daiei Film and started working as an assistant director under Kenji Mizoguchi etc. In 1960, h ...

) * 1965: ''

An Innocent Witch ''An Innocent Witch'' ( ja, 恐山の女, Osorezan no onna, Woman of Mount Osore) is a 1965 Japanese drama film directed by Heinosuke Gosho. It is based on the novel ''Reiba no onna'' by Hajime Ogawa. Called "uncharaceristically harsh" for the d ...

'' (dir. Heinosuke Gosho) * 1966: ''

Woman of the Lake is a 1966 Japanese drama film directed by Yoshishige Yoshida. It is based on Yasunari Kawabata's novel '' The Lake''. Plot Miyako, comfortably married to businessman Yuzo Mizuki, is having an affair with Kitano, who is himself engaged. She allo ...

'' (dir. Yoshishige Yoshida) * 1966: ''

Red Angel is a 1966 Japanese film directed by Yasuzo Masumura. It tells the story of a young Japanese nurse on the front lines in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It is based on a 1966 novel of the same name by Yoriyoshi Arima ( ja). Plot Sakur ...

'' (dir. Yasuzō Masumura) * 1967: '' The Affair'' (dir. Yoshishige Yoshida) * 1967: ''

Zatoichi the Outlaw is a 1967 Japanese ''chambara'' film directed by Satsuo Yamamoto and starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind masseur Zatoichi. It was originally released by the Daiei Film, Daiei Motion Picture Company (later acquired by Kadokawa Pictures), and is th ...

'' (dir. Satsuo Yamamoto) * 1968: ''

Affair in the Snow is a 1968 Japanese drama film directed by Yoshishige Yoshida. Plot Yuriko and her lover, high school teacher Sugino, take a vacation together, which she intended to use to put an end to their affair. Sugino insists that she stays with him, but ...

'' (dir. Yoshishige Yoshida)

References

External links

Sei Ikeno music manuscript collection at the Tokyo College of Music Library

Bibliography

* 1931 births 2004 deaths Japanese male composers Musicians from Sapporo 20th-century Japanese male musicians {{Japan-composer-stub