Japanese Literary Awards

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Toshirō Mayuzumi

まゆずみ としろう

Mayuzumi Toshiro

Aliases: 中川洋一 / 六条隆
Pen Names: Nakagawa Yōichi（Used as a pen name when credited as lyricist）, Rokujō Takashi（Used for composing inserted songs）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1929-02-20 （Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
Died
1997-04-10 （Shinkawabashi General Hospital, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan） age 68
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Sōtō Zen (Buddhism)
Residence History
Yokohama (birthplace) → Tokyo (education and professional activity) → Paris (study abroad) → Rome (residence for composition work) → Kawasaki (place of death)

Career

Occupations
Composer, TV presenter/host, Music educator, Conductor
Active Years
1945-1993
Affiliations
Tokyo University of the Arts (lecturer), Japan Composers' Association (President), Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) (President), Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra (permanent artistic advisor)
Memberships
Japan Composers' Association, Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC), Urasenke Tankokai (tea ceremony association) — advisor
Influenced By
Claude Debussy, George Gershwin, Darius Milhaud, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Gamelan (Southeast Asian music), Modern jazz, Musique concrète and electronic music, Edgard Varèse, John Cage
Influenced
Harumi Ibe, Isao Matsushita, Makiko Kinoshita, Toshihiko Sahashi, Akira Senju, Taro Iwashiro, Gyōichi Suzuki
Nominations
39th Academy Awards - Nomination for Best Original Score (The Bible: In the Beginning...), 24th Golden Globe Awards - Nomination for Best Original Score (The Bible: In the Beginning...)

Education

Yokohama First Middle School (old system; now Kanagawa Prefectural Kibōgaoka High School)
Period: 〜1945
Country: Japan
Tokyo Music School (former system; now Tokyo University of the Arts)
Composition / Composition
Period: 1945-1949
Year of Graduation: 1949
Country: Japan
Completed undergraduate studies; graduation piece 'Divertimento for Ten Instruments' was performed and recorded.
Tokyo Music School (graduate course, former system)
Composition (graduate) / Composition
Period: 1949-1951
Year of Graduation: 1951
Country: Japan
Completed graduate studies in 1951. Had already begun composing for films before studying abroad.

Awards

Mainichi Film Concours - Music Award
1951
Work: Kaikyō (Returning Home)
Organization: Mainichi Film Concours (Mainichi Newspapers)
Result: winner
Mainichi Film Concours - Music Award (12th)
1958
Work: Kichigai Buraku; Bakumatsu Taiyōden
Organization: Mainichi Film Concours (Mainichi Newspapers)
Result: winner
Otaka Prize (7th)
1958
Work: Nehan Symphony
Organization: Otaka Prize
Result: winner
Asia Film Festival - Music Award
1965
Work: Kimi mo Shusse ga Dekiru
Organization: Asia Film Festival
Result: winner
Otaka Prize (15th)
1967
Work: BUGAKU (Bugaku)
Organization: Otaka Prize
Result: winner
Academy Awards (Best Original Score)
1967
Work: The Bible: In the Beginning... (Tenchi Sōzō)
Category: Best Original Score
Organization: Academy Awards (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
Result: nominated
Golden Globe Awards (Best Original Score)
1967
Work: The Bible: In the Beginning... (Tenchi Sōzō)
Category: Best Original Score
Organization: Golden Globe Awards
Result: nominated
Galaxy Award (5th)
1968
Work: Untitled Concert; NNN Wide News (as host)
Organization: Broadcast Critics Association (Galaxy Awards)
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Nehan Symphony

1958 Symphony (orchestral)

A signature work incorporating electronic-sound analysis of bell tones; using a three-part orchestra and male chorus, Mayuzumi introduced what he called the "campanology effect," blending electronic techniques with orchestral and choral forces.

Buddhist motifsbell sonorities and spectral acousticsEastern spirituality

Kinkaku-ji (opera)

1976 Opera

An opera based on Yukio Mishima's novel Kinkaku-ji, commissioned by the Deutsche Oper Berlin and originally written in German; staged internationally and later premiered in Japan as a staged opera.

Beauty and destructionobsession and self-destructionspiritual conflicts of modern Japan
Adaptations
  • [Stage (opera performance)] Kinkaku-ji (Japanese staged opera premiere) (1991)
  • [Memorial performance] Kinkaku-ji (memorial performances) (1997)

BUGAKU (Bugaku)

1962 Dance music / Ballet

A dance work that synthesizes elements of Japanese gagaku/bugaku with modern orchestration and avant-garde techniques, earning critical recognition.

Gagaku / Bugakufusion of tradition and modernity

Concerto for Percussion and Wind Orchestra

1965 Concerto

Completed in Rome in 1965 and premiered in the United States the same year, this concerto foregrounds percussion and wind ensemble, emphasizing rhythm and percussion textures.

percussive expressionrhythm and timbral color

Theme for NNN News

1973 Theme music / TV music

A brief signal tune composed for Nippon TV network news programs; despite its short duration it became familiar through wide broadcast use.

news/broadcast musicsymbolic short musical phrase

The Bible: In the Beginning... (film score) / Tenchi Sōzō

1966 Film music

Mayuzumi composed portions of John Huston's epic film 'The Bible: In the Beginning...' and was nominated for both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for his contribution.

religious/epic themeslarge-scale orchestration
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Bible: In the Beginning... (dir. John Huston) / John Huston (1966)

Bibliography

  • My Introduction to the Tea Ceremony: This Is the Pinnacle of Art (Kobunsha, 1976)
  • Untitled Concert (Kadokawa Shoten, 1977)
  • The Heart of Japan (Hakosaki Shrine cultural series, 1979)
  • Untitled Monologue (Sankei Publishing, 1984)
  • Three Opinions on Contemporary Music (co-authored with Ikuma Dan and Yasushi Akutagawa; Chūōkōron-sha, 1959)
  • Why Isn't 'Kimigayo' Sung? — Dialogues by Toshirō Mayuzumi (Rōman, 1974)
  • Declaration for the Establishment of a New Japanese Constitution (Tokuma Shoten, 1994)

Adaptations

  • Stagings of the opera 'Kinkaku-ji' (in Japan, Germany, etc.)
  • Concert performances of major orchestral works such as 'Nehan Symphony'

Translations by Author

  • Okakura Tenshin — The Book of Tea: A Modern-Language Reading (translation/notes, Mikasa Shobo, 1983)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Avant-garde, experimental focus on sonorityIncorporation of electronic music and musique concrèteIntegration of Eastern materials and Buddhist themes
Recurring Motifs
bell sonoritiesshōmyō (Buddhist chant) and Buddhist elementsreferences to gagaku/bugakupercussive rhythmic emphasis

Health

  • Metastatic liver tumor (primary in lung) leading to liver failure
    1997年4月（入院〜死去）
    Hospitalized and subsequently died of liver failure in April 1997. The illness affected late-career productivity and left some works unfinished.

Legacy

Mayuzumi left a significant mark on postwar Japanese contemporary music and film scoring. He was an early introducer of electronic music and musique concrète in Japan, worked across film and religious music, and contributed as an educator and organizational leader.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Composers' Association
  • Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC)

Archives

  • National Diet Library (Japan) — bibliographic holdings

In Popular Culture

  • Widely used as the theme for Nippon TV's 'NNN News'
  • 'Sports March' became associated with sports programs and used as entrance music by pro wrestler Giant Baba
  • Used as an onboard music/chime for the Tōkaidō Shinkansen (1968–1972)

Trivia

  • Used the pen names 'Nakagawa Yōichi' and 'Rokujō Takashi' for some film-music credits.
  • Served as the original host of the TV program 'Untitled Concert' (1964) and was closely associated with it for decades.
  • 'Sports March' became widely used in sports broadcasts and was associated with pro wrestler Giant Baba (often called 'Giant Baba's theme').
  • The Tōkaidō Shinkansen onboard music composed by him was controversial with passengers and was used for only about four years.
  • He was a pioneer in introducing electronic music and musique concrète to postwar Japan.