This is a list of Japanese

composers A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Classical music, Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. E ...

, ordered by birth date. Not true actually: *

Zeami Motokiyo (c. 1363 – c. 1443), also called , was a Japanese Aesthetics, aesthetician, actor, and playwright. His father, Kan'ami, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Kan ...

(1363-1443) *

Yatsuhashi Kengyo Yatsuhashi Kengyō ( 八橋検校; 1614–1685) was a Japanese musician and composer from Kyoto. The name kengyō is an honorary title given to highly skilled blind musicians. Yatsuhashi, who was born and died in Japan, was originally a p ...

(1614–1685) * Uragami Gyokudō (1745-1820) *

Hiromori Hayashi was a Japanese composer credited with composing the Japanese national anthem "Kimigayo". Life and career He held several positions in the royal court starting in his youth. He moved to Tokyo after the Meiji Restoration and in 1875 helped carry ...

(1831–1896) *

Nakao Tozan Rinzō Nakao (known professionally as Nakao Tozan, 中尾都山, October 5, 1876 in Ōsaka prefecture to October 10, 1956 in Kyōto, aged 80), was the founder of the most important school of shakuhachi playing in late-nineteenth to mid-twentie ...

(1876-1956)

Shōka, Lied, Children's song

Isawa Shūji was a Japanese educator of the Meiji period. Biography Isawa Shūji was born in 1851 in the Takatō Domain, Shinano Province, to an impoverished samurai family. Shūji's father, Isawa Katsusaburō (伊澤勝三郎, also known as Bunkoku ...

(1851-1917) *

Sakunosuke Koyama Sakunosuke Koyama (19 January 1864 – 27 June 1927) was a Japanese composer and music teacher. He was the founder and president of the Japanese Music Education Federation. Course of life Koyama left for Tokyo in 1880 without permission from ...

(1864-1927) * Teiichi Okano (1878-1941) *

Rentarō Taki was a Japanese pianist and composer of the Meiji era. Taki was born in Tokyo, but moved to many places during his childhood owing to his father's job. He graduated from the Tokyo Music School in 1901. One of his famous pieces is " Kōjō no Tsu ...

(1879–1903) * Tadashi Yanada (1883–1959) * Nagayo Motoori (1885-1945) * Kōsaku Yamada (1886–1965) *

Shinpei Nakayama was a Japanese songwriter, famous for his many children's songs and popular songs (''ryūkōka'') that have become deeply embedded in Japanese popular culture. Nakayama was born in Nagano Prefecture, Nakano City, in 1887. His father died while ...

(1887-1952) *

Ryūtarō Hirota was a Japanese composer.''Japan Manchoukuo year book'' 1934 "Hirota, Ryutaro — Musician; b. June, 1892 in Kochi-ken; s. of Seiio Hirota, educator; m. Yuriko, d. of Saburo Takayasu. Career: grad., Tokyo Academy of Music; appointed Asst. Prof., s ...

(1892-1952) * Tamezō Narita (1893-1945) *

Kan'ichi Shimofusa Kanichi Shimofusa ( ja, 下総皖一; March 31, 1898 - July 8, 1962) was a Japanese composer. Kanichi Shimofusa was born in Sunahara, Haramichi-''mura'', Saitama (now Ōtone, Saitama). He studied composition with Kiyoshi Nobutoki at Tokyo Music ...

(1898-1962) *

Yūji Koseki was a Japanese ''ryūkōka'', '' gunka'', march, fight song and film score composer. His real name was also Yūji Koseki, but its kanji was 古關勇治. Koseki entered Nippon Columbia in 1930. He composed Hanshin Tigers' song "Rokko Oroshi" i ...

(1909-1989) *

Yoshinao Nakada Nakada Yoshinao (中田喜直, Shibuya, Tokyo, 1 August 1923 – 3 May 2000) was a Japanese composer.Asahi nenkan: Issue 2 Asahi Shinbunsha - 1992 "中田喜直なかた,よしなお 1923 ..." Works, editions and recordings * Japanese Festival ...

(1923-2000)

Classical and Contemporary

Others

Koga Masao was a Japanese composer, mandolinist, and guitarist of the Shōwa era who was dubbed "Japan's Irving Berlin" by Universal Press Syndicate. His melancholy style, based upon Nakayama Shimpei's '' yonanuki'' scale, was popularly known in Japan ...

(1904-1978) *

Masaru Sato (sometimes transliterated Satoh) was a Japanese composer of film scores. Following the 1955 death of Fumio Hayasaka, whom Sato studied under, Sato was the composer of Akira Kurosawa's films for the next 10 years. He was nominated for Best Music a ...

(1928-1999) *

Shunsuke Kikuchi was a Japanese composer who was active from the early 1960s until 2017. He specialized in incidental music for media such as television and film. Kikuchi was regarded as one of Japan's most highly demanded film and TV composers, working pri ...

(1931-2021), 20th-21st-century music producer and BGM composer *

Koichi Sugiyama was a Japanese composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was best known for composing the music for the '' Dragon Quest'' franchise, along with several other video games, anime, film, and television shows. Classically trained, Sugiyama was ...

(1931-2021) *

Isao Tomita , often known simply as Tomita, was a Japanese composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements. In addition to creating note-by-note realiz ...

(1932-2016) *

Takeo Watanabe Takeo Watanabe' Animeland Retrieved November 11, 2009. was a Japanese musician and composer. In addition to composing the well known theme song for ''Cutie Honey'' he has also composed music for multiple anime television series and films includ ...

(1933-1989) *

Yasuo Kuwahara Yasuo Kuwahara (, Kuwahara Yasuo) (December 12, 1946 in Kobe, Japan – December 6, 2003) was a Japanese mandolin player and composer for mandolin orchestra. He was chairman of various musical institutions and organizations, including the ''Nara ...

(1946–2003) *

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore ...

(born 1950), 20th-21st century film composer *

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto inf ...

(born 1952) *

Shirō Sagisu is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer. With a career spanning over 40 years (beginning in the late 1970s), he is best known for his works as a record producer for acts including various choir members Mike Wyzgowski, Misia, Satoshi ...

(born 1957) *

Yoichiro Yoshikawa is a composer, music arranger and film producer. Summary Yoshikawa was born in Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture. During his enrollment at the University of Tsukuba, he was introduced to the Butoh dance group, Sankai Juku. Over more than thirty- ...

(born 1957), 20th-21st century music producer and composer * Jun Miyake (born 1958) *

Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Jo ...

(born 1959), 20th-21st century musician and video game composer * Akira Senju (born 1960) *

Koji Kondo is a Japanese music composer, pianist, and music director who works for the video game company Nintendo. He is best known for his numerous contributions to the '' Super Mario'' and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series of video games, among others pr ...

(born 1961), 20th-21st century video game composer *

Michiru Oshima Michiru (満, みちる, ミチル) is a Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, 1970s J-Pop artist *, Japanese composer *, Japanese pop singer and songwriter *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese anime scriptwriter *, Japane ...

(born 1961), 20th-21st century film, television and video game composer *

Michiru Yamane is a Japanese video game composer and pianist. Yamane's musical style draws on baroque, classical and rock traditions, with both Johann Sebastian Bach and Yellow Magic Orchestra as prominent influences. She is best known for her two decades ...

(born 1963), 20th-21st century video game composer *

Hikari Ōe is a Japanese composer. He is the son of Japanese author Kenzaburō Ōe and Yukari Ikeuchi, and the nephew of director Juzo Itami. Biography Hikari Ōe was born autistic and developmentally disabled. Doctors tried to convince his parents to let ...

(born 1963) *

Shinkichi Mitsumune Shinkichi Mitsumune (光宗信吉 Mitsumune Shinkichi) (born October 8, 1963) is a Japanese composer who writes music primarily for anime. Biography Mitsumune is a native of Fukuoka City in Fukuoka Prefecture and a graduate of Rikkyo University ...

(born 1963) *

Yoko Kanno is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer best known for her work on the soundtracks of anime series, television series, live-action films, video games, and advertisements. She was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. She has wri ...

(born 1963), 20th-21st century music producer and composer *

Yuki Kajiura Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Y ...

(born 1965), 20th-21st century music producer and composer *

Taro Iwashiro is a Japanese composer. Career Iwashiro has composed the music for many Japanese television series and films. He has composed for both '' Red Cliff'' films, '' Shinobi: Heart Under Blade'', ''Azumi'', ''The Prince of Tennis'', '' Rurouni Kenshi ...

(born 1965) *

Yoshiki Hayashi , known as Yoshiki, is a Japanese musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known as the leader and a co-founder of the visual kei rock band X Japan, for which he is the drummer, pianist and main songwriter. He has been desc ...

(born 1965), 20th-21st century music producer and composer *

Yoko Shimomura is a Japanese composer and pianist primarily known for her work in video games. She graduated from the Osaka College of Music in 1988 and began working in the video game industry by joining Capcom the same year. She wrote music for several game ...

(born 1967), 20th-21st century music pianist and video game composer *

Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer, musician, and sound producer. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the ''Chrono (series), Chrono'', ''Xeno (series), Xeno'', ''Shadow Hearts'', and ''Inazuma Eleven (series), Inazuma Eleven'' franch ...

(born 1972) *

Hiroyuki Sawano is a Japanese composer, arranger, lyricist, pianist, and Music Producer best known for his work on many anime series, video games, Japanese television drama, television dramas, and movies. His works include the Soundtrack, musical scores for ' ...

(born 1980), 20th-21st century animation, film, television and video game composer

References

{{Composers by nationality

Japanese 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 ...

Composers A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Classical music, Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. E ...

Shōka, Lied, Children's song

Classical and Contemporary

Others

See also

References