, born (February 4, 1953), is a Japanese recording artist, composer, record producer, and arranger noted for his electronic-

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

music, and is often associated with and regarded as one of the most prominent musical acts of

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation technique, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecs ...

. He won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for '' Thinking of You'' (1999), with a record 16 nominations in the same category. He received a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for the original score to '' Heaven & Earth'' (1993).

Early life: 1954–76

Masanori Takahashi was born in Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan, and is a graduate of Sahid University. Kitarō, which is his boyhood name meaning "man of love and joy", a practicing

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

himself, was born in a family of

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

-Buddhist farmers. After graduating his parents were first opposed to the idea of their son having a musical career. In an effort to maneuver him towards their vision, they made arrangements for him to take a job at a local company. In response, he silently did not show up for the job, eventually convincing them that he should work on something he loved. In high school Kitarō played electric guitar in a band that played American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

of Otis Redding and covers by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. After graduating, and learning to play drums and bass, Kitaro moved to Tokyo to experience and become a part of the music scene, and it was there that he discovered the

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

. His first synthesizer was

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analo ...

, and he recalls having "just loved the analog sound that it made compared to today's digital sound". In the early 1970s, he changed completely to keyboard and joined the Japanese

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band and recorded four albums with them. While in Japan and Europe in 1975, he met the German

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

and former Tangerine Dream member

Klaus Schulze Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and The Cosmic Jokers ...

. Schulze produced two albums for the band and gave Kitaro some tips for controlling synthesizers. In 1976, Kitaro left Far East Family Band and travelled through Asia (China,

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

, Thailand, India).

Solo career: 1977–present

Back in Japan, Kitaro started his solo career in 1977. The first two albums '' Ten Kai'' and ''Daichi'' were released in 1978 and 1979. He performed his first symphonic concert at the "Small Hall" of the Kosei Nenkin Kaikan in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Silk Road

''The Silk Road: The Rise And Fall Of Civilizations'' is an NHK Tokushu documentary series that first aired on 7 April 1980, with sequels being broadcast over a 10-year period. It took a total of 17 years from conception to complete what many consider a landmark in Japan's broadcasting television history. The intention of the program was to reveal how ancient Japan was influenced by the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

trade route. The documentary was narrated by Ishizaka Koji with music composed by Kitaro, who insisted that the show be broadcast in stereo. The music was composed mainly using a

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

, miniKORG 700, and Maxikorg DV800. The score received a Galaxy Award, and the series of soundtracks sold millions of copies. The success created from the program brought Kitaro international attention.

1984–1993

In 1984, Kitaro embarked on a "Live in Asia" tour. Notably, he was forced to cancel a leg in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

because he had long hair and at that time the country had a policy banning it. He entered into a worldwide distribution arrangement with Geffen Records in 1985–1986. This included a re-releasing of six prior albums entitled ''Ten Kai'' (aka ''Astral Voyage''), ''Daichi'' (aka ''Full Moon Story''), ''Millennia'', ''India'', ''Silver Cloud'' and ''Live in Asia'' (aka ''Asia'') (each packaged with Japanesque obi strips) as well as a new album, aptly titled ''Toward the West''. Due to his combination of electronic and acoustic sounds, mellow music, and repeating chords which resembled the umbrella

New age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than tr ...

category in the United States and Europe, his music was labeled as "new age". While he is not comfortable with the term, it doesn't mean much to him: "Whether people say my music is new age or not, it's OK with me. I'm just going to keep calling it Kitaro's music". On his music he noted that his outlook on life, study of philosophy, and responsibility to create music which has a good influence on society, influence his musical creation. In 1987, he collaborated with

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

for the album '' The Light of the Spirit'' (which sold two million copies) and in 1992 with

Jon Anderson John Roy Anderson (born 25 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire. He was a member of the band across thre ...

(

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

) for the album '' Dream''. In 1988, his record sales soared to 10 million worldwide following a successful US tour. He was nominated three times for Grammy Award for Best New Age Album during his tenure at Geffen Records. In 1990 the studio album ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' was released, inspired by the Japanese 8th century chronicle ''

''; the album reached #159 on

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

, and #1 on ''Billboard'' New Age chart. His soundtrack for the movie '' Heaven & Earth'' (1993) won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. Kitaro also produced an album '' Scenes'' (1992) released by

Shrapnel Records Shrapnel Records is an American record label founded in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. History Guitarist Marty Friedman (formerly of Megadeth and Cacophony), one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album ''Unsu ...

with former

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

guitarist Marty Friedman.

1994–present

Domo Records

Since his 1994 debut for

Domo Records Domo Records is an independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or S ...

, and the Grammy-nominated ''

Mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

'', Kitaro has released 24 studio albums. Among them, the live '' An Enchanted Evening'' (1995), '' Gaia-Onbashira'' (1998), and '' Ancient'' (2001) were all Grammy nominated. In 1999, '' Thinking of You'' won the Grammy for

Best New Age Album The Grammy Award for Best New Age Album is presented to recording artists for quality albums in the new-age music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several c ...

. Kitaro and Randy Miller's soundtrack album ''

The Soong Sisters The Soong sisters () were Soong Ai-ling, Soong Ching-ling, and Soong Mei-ling, three Shanghainese (of Hakka descent) Christian Chinese women who were, along with their husbands, amongst China's most significant political figures of the early 2 ...

'' (2000) received Best Original Music Award from the

Hong Kong Film Award The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, act ...

(1998), as well as the Taiwan Golden Horse Film Festival and Award (1997).

Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai series

Kitaro’s music has long been recognized for its messages of peace and spirituality. In the wake of

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

the artist began to record the conceptual endeavor, which he envisioned as an artistic means to help unify people globally, ''

Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai ''Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai'' is a series of peace-themed albums by new age artist Kitarō, inspired by the classic Buddhist pilgrimage to the 88 sacred temples on Japan's island of Shikoku (see Shikoku Pilgrimage). Each album in the series has been ...

'' (2003). This was a series of peace-themed albums inspired by the Shikoku Henro Pilgrimage - the travel of Kūkai more than 1100 years ago. The four volumes in the album series were released in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2011, respectively. Every track on the 4 volumes of ''Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai'' contains samples from ancient Japanese temple bells (Peace Bells) from 88 sacred temples on the island of Shikoku, Japan.

Impressions of the West Lake

In 2007, Kitaro composed the music for ''Impression West Lake'', a large-scale opera, directed by the renowned Chinese film director

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

. The opera reflects Hangzhou city’s history and culture through music and dance. Using modern technology, the stage is 75 centimeters below the lake’s surface during the day so as not to affect the landscape and boating activities. In the evening, the stage is a few centimeters below the lake’s surface so actors can walk and perform freely over a surprising water mirror that compose with the lights and colors. The one-hour event had its opening night in March 2007. In 2009, Domo Records released the original soundtrack album ''

Impressions of the West Lake ''Impressions of the West Lake'' is an album by Japanese new age musician Kitarō, released in April 2009. It was nominated for Grammy Award for Best New Age Album, Best New Age Album at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Track listing Awards Per ...

'' which was nominated for the Grammy in Best New Age Album category.

Recent projects

Kitaro's latest studio album is '' Final Call'', which is a homage to Kitaro's lifetime reverence for nature and was released in September 2013. A year later, in September 2014, his latest live album '' Symphony Live in Istanbul'' was released. It was recorded live at the Halic Congress Center in Istanbul, Turkey during Kitaro's Symphonic World Tour, balancing the artist's trademark signature sound and expanding it to new heights with the addition of a 38-piece chamber symphony orchestra. Both ''Final Call'' and ''Symphony Live in Istanbul'' were nominated for

, becoming Kitaro's 15th and 16th career Grammy Award nominations. More recently he has reissued his critically acclaimed studio albums ''Kojiki'' in 2015 and ''Tenku'' in 2016.

Touring and other activities

In 2007 to 2009, he launched the "Love and Peace World Tour," an international tour with which Kitaro hoped to inspire his message of world peace with his music. Kitaro toured Southeast Asia in 2007, Greece in 2008 and Hong Kong, Japan, Southeast Asia in 2009. During his visit to Greece, Kitaro met Greek composer

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

, and exchanged musical experience and creative ideas. In 2010, Kitaro performed in Singapore in March, in Mexico for the Zacatecas Cultural Festival in April, in Xi'an, China for the opening event of Daming Palace National Heritage Park in September, in Aichi, Japan, for the Thousand Drums Event at COP10 for the Convention on Biological Diversity in October. From March to April, 2011, Kitaro was on tour titled The Silk Road – East & West, visiting Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. He donated part of the CD sales and concert profits to Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Relief. For the same purpose he participated in the 2011 edition of Musicians United for Safe Energy. In 2012 he released ''

Let Mother Earth Speak ''Let Mother Earth Speak'' is a collaboration album, by Japanese new age musician Kitaro and Native American activist Dennis Banks Dennis Banks (April 12, 1937, in Ojibwe – October 29, 2017) was a Native American activist, teacher, and ...

'', a collaboration album with Native American activist

Dennis Banks Dennis Banks (April 12, 1937, in Ojibwe – October 29, 2017) was a Native American activist, teacher, and author. He was a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement, which he co-founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968 to represent urb ...

Personal life

From around 1983 to 1990, Kitarō was married to Yuki Taoka, daughter of

Kazuo Taoka was one of the most prominent yakuza godfathers.History and Cultur ...

. They have a son. In the early 1990s, he moved from Japan to the United States. In the mid-1990s, he married Keiko Matsubara, a musician who played on several of his albums. Along with Keiko's son, the couple lived in

Ward, Colorado Ward is a home rule municipality in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 150 at the 2010 census. The town is a former mining settlement founded in 1860 in the wake of the discovery of gold at nearby Gold Hill. Once one ...

, on a 180-acre (72.85 hectare) spread and composed in his 2500-square-foot (230 m²) home studio "Mochi House" (it is large enough to hold a 70-piece orchestra). Around 2005, they relocated to

Sebastopol, California Sebastopol ( ) is a city in Sonoma County, in California with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 U.S. Census. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum and apple-growing region. Today, wine grapes are the predominant agriculture crop, a ...

. Kitaro subsequently divorced Keiko (you can see her absence from the performances during 2020-2021 period). On 24 February 2022, he married Brazil-born, ethnically Japanese artist Franci Shimomaebara in a private ceremony attended by friends and relatives. They had met in 1990, and after becoming friends worked together on ''The Wind'', which was featured on Kitarō's Grammy-nominated 2003 album, ''Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, Volume 1.'' In 2012 they collaborated on the album ''Symphony of my Dreams'' where Franci recorded vocal renditions of some of Kitarō’s famous pieces, including Silk Road.

Discography

;Studio albums *''

Tenkai was a Japanese Tendai Buddhist monk of the Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo periods. He achieved the rank of ''Daisōjō'', the highest rank of the priesthood. His Buddhist name was first , which he changed to Tenkai in 1590. Also known as , he ...

'' (1978) *''Daichi'' (1979) *''Oasis'' (1979) *''Ki'' (1981) *''Silver Cloud'' (1983) *''Toward the West'' (1985) *''Tenku'' (1986) *'' The Light of the Spirit'' (1987) *''

'' (1990) *'' Dream'' (1992) *''

'' (1994) *'' Peace on Earth'' (1996) *''Cirque Ingenieux'' (1997) *'' Gaia-Onbashira'' (1998) *'' Thinking of You'' (1999) *'' Ancient'' (2001) *''An Ancient Journey'' (2002) *'' Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Vol. 1'' (2003) *'' Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Vol. 2'' (2005) *''

Spiritual Garden is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Amuleto (formerly Arts Vision and I'm Enterprise). She debuted as a voice actress in 1997, releasing her debut single "Yūki o Kudasai" on March 26, 1997. Her role as Nanoha Takamachi in the ...

'' (2006) *'' Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Vol. 3'' (2007) *'' Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Vol. 4'' (2010) *'' Final Call'' (2013) *'' Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Vol. 5'' (2017)

Tours

*1986: "Japan Tour" (17 cities) *1987: "1st North American Tour" (24 cities, 26 shows) *1989: "1st Europe Tour" (15 cities, 16 shows) *1990: "Kojiki World Tour" U.S., Japan, Europe (39 cities, 41 shows) *1992: "Dream World Tour" U.S., Japan, Asia *1992: "Her Majestry Queen" Sirikit Birthday Anniversary Concert, in Bangkok, Thailand *1994: "The Kitaro Mandala World Tour" Latin America Tour (4 cities, 6 shows) *1994: "The Kitaro Mandala World Tour" The USA Tour (32 shows) *1995: "Southeast Asia tour" (4 cities, 9 shows) *1995: "Kitaro Enchanted Evening Tour" (22 cities, 22 shows) *1997: "Kitaro's Peace on Earth Holiday Tour" in USA (5 cities, 5 shows) *1998: "Europe Tour" (13 cities) *1999: "Kitaro 1999 New Millennium World Tour in USA" (21cities) *1999: "Kitaro 1999 New Millennium World Tour in South America" *2000: "Kitaro Asia 2000" in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong *2002: "The Silk Road Tour in USA" (6 cities) *2002: "The concert for 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Japan and China" in China (2 cities) *2004: "Asia Tour 2004" (7 cities, 8 shows) *2007: "Love & Peace World Tour 2007" in Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand *2008: "Love & Peace World Tour 2008" in Athens *2009: "Love & Peace Planet Music Tour 2009" in Malaysia, Singapore, India, Japan, Hong Kong *2009: "31st Harmony Festival" in Santa Rosa, California *2009: "Silk Road Arts Festival" in Hong Kong, China *2010: "Love & Peace Planet Music Tour 2010" in Singapore *2010: "Zacatecas Cultural Festival" in Mexico *2010: "Opening Ceremony for 32nd Harmony Festival" in Santa Rosa, California *2010: "Opening Event of Daming Palace National Heritage Park" in Xi'an, China *2010: "Thousand Drums Event at COP10 for Convention on Biological Diversity" in Aichi, Japan *2010: "Asian Art Museum" in San Francisco, California *2011: "Silk Road East & West Tour" in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Singapore and Malaysia *2011: "Closing Ceremony for 33rd Harmony Festival" in Santa Rosa, California *2011: "Opening Ceremony for Musicians United For Safe Energy (MUSE) Benefit Concert" in Mountain View, California *2012: "Festival International Farosor 2012" in Montevideo, Uruguay *2014: " Symphonic World Tour 2014"

Awards

Grammy Awards , - , , , '' The Field'' , , Best New Age Performance , , , - , , , ''

'' , ,

, , , - , , , '' Dream'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , ''

'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' An Enchanted Evening'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' Gaia Onbashira'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' Thinking Of You'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' Ancient'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , ''An Ancient Journey'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Volume 1'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai Volume 2'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai Volume 3'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , ''

Impressions Of The West Lake ''Impressions of the West Lake'' is an album by Japanese new age musician Kitarō, released in April 2009. It was nominated for Grammy Award for Best New Age Album, Best New Age Album at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Track listing Awards Per ...

'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai Volume 4'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' Final Call'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' Symphony Live In Istanbul'' , , Best New Age Album , , , - , , , '' Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Vol. 5'' , , Best New Age Album , , Golden Globes , - ,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, , '' Heaven & Earth'' , , Best Original Score , , Golden Horse Award (Hong Kong) Kitaro and Randy Miller won a Golden Horse Award for Best Original Score for the film ''

Soong Sisters The Soong sisters () were Soong Ai-ling, Soong Ching-ling, and Soong Mei-ling, three Shanghainese people, Shanghainese (of Hakka people, Hakka descent) Christian Chinese women who were, along with their husbands, amongst China's most significant ...

'' in 1997. Hong Kong Film Award Kitaro was nominated at the

s for Best Original Film Score for ''

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

'' in 1985. Kitaro and Randy Miller won a

for Best Original Score for ''

'' in 1998. Japan Gold Disc Kitaro won a Gold Disc Award in the category of Fusion Instrumental for his album ''

'' in 1991.

References

External links

Kitaro's Official Website
(English)
Kitaro's Official Channel
on YouTube * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitaro 1953 births Ambient composers Ambient musicians Domo Records artists Electronic composers Geffen Records artists Golden Globe Award-winning musicians Gramavision Records artists Grammy Award winners Japanese film score composers Japanese electronic musicians Japanese expatriates in the United States Japanese male film score composers Living people Musicians from Toyohashi New-age composers New-age synthesizer players People from Boulder County, Colorado People from Sebastopol, California