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 ...

mandolinist A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

of the

Shōwa era The was the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa ( Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the Taishō era. The pre-1945 and post-war Shōwa periods are almos ...

who was dubbed "Japan's

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

" by

Universal Press Syndicate Universal Press Syndicate (UPS), a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, was an independent press syndicate. It distributed lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger Ebe ...

. His melancholy style, based upon Nakayama Shimpei's '' yonanuki'' scale, was popularly known in Japan as . He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Fourth Class) and the People's Honor Award for his contributions to Japanese music.

Life

Koga was born in 1904 in the village of Taguchi (today part of the city Ōkawa) in the Mizuma District of

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

; he was the sixth of eight children. In 1910, Koga's father, Kitarō, died. As a result, Koga, his mother, older sister, and younger brother moved to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

in 1912, where his eldest brother had migrated for work. His family first traveled to

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

, before settling in

Keijo Keijo may refer to: *Keijō, a former name of Seoul, South Korea *Keijo (given name) Keijo is a masculine Finnish given name. Notable people with the name include: * Keijo Huusko (born 1980), Finnish footballer * Keijo Kuusela (1921–1984), Finni ...

(today part of Seoul). During this period, Koga was gifted a ''

taishōgoto The , or Nagoya harp, is a Japanese stringed musical instrument. The name derives from the Taishō period (1912–1926) when the instrument first appeared. It has also become naturalized in East Africa, often under the name ''Taishokoto''. His ...

'' from his cousin; then later, while enrolled at the Keijō Good Neighbor Trade School, a

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

from an older brother living in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. He was regarded as a notable figure for establishing the genre ''

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than '' ryūkōka'' music, ...

'', though Koga considered that he was a ''

ryūkōka is a Japanese musical genre. The term originally denoted any kind of "popular music" in Japanese, and is the sinic reading of ''hayariuta'', used for commercial music of Edo Period. Therefore, ''imayō'', which was promoted by Emperor Go-Shirak ...

'' composer. He wrote numerous songs for Ichiro Fujiyama and

Hibari Misora was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award, which was conferred posth ...

. Koga’s songs have been heard by Western audiences in various films, including '' Come See the Paradise'', and ''

Memoirs of a Geisha ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and ...

''. He was the first president of the

Japan Composer's Association The Japan Composer's Association, or JACOMPA (日本作曲家協会 in Japanese) is an organization of Japanese composers, established in 1959. Among its members are some of Japan's most renowned composers of contemporary classical music. Presiden ...

from 1958 to 1978. A museum was built in

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

to honor his achievements, and visitors to the are able to view exhibits, and memorabilia featuring his work.

References

1904 births 1978 deaths 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century guitarists 20th-century Japanese composers 20th-century Japanese male musicians Japanese classical guitarists Japanese male composers Musicians from Fukuoka Prefecture Nippon Columbia artists People from Ōkawa, Fukuoka People's Honour Award winners Teichiku Records artists Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th class Presidents of the Japan Composer's Association {{Japan-musician-stub