is 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 def ...

. He is the son of Japanese author and

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

laureate

Kenzaburō Ōe was a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issue ...

and Yukari Ikeuchi, and the nephew of director

Juzo Itami , born , was a Japanese actor, screenwriter and film director. He directed eleven films (one short and ten features), all of which he wrote himself. He is the namesake of the Juzo Itami Award, founded in 2009 to honor his legacy. Early life ...

Biography

Hikari Ōe was born

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

and developmentally disabled. Doctors tried to convince his parents to let their son die, but they refused to do so. Even after an operation, Ōe remained

visually impaired Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

, developmentally delayed,

epileptic Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain that can cause a variety of symptoms, rang ...

and with limited physical coordination. He does not speak much.Sobsey, Richard

Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC), produced by Compassionate Healthcare Network (CHN). July 1995. Ōe's parents report that his first response to a particular sound was when he was watching TV with his parents, and there was the sound of a bird singing, which he responded to. His parents were fascinated. They bought him a record with tracks of bird calls, in which a woman would say the name of each bird before the song of the bird would play. He listened to this record. Walking with his parents near their vacation home one day, they heard a bird singing, and he then imitated the voice of the woman who presented the bird songs in his child's records. This was how they got the idea to recruit a music teacher for Ōe. His parents arranged a piano teacher, Kumiko Tamura, for him. Instead of speaking, Ōe began to express his feelings in music and through musical composition. Eventually he was taught

musical notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...

. As an adult, Hikari creates chamber music. Hikari's first CD sold more than one million copies in the first few years of release.

Hikari reflected in the works of the Nobel laureate

Kenzaburō Ōe credited his son for influencing his literary career. Kenzaburō tried to give his son a "voice" through his writing. Several of Kenzaburō's books feature a character based on his son. In 1994, Kenzaburō won the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

, in part because of his 1964 book, ''A Personal Matter,'' in which the writer describes his pain in accepting the brain-damaged child into his life, and of how he arrived at his resolve to live with his son.Nobel Prize
1994 laureate biography
/ref> Hikari figures prominently in many of the books singled out for praise by the Nobel committee: * ''

A Personal Matter is a 1964 semi-autobiographical novel by Japanese writer Kenzaburō Ōe. It tells the story of a young father who must come to terms with the fact that his newborn son is severely mentally disabled. Plot The plot follows the story of Bird, a ...

'' is the first of a series of works which describe aspects of Hikari's life.Sterngold, James
"Nobel in Literature Goes to Kenzaburo Oe of Japan,"
''New York Times.'' October 14, 1994. * ''Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness'' in 1969 provides insight into the life of a family with an unspeaking infant child. * ''My Deluged Soul'' in 1973 describes a father's difficulties in relating to an infant child who, through the medium of the songs of the wild birds, slowly started to communicate with his family. * '' Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age!'' in 1983 describes Hikari's development from a child to a young man. Hikari's life is the core of the first book published after Kenzaburō was awarded the Nobel Prize. This 1996 book, ''A Healing Family,'' celebrates the small victories in Hikari's life. WorldCat Identities

Ōe, Hikari 1963–
/ref>

Selected works

Ōe's published works have no linguistic content. His music and music scores encompass 12 works in 30 publications in 5 languages and 1,721 library holdings. * ''Music of Hikari Ōe'' (1994), music * ''Music of Hikari Ōe, Vol. 2'' (1994), music * ''Atarashii Ōe Hikari'' (2000), musical score * ''Mou Ichido Ōe Hikari'' (2005), music

References

* Cameron, Lindsley. (1999). ''The Music of Light: the Extraordinary Story of Hikari and Kenzaburo Oe.'' New York: Free Press.
OCLC 37975585
* Ōe, Kenzaburō. (1995). ''A Healing Family.'' Tokyo: Kodansha International.
OCLC 35131624

External links

*

Compassionate Healthcare Network, July 1995. Archived from th

on July 25, 2021.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oe, Hikari 1963 births 20th-century Japanese classical composers 20th-century Japanese male musicians 21st-century Japanese classical composers 21st-century Japanese male musicians Living people Composers from Tokyo Autistic savants Blind classical musicians Japanese blind people Japanese male classical composers Japanese people with disabilities Autistic musicians People with epilepsy People with intellectual disability