Born in Kyoto. After graduating from the former Third Higher School in 1949, he moved to Tokyo. He studied under Tomojiro Ikenouchi and Akira Ifukube. In 1955, his Introduction and Concertante Allegro won first prize at the Japan Music Competition, marking his debut work. Drawing inspiration from Ikenouchi's French-influenced sonorities, Ifukube's primitivist ostinatos, and an Asian energy, he established a unique compositional style characterized by chromatic ostinatos and the resulting cluster-like sounds. His works include Prelude for Orchestra (68), which received the Otaka Prize; Piano Concerto No. 1 (73); Piano Concerto No. 2 (78); and the opera Silence (93), among others. He also left many excellent works in the fields of film and theatrical music. He served as Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University of the Arts and Visiting Professor at Soai University, among other positions. He received numerous awards, including the Grand Prize of the Kyoto Music Awards and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette. He passed away in August 2007 at the age of 78.

Japanese composer born in Kyoto (1907-2001). In his childhood, he became interested in classical music through listening to the radio. After graduating from the Third Higher School (present-day Kyoto University), he went to Tokyo to prepare the entrance examination of the Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo Geidai) under Tomojirō Ikenouchi. Though he passed the exam, the tuberculosis detected at a health check-up forced him to stay in a sanatorium from 1950 to 1955. During this period, he began composing haiku and deepened his musical knowledge through the acquaintance with Sei Ikeno, a pupil of Ikenouchi. In 1955, Introduction and Allegro concertante won the first prize at the Musical Competition (present-day Music Competition of Japan). Then he composed music for the Shiki Theater Company and the Nissay Theatre. His reputation was confirmed by Symphony (1965), commissioned by the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, followed by Prelude for Orchestra (1968) and Piano Concerto no. 2 (1978), both awarded the Otaka prize. His music was often described as ‘monistic’ or ‘Asian’ because of its extreme tension and energy. The commission of an opera, given when he was awarded the Suntory Music Prize in 1978, led him to work conscientiously and complete Silence in 1993, which won him many awards including Mainichi Art Award. Associate professor, then professor of composition at Tokyo Geidai, he taught pupils such as Yutaka Takahashi and Junnosuke Yamamoto. He also composed film music, especially for his longtime collaborators, Kei Kumai and Kazuo Kuroki (The Long Darkness [1972], Preparation for the Festival [1975], etc.). He was awarded Medal with Purple Ribbon (1990) and The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette (2000).