Ozaki, Sokichi 1915 - 1945

Author: Sugiura, Nanako
Last updated:July 12, 2021
Author: Sugiura, Nanako
Born on April 22, 1915, in Bentenjima, Maisaka-cho, Hamana-gun, Shizuoka Prefecture. His family home was the ryokan "Shogetsu." In 1934, he graduated from Shizuoka Prefectural Hamamatsu Daiichi Junior High School (now Hamakita High School). While enrolled, he became engrossed in the xylophone, founded a harmonica club, and befriended Tadashi Kinoshita. He entered the piano department of Toyo Music School (now Tokyo College of Music) and graduated in 1937.Roh Ogura. He studied composition under Saburo Moroi. In 1935, less than a year after beginning his studies with Moroi, his "Small String Quartet" received critical acclaim at the First Audition organized by the Tokyo Music Association, marking the start of his career as a composer. He served as secretary for the Japan Federation of Contemporary Composers. He studied cello with Kohmei Abe and conducting with Joseph Rosenstock. He was conscripted twice starting in 1939 and died of illness during the war on May 15, 1945, in Quanzhou (formerly Quan County), Guangxi Province, China, at the age of 30. His compositional career was brief, lasting only about five effective years.