Aimi Kobayashi (小林 愛実, Kobayashi Aimi; born September 23, 1995) is a Japanese classical pianist. She was a finalist at…Aimi Kobayashi (小林 愛実, Kobayashi Aimi; born September 23, 1995) is a Japanese classical pianist. She was a finalist at the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition and won 4th prize at the subsequent XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition.
Kyōhei Sorita (反田恭平, Sorita Kyōhei; born 1 September 1994) is a Japanese classical pianist and conductor. In 2021, he…Kyōhei Sorita (反田恭平, Sorita Kyōhei; born 1 September 1994) is a Japanese classical pianist and conductor. In 2021, he won second prize at the XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition, the highest prize for a Japanese-born pianist in the competition since Mitsuko Uchida's second prize in 1970.
Ayasa Shimamura (Japanese: 島村絢沙, Hepburn: Shimamura Ayasa; born 19 October 1991), known professionally by the mononym…Ayasa Shimamura (Japanese: 島村絢沙, Hepburn: Shimamura Ayasa; born 19 October 1991), known professionally by the mononym Ayasa, is a Japanese rock musician and voice actress. She is the violinist for the band Morfonica of the BanG Dream! multimedia franchise, which includes portraying the character Rui Yashio. In addition, she posts YouTube videos where she plays violin covers of anime songs while wearing cosplay and has released several albums with the record label Dreamusic.
Shizuka Nakamura (中村 静香, Nakamura Shizuka; born September 9, 1988, in Uji, Kyoto, Japan) is a Japanese gravure idol and…Shizuka Nakamura (中村 静香, Nakamura Shizuka; born September 9, 1988, in Uji, Kyoto, Japan) is a Japanese gravure idol and actress who is represented by the talent agency Oscar Promotion. She was a member of Pretty Club 31 and Teenage Club. She play Seigi no Mikata as Kyoko Komatsu
Takashi Yamamoto is a Japanese pianist who won the Silver Medal at the 2006 Gina Bachauer International Piano…Takashi Yamamoto is a Japanese pianist who won the Silver Medal at the 2006 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, a prestigious piano competition held in Salt Lake City, Utah. He shared 4th place in 2005 at the XV International Chopin Piano Competition.
Conisch (コーニッシュ, Kōnisshu; born April 19, 1981) is a Japanese composer, arranger, music producer, pianist and…Conisch (コーニッシュ, Kōnisshu; born April 19, 1981) is a Japanese composer, arranger, music producer, pianist and keyboardist. His real name is Hiroaki Konishi (小西宏明, Konishi Hiroaki).
Akiko Yoshida (吉田亜紀子, Yoshida Akiko; born July 22, 1976) is a Japanese singer and songwriter performing under the stage…Akiko Yoshida (吉田亜紀子, Yoshida Akiko; born July 22, 1976) is a Japanese singer and songwriter performing under the stage name Kokia (styled KOKIA). Her most well known songs are "Arigatō..." (ありがとう..., Thank You) (which reached number 2 in Hong Kong when it was covered by Sammi Cheng) and "The Power of Smile" (which topped at No. 8 in the singles chart). She is also recognized for her numerous contributions to anime/game soundtracks, the most notable being "Ai no Melody/Chōwa Oto (With Reflection)" for the film Origin: Spirits of the Past, "Follow the Nightingale" for the game Tales of Innocence, "Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi" for the anime Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino, "Dance of the Spirits" for the anime The Ancient Magus' Bride and "For Little Tail" for the game Tail Concerto. Kokia often performs in Europe, basing her activities in Paris and releasing music through Wasabi Records, a subsidiary of Kazé.
Akiko Suwanai (諏訪内 晶子, Suwanai Akiko; born February 7, 1972) is a Japanese classical violinist. At the age of 18, she…Akiko Suwanai (諏訪内 晶子, Suwanai Akiko; born February 7, 1972) is a Japanese classical violinist. At the age of 18, she became the youngest winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1990. In addition, she was awarded second prize in the Paganini Competition in 1988 and Queen Elisabeth Competition in 1989 and is a laureate of the Music Competition of Japan. She has studied with Toshiya Eto at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, with Dorothy DeLay and Cho-Liang Lin at the Juilliard School of Music while at Columbia University, and with Uwe-Martin Haiberg at the Universität der Künste Berlin. Until 2019 she played the 1714 Dolphin Stradivarius, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. After it was returned she received the "Charles Reade" Guarneri del Gesù on loan from Japanese collector Ryuji Ueno.
Takashi Niigaki (新垣 隆, Niigaki Takashi; born 1 September 1970) is a Japanese composer, pianist and music teacher, known…Takashi Niigaki (新垣 隆, Niigaki Takashi; born 1 September 1970) is a Japanese composer, pianist and music teacher, known for having composed pieces on behalf of the celebrated allegedly-deaf composer Mamoru Samuragochi, and for admitting his role in this deception in 2014 prior to the use of one of his pieces at the 2014 Winter Olympics by figure skater Daisuke Takahashi.
Takeshi Senoo (妹尾 武) (born December 26, 1969) is a Japanese composer. He has worked on several different anime shows…Takeshi Senoo (妹尾 武) (born December 26, 1969) is a Japanese composer. He has worked on several different anime shows, including the Aria series, Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha, and the Himawari! series. Along with Shigeharu Sasago he was music director of the Aria soundtracks, which he composed with Choro Club. He also co-composed the music for the live action series Ariadne no Dangan and produced the soundtrack for the film Sweet Little Lies.
Chisako Takashima (高嶋 ちさ子, Takashima Chisako; born August 24, 1968) is a Japanese tarento and violinist. She was born…Chisako Takashima (高嶋 ちさ子, Takashima Chisako; born August 24, 1968) is a Japanese tarento and violinist. She was born in Tokyo.
Yukie Nishimura (西村 由紀江, Nishimura Yukie; born May 8, 1967 in Toyonaka, Osaka) is a prolific Japanese pianist and…Yukie Nishimura (西村 由紀江, Nishimura Yukie; born May 8, 1967 in Toyonaka, Osaka) is a prolific Japanese pianist and composer. Hailed as a musician of "New Age Music", her piano style is light easy listening and her works are sometimes heard on television in Japan, even with her appearance in television commercials and fashion magazines thanks to her stunning looks. She has a following in Hong Kong, China and Singapore. In her performances, she usually changes her clothing according to the music she performs and keeps the stage presentation to "a bare minimum". Her hobbies are enjoying herbal teas, fragrant baths and swimming.
Anna Nakagawa (中川安奈, Nakagawa Anna), real name Anna Kuriyama (栗山安奈, Kuriyama Anna) (August 30, 1965 – October 17, 2014)…Anna Nakagawa (中川安奈, Nakagawa Anna), real name Anna Kuriyama (栗山安奈, Kuriyama Anna) (August 30, 1965 – October 17, 2014) was a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 11th Yokohama Film Festival for A Sign Days.
Mari Kimura (木村 まり, Kimura Mari) (; born 1962) is a Japanese violinist and composer best known for her use of…Mari Kimura (木村 まり, Kimura Mari) (; born 1962) is a Japanese violinist and composer best known for her use of subharmonics, which, achieved through special bowing techniques, allow pitches below the instrument's normal range. She is credited with "introducing" the use of violin subharmonics, which allow a violinist to play a full octave below the low G on the violin without adjusting the tuning of the instrument. She studied violin with Joseph Fuchs, Roman Totenberg, Toshiya Eto, and Armand Weisbord. She also studied composition with Mario Davidovsky at Columbia University, and computer music at Stanford University. Kimura holds a doctorate in performance from The Juilliard School. Since September 1998, she has been teaching a graduate class in Interactive Computer Music Performance at The Juilliard School. Mari Kimura is the daughter of a renowned Japanese environmental architect, Ken-ichi Kimura. She grew up in a solar house designed by her father in Japan.
Ryo Terakado (寺神戸 亮, Terakado Ryō; born 1961 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia) is a Japanese violinist and conductor who…Ryo Terakado (寺神戸 亮, Terakado Ryō; born 1961 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia) is a Japanese violinist and conductor who specializes in historically informed performance. He also plays the viola, viola d'amore and violoncello da spalla. He has been teaching at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and the Toho Gakuen School of Music.
Mari Takano (たかの 舞俐, Takano Mari; born before 1979 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese composer, pianist, essayist, and…Mari Takano (たかの 舞俐, Takano Mari; born before 1979 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese composer, pianist, essayist, and teacher. Takano's work, and musical voice, has been recognized as among the most distinctive to be found amid Japanese composers of the "post-Takemitsu generation".
Shinobu Otake (大竹 しのぶ, Ōtake Shinobu; born July 17, 1957) is a Japanese actress. She has won three Japanese Academy…Shinobu Otake (大竹 しのぶ, Ōtake Shinobu; born July 17, 1957) is a Japanese actress. She has won three Japanese Academy Awards: the 2000 Best Actress award for Railroad Man, and the 1979 awards for both Best Actress for The Incident, and Best Supporting Actress for Seishoku no ishibumi. She also won the award for best actress at the 12th Hochi Film Award for Eien no 1/2. At the 25th Moscow International Film Festival she won the award for Best Actress for her role in Owl. She has received a total of twelve nominations. She was the favoured lead actress of director Kaneto Shindo after his previous lead actress, Nobuko Otowa, died in 1994, and featured in four of his films from Will to Live (1999) and Postcard (2011). Otake has also acted on the stage. She performed during the last segment of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Closing Ceremony along Tokyo’s Suginami Children Chorus, singing the song "Hoshimeguri no Uta" (Star Tour Song) composed by Kenji Miyazawa, as the Olympic flame was extinguished. Otake had a leading role of Dr. Ruth Wolff in a Japanese stage adaptation of The Doctor (2021).
Akira Inoue (井上鑑) (born 8 September 1953), is a Japanese keyboard player, composer, arranger and producer. He was the…Akira Inoue (井上鑑) (born 8 September 1953), is a Japanese keyboard player, composer, arranger and producer. He was the recipient of the 23rd Japan Record Awards arranger award.
Anzu Furukawa(古川あんず, February 28 , 1952 – October 23 , 2001) was a butoh dancer and performance artist. Since 1973 she…Anzu Furukawa(古川あんず, February 28 , 1952 – October 23 , 2001) was a butoh dancer and performance artist. Since 1973 she has worked as a choreographer, performer and dancer in various groups in Japan including Dairakudakan and Europe.
Tōru Yasunaga (安永 徹, Yasunaga Tōru; born November 14, 1951, in Fukuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese violinist. Yasunaga is…Tōru Yasunaga (安永 徹, Yasunaga Tōru; born November 14, 1951, in Fukuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese violinist. Yasunaga is an active chamber musician and soloist, and was a member of the Berlin Philharmonic from 1977, serving as concertmaster from 1983 until his retirement from the orchestra in March 2009.
Kentarō Haneda (羽田 健太郎, Haneda Kentarō; January 12, 1949 – June 2, 2007) was a Japanese pianist, composer and arranger.…Kentarō Haneda (羽田 健太郎, Haneda Kentarō; January 12, 1949 – June 2, 2007) was a Japanese pianist, composer and arranger. He composed for popular anime series, movies and video games. His popular name was Haneken.
Michiyoshi Inoue (井上道義, Inoue Michiyoshi) (born on December 23, 1946) is a Japanese conductor. He is a recipient of the…Michiyoshi Inoue (井上道義, Inoue Michiyoshi) (born on December 23, 1946) is a Japanese conductor. He is a recipient of the Cantelli Award.
Minoru Nojima (野島 稔, Nojima Minoru; May 23, 1945 – May 9, 2022) was a Japanese classical pianist. At the time of his…Minoru Nojima (野島 稔, Nojima Minoru; May 23, 1945 – May 9, 2022) was a Japanese classical pianist. At the time of his death he was President of the Tokyo College of Music.
Nobuko Imai (今井 信子, Imai Nobuko; born March 18, 1943) is a Japanese classical violist with a career as soloist and…Nobuko Imai (今井 信子, Imai Nobuko; born March 18, 1943) is a Japanese classical violist with a career as soloist and chamber musician. Since 1988 she has played a 1690 Andrea Guarneri instrument.
Kazuyoshi Akiyama (秋山 和慶, Akiyama Kazuyoshi; January 2, 1941 – January 26, 2025) was a Japanese conductor who held…Kazuyoshi Akiyama (秋山 和慶, Akiyama Kazuyoshi; January 2, 1941 – January 26, 2025) was a Japanese conductor who held conducting posts of symphony orchestras in Japan, Canada and the U.S., such as the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra from 1964 for life, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra from 1972 to 1985, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 1993, and the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra from 1998. Akiyama conducted the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in the Japanese premieres of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron, John Adams's El Niño and Helmut Lachenmann's Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern, among others.
Kikuko Masumoto (増本 伎共子, Masumoto Kikuko; born 2 February 1937) is a Japanese pianist, music educator, composer, and…Kikuko Masumoto (増本 伎共子, Masumoto Kikuko; born 2 February 1937) is a Japanese pianist, music educator, composer, and ethnomusicologist.
Seiji Ozawa (小澤 征爾, Ozawa Seiji; September 1, 1935 – February 6, 2024) was a Japanese conductor known internationally…Seiji Ozawa (小澤 征爾, Ozawa Seiji; September 1, 1935 – February 6, 2024) was a Japanese conductor known internationally for his work as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he served from 1973 for 29 years. After conducting the Vienna New Year's Concert in 2002, he was director of the Vienna State Opera until 2010. In Japan, he founded the Saito Kinen Orchestra in 1984, their festival in 1992, and the Tokyo Opera Nomori in 2005. Ozawa rose to fame after he won the 1959 Besançon competition. He was invited by Charles Munch, then the music director of the BSO, for the following year to Tanglewood, the orchestra's summer home, where he studied with Munch and Pierre Monteux. Winning the festival's Koussevitzky Prize earned him a scholarship with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic and brought him to the attention of Leonard Bernstein, who made him his assistant with the New York Philharmonic in 1961. He became artistic director of the festival and education program in Tanglewood in 1970, together with Gunther Schuller. In 1994, the new main hall there was named after him. During the cold war era Ozawa's "Concerts for Peace" at the United Nations General Assembly, the National Cathedral, and in the city of Hiroshima helped to raise public awareness about the risks associated with the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ozawa conducted world premieres such as György Ligeti's San Francisco Polyphony in 1975 and Olivier Messiaen's opera Saint François d'Assise in Paris in 1983. He received numerous international awards, and a Grammy for his recording of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges . He joined Haruki Murakami for a series of conversations, Absolutely on Music. Ozawa was the first and most widely recognized Japanese conductor to attain a prominent international career.
Chihiro Yamanaka (山中千尋, Yamanaka Chihiro) (born 1976) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer, born in Kiryū, Gunma…Chihiro Yamanaka (山中千尋, Yamanaka Chihiro) (born 1976) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer, born in Kiryū, Gunma Prefecture. As of 2025, she was based in Tokyo. She has released more than 30 albums, most of them on Verve Records.
Hitomi Shimizu (冷水ひとみ) is a keyboardist and composer of live action films, television programs, animated shorts and…Hitomi Shimizu (冷水ひとみ) is a keyboardist and composer of live action films, television programs, animated shorts and videogames. She is part of a musical duo with violinist Hiromi Nishida called Syzygys. Born in Nara, Japan, she majored in music composition at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. Her score for the 2001 comedy Waterboys, composed with Gakuji Matsuda, won the Japan Academy Prize for best film score. She also contributed music to the short film Mt. Head, by Kōji Yamamura, which won the top prize at the 27th Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. That film also won the Best Soundtrack Creation Award at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Shimizu has written music for several horror projects. She was the composer of the television series Gakkou no Kaidan (School Ghost Story) with Gary Ashiya. Following this series, both musicians composed for the PlayStation 2 title Siren. In 2008, Shimizu was the sole composer of the PlayStation 3 sequel Siren: Blood Curse. The new title features an arrangement of the Siren main theme played on an Ondes Martenot by musician Wakana Ichihashi. The song is voiced by singer Yula Yayoi.
