Hayato Sumino (Japanese: 角野隼斗; born 14 July 1995) is a Japanese pianist and composer known for his performances of…Hayato Sumino (Japanese: 角野隼斗; born 14 July 1995) is a Japanese pianist and composer known for his performances of music by Frédéric Chopin. Born in Tokyo, he started playing the piano at age 3. He studied science and engineering at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, graduating in March 2020 with a master's degree and the President's Award. He also studied music information processing technology and artificial intelligence for six months at the French Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music. In August 2018 he won the Grand Prix at the 42nd PTNA Piano Competition, a Japanese piano competition. In July 2019 he won third prize at the Lyon International Piano Competition. In 2021, Sumino participated in the XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, in which he advanced to the third round (the semifinal). His live performance in the second round attracted 45,000 online viewers, setting a record for the competition. Before the competition, he had studied intensively online—due to the COVID-19 pandemic—with Jean-Marc Luisada. Sumino also performed at the 28th Beijing Music Festival in October 2025. Sumino is also a YouTuber by the name of "Cateen", with over 1.5 million subscribers as of 12 January 2025. Sumino composed the soundtrack to "Firstline" (2024), a short film directed by China Sui and released by Toho Animation Studio as part of their "Gemnibus volume 1" anthology. He is also a member of the Japanese "city soul" band Penthouse, where he has been serving as its pianist since 2019. He is a Steinway Artist.
Tatsuya Kato (加藤 達也, Katō Tatsuya; born July 28, 1980) is a Japanese anime composer and arranger. He is known for his…Tatsuya Kato (加藤 達也, Katō Tatsuya; born July 28, 1980) is a Japanese anime composer and arranger. He is known for his works on many anime series, including Future Diary, Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma, Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, Love Live! Sunshine!! and Free!. He is currently represented by the music production company APDREAM.
Naoki Satō (佐藤 直紀, Satō Naoki; born May 2, 1970 in Chiba, Japan) is a Japanese composer. He has provided the music for…Naoki Satō (佐藤 直紀, Satō Naoki; born May 2, 1970 in Chiba, Japan) is a Japanese composer. He has provided the music for several popular anime series and films, including the first five Pretty Cure series, X, Eureka Seven, Sword of the Stranger, Assassination Classroom, and Blood-C. He graduated from the Tokyo College of Music in 1993. At the 29th Japan Academy Prize in 2006, he won the Best Music prize for his work on the film Always Sanchōme no Yūhi (Always Sunset on Third Street). He also composed music for anime films such as Pretty Cure All Stars DX trilogy, Stand By Me Doraemon. In live-action dramas, he provided music and soundtracks for TV dramas Good Luck!! Water Boys, H2: Kimi to Ita Hibi and Ryōmaden. He provided the music for the Space Battleship Yamato film, as well as the Rurouni Kenshin and Parasyte live-action film series. For the 38th Japan Academy Prize in 2015, he was nominated in the Best Score category for his work in The Eternal Zero. While he did not win the award, The Eternal Zero won several awards including Best Picture, and Stand By Me Doraemon won for Best Animated Film. He composed the music for victory ceremonies at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Hiroshi Kawaguchi (川口 博史, Kawaguchi Hiroshi; born April 12, 1965) is a Japanese video game music composer and…Hiroshi Kawaguchi (川口 博史, Kawaguchi Hiroshi; born April 12, 1965) is a Japanese video game music composer and keyboardist who works for Sega. He is among the oldest of the Sega sound team members, and one of the few from the 1980s still active today. He joined Sega in 1984 as a programmer before transferring to the sound department the following year. He is also known as Hiro and Hiroshi Miyauchi (宮内 博史) (his pre-mukoyōshi name), and has been a part of both the S.S.T. Band and the sound unit [H.], the latter of which he leads. He has also been a member of Chain Band, a hybrid between the groups [H.] and Sonic Adventure Music Experience. He worked closely with game designer Yu Suzuki and served as composer for some of the company's most recognized series, such as Space Harrier, Out Run, and After Burner, and has contributed music to many others. He has often acted as a tutor to new Sega composers, such as Yasuhiro Takagi and Keitaro Hanada.
Ichirō Tomita (富田 伊知郎, Tomita Ichirō; born August 24, 1952), known professionally as MoJo (モジョ), is a Japanese folk…Ichirō Tomita (富田 伊知郎, Tomita Ichirō; born August 24, 1952), known professionally as MoJo (モジョ), is a Japanese folk singer and composer who has performed on the soundtracks of various anime and tokusatsu series and movies. He is perhaps best known as the vocalist for the theme songs for Battle Fever J, Dai Sentai Goggle V, Kagaku Sentai Dynaman, Seiun Kamen Machineman (星雲仮面マシンマン, Seiun Kamen Mashinman), Albegas, and performed image songs for various series. He also sang the theme song of the fictional character Segata Sanshiro (played by Hiroshi Fujioka) who appeared in Sega's commercials between 1997 and 1998 to advertise the Sega Saturn in Japan.
Shinichi Chiba (Japanese: 千葉 真一, Hepburn: Chiba Shin'ichi; born Sadaho Maeda; 22 January 1939 – 19 August 2021) IPA…Shinichi Chiba (Japanese: 千葉 真一, Hepburn: Chiba Shin'ichi; born Sadaho Maeda; 22 January 1939 – 19 August 2021) IPA: [tɕiꜜba ɕiɰ̃itɕi], known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later to an international audience. Born in Fukuoka, Chiba played a variety of sports in high school, including baseball and volleyball. He also practiced gymnastics and participated at the National Sports Festival of Japan in his third year. When he was a university student, he learned martial arts, earning a black belt in Kyokushin Karate in 1965 and later receiving a fourth degree in 1984. Chiba's career began in the 1960s, when he starred in two tokusatsu superhero shows. In his first role, he replaced Susumu Wajima as the main character Kōtarō Ran/Seven Color Mask in Seven Color Mask (Nana-iro Kamen) in the second half of the series. However, his breakthrough role was in the 1974 film The Street Fighter. Before retiring, Chiba had also appeared in a number of English language American films, including Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). Chiba died of COVID-19 complications at the hospital in Tokyo on 19 August 2021, at the age of 82.
Eiko Ishibashi (石橋 英子, Ishibashi Eiko) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She composed the scores for the…Eiko Ishibashi (石橋 英子, Ishibashi Eiko) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She composed the scores for the films Drive My Car (2021) and Evil Does Not Exist (2023).