午夜剧场

I was born in 1963. Toho's Godzilla, Daiei's Gamera, Shochiku's Guilala, and Nikkatsu's Gappa. I grew up immersed in monster movies in the late 1960s. Eventually, I found one composer and one actor whom I admired above all others. The actor was Akihiko Hirata. In the 1954 film "Godzilla" (the first in the series), he played the genius scientist who commits double suicide with that great hydrogen-bomb monster at the bottom of Tokyo Bay. I sent him a fan letter when I was in elementary school, and from then on, whenever Mr. Hirata appeared on stage, I would rush to his dressing room with a bouquet of flowers. He had gone from the Army Academy to the First Higher School under the old system, the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, and Mitsubishi Corporation before becoming an actor.

He was a special person who carried the shadow of the war, and he always cautioned me as a child to train my body more.

The composer was Akira Ifukube. He also worked on the music for the 1954 "Godzilla," and from then on, he was an indispensable presence, especially in Toho's monster and sci-fi films. From my kindergarten days, the so-called "Godzilla Theme"—"Do-Si-La, Do-Si-La, Do-Si-La-Sol-La-Si-Do-Si-La"—was hammered into my brain. When I eventually realized that Ifukube was a classical composer who also did film work, I wanted to hear his symphonies and concertos, so I began collecting records and attending concerts. This was from elementary school through junior high. When I was a university student, a connection was made, and I began frequenting his home in Oyamadai, Setagaya. At the time, Mr. Ifukube had a plan to compile an autobiography based on oral dictation, and I was designated as the interviewer and editor. In the end, it was never finished. However, even after that, from my position as a music critic, I remained heavily involved in his concerts and CD recordings, and I was able to listen to his stories for over 20 years. He passed away in 2006. It is about time to summarize it all. While a truly objective critical biography may still be a long way off, I wanted to see if I could convey—as vividly as possible and while preserving Mr. Ifukube's own words from Oyamadai—the unique nature of Akira Ifukube's music, nurtured by his encounters with Russians, Chinese music, and the Ainu in Taisho-era Hokkaido, as well as the dynamism and vitality that could not have been born otherwise, filled with his own unique way of thinking. I hope to preserve even a little of Ifukube's voice. That is the intent behind this humble book.

Morihide Katayama

Shinchosha

368 pages, 2,970 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.