Akira Ifukube, a renowned Japanese composer, was born on May 31, 1914, in Kushiro, Japan, as the third son of a police officer, Toshimitsu Ifukube. His family's origins date back to at least the 7th century, with the birth of Ifukibe-no-Tokotarihime.
Ifukube spent his childhood in Otofuke, near Obihiro, where he was exposed to a mixed population of Ainu and Japanese. This cultural melting pot had a profound impact on his musical development, as he was strongly influenced by Ainu music. His first encounter with classical music occurred when he attended secondary school in Sapporo city.
At the age of 14, Ifukube was inspired to become a composer after hearing a radio performance of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. The music of Manuel de Falla also had a significant influence on his work.
Ifukube pursued his passion for music by studying forestry at Hokkaido Imperial University in Sapporo, where he composed music in his spare time. This self-taught approach to composition was a common thread among many Japanese composers.
As a professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts (formerly Tokyo Music School),Ifukube composed his first film score for The End of the Silver Mountains, which was released in 1947. Over the next five decades, he went on to compose more than 250 film scores, with the highlight being his 1954 music for Ishirō Honda's Toho movie, Godzilla.
