
Akira Ifukube
Sound
Born May 31, 1914 · Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan
Died February 6, 2006
Also known as 伊福部昭 · Akira Hukude · Ifukube Akira
Biography
Akira Ifukube (伊福部 昭 Ifukube Akira, 31 May 1914 – 8 February 2006) was a Japanese composer, best known for his works on the film scores of the Godzilla movies since 1954. Akira Ifukube was born on 31 May 1914 in Kushiro, Japan as the third son of a police officer Toshimitsu Ifukube, also the origins of this family can be traced back to at least the 7th century with the birth of Ifukibe-no-Tokotarihime. He was strongly influenced by the Ainu music as he spent his childhood (from age of 9 to 12) in Otofuke near Obihiro, where was with a mixed population of Ainu and Japanese. His first encounter with classical music occurred when attending secondary school in Sapporo city. Ifukube decided to become a composer at the age of 14 after hearing a radio performance of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, also cited the music of Manuel de Falla as a major influence. Ifukube studied forestry at Hokkaido Imperial University in Sapporo and composed in his spare time, which prefigured a line of self-taught Japanese composers. He taught at the Tokyo University of the Arts (formerly Tokyo Music School), during which period he composed his first film score for The End of the Silver Mountains, released in 1947. Over the next fifty years, he would compose more than 250 film scores, the high point of which was his 1954 music for Ishirō Honda's Toho movie, Godzilla. Description above from the Wikipedia article Akira Ifukube , licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Awards & recognition
- Junior Fourth Rank · 2006
- Person of Cultural Merit · 2003
- Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class · 1987
- Medal with Purple Ribbon · 1980
- Order of Culture
Filmography50+ titles

Godzilla, the Monster of the Pacific Ocean

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

The Burmese Harp

Sandakan No. 8

Godzilla Minus One

Godzilla

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

Eleven Samurai

Hiroshima

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

The Tale of Zatoichi

The Quiet Duel

Shin Godzilla

Godzilla: Final Wars

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Zatoichi's Conspiracy

Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster

Mothra vs. Godzilla

New Tale of Zatoichi

The Whale God

Snow Trail

Godzilla 2000

Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth

Destroy All Monsters

The Snow Woman

Zatoichi Challenged

Zatoichi's Vengeance

Zatoichi the Fugitive

Zatoichi on the Road

Samurai Saga

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

Terror of Mechagodzilla

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo

Invasion of Astro-Monster

Frankenstein vs. Baragon

Fight, Zatoichi, Fight

Dogora

Anatahan

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

Zatoichi and the Chess Expert

Atragon

Zatoichi's Revenge

Space Amoeba

Daimajin

Godzilla: King of the Monsters!

Rodan

Godzilla vs. Gigan

The War of the Gargantuas

The Mysterians

Genius Party Beyond