- After hearing Wendy Carlos' "Switched-on Bach," he learned that nobody in Japan had a synthesizer. He flew to New York in 1972 to buy one from the Moog company. When he tried to have it shipped back, Japanese customs officers wouldn't allow it. They thought it might be some kind of contraband military equipment. They demanded that he prove it was a musical instrument by playing it for them, but the Moog was difficult to program, and he didn't actually know how to play it properly. Finally, he got someone to send him a photo of a musician playing a synthesizer on stage, and the customs officers allowed it.
- Was Ridley Scott's initial choice to score Alien (1979).
- Has written extensive musical scores and incidental music for many Japanese television shows.
- Within a year of acquiring the Moog, he'd mastered it. In 1974 he released "Snowflakes Are Dancing," his interpretation of some of Debussy's works. International response was immediate, and the album was nominated for four Grammy awards, including best classical album, making him the first Japanese nominee for a Grammy.
- Has recorded a series of albums and CD's featuring electronic re-workings of classical music.
- Composed a symphonic tone poem based on incidental music he wrote for "Jangaru taitei" (1965) (aka "Kimba the White Lion"). The tone poem was recorded by the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and was set to animation by Tezuka Productions.
- While researching an echo machine in 1971 he invented "yuragi" (oscillating vibration), which led to his interest in electronic music.
- Was inspired to perform and record electronic realizations of classical music after hearing Walter (now Wendy) Carlos' album "Switched-On Bach".
- Honarary President of the Japan Synthesizer Programmers Association.
- As a child, he made his own flutes by cutting holes in bamboo stalks. But he was uninterested in the military music he heard on the radio. His attitude changed when WWII ended, and the radio started picking up broadcasts from the occupying American forces -- jazz, Latin, classical and other exotic genres were played. After earning a degree in art history, he began composing commercial music, ranging from songs for special events to theme music for TV shows.
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