Akira Ifukube is the famous composer known for his unorthodox style of music who created the iconic score for Godzilla.

He was born in 1914 on the Japanese island of Hokkaido known for the Ainu, it’s indigenous population. The Ainu had a rich history with music which created a foundation in his life. Later in his teenage years he began teaching himself to compose, although he didn’t have any formal training.

He didn’t go to school for music however, instead for forestry. He ended up working in a small town in Hokkaido as a forester. However, he continued his work composing. His first work “Japanese Rhapsody” was submitted into a competition, and ended up winning first prize.

However, then came World War Two. Although he continued to spend his free time composing, he was given a new job in researching different types of wood and their properties, a job which required and X-ray. This unprotected exposure to an X-ray ended his career and left him bedridden for over a year.

As a result of this injury, he spent all of his time working on his compositions. in 1946 he even accepted a role teaching at Tokyo University of the Arts. A colleague from the university encouraged him to look into film scoring in order to make more money.

After a few smaller projects, Ifukube was offered to score Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla. Ifukube dedicated a seriousness and time into the project and created the iconic main title theme as a blend of traditional western orchestra and Ainu folk songs. He was also responsible for Godzilla’s roar, creating the sound to convey the creature with a sense of tragedy and not just fear.

Throughout his career he scored over 300 films, even authoring a textbook on orchestration. His work thoughtfully combines tradition Japanese sounds and motifs to create a uniquely Japanese sound, separate from the dominant Western styles of the era.

In the end, he died in 2006 at the age of 91. He composed for over 70 years of his life and created a movement in Japanese music composition, along with the iconic Godzilla score.

References

• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/10/arts/music/akira-ifukube-is-dead-at-91-composed-score-for-godzilla.html
• https://www.stlmag.com/culture/Baptized-in-the-Fires-of-the-H-Bomb-Godzilla-on-Blu-ray/#wp–skip-link–target
• https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199757824/obo-9780199757824-0209.xml
• https://komuso.com/people/people.pl?lang=39&person=1043