Koichi Sugiyama | |
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Background information | |
Native name | すぎやま こういち |
Birth name | 椙山 浩一 |
Born |
Tokyo, Japan |
April 11, 1931
Genres |
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Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 1958–present |
Labels | SUGIlabel |
Associated acts | Hayato Matsuo |
Website | Sugimania |
Koichi Sugiyama (すぎやま こういち Sugiyama Kōichi?, born April 11, 1931) is a Japanese composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He is also a council member of the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers, and Publishers (JASRAC), board member of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, and honorary chairman of the Japanese Backgammon Society. Sugiyama is best known for composing the music for the Dragon Quest video game series, which is published by Square Enix, along with several other Japanese anime, film, and television shows. A classically trained conductor, Sugiyama is considered a major inspiration for other Japanese game music composers, such as Nobuo Uematsu, and was once referred to as the "big boss of game music".
Sugiyama was born in Tokyo, Japan. While growing up, Sugiyama's home was filled with music, which ultimately inspired his passion. In high school, he began to recognize his passion, and wrote various small musical works.
After graduating from the University of Tokyo with full honours in 1958, he went into the reporting and entertainment sections of cultural broadcasting. In addition, he joined the Fuji Telecasting Co. as a director. In 1965, he left the telecasting company as a freelance director, and in 1968, he quit directing and concentrated solely on musical composition and orchestration.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Sugiyama composed for musicals, commercials, pop artists, and for animated movies and television shows, such as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The Movie, The Sea Prince and the Fire Child, and Cyborg 009. He also assisted Riichiro Manabe with the composition for Godzilla vs. Hedorah, composing the record single of the soundtrack, and conducting for some of the tracks.