Categories
20th Century Japanese

MIYAGI, Michio

Born in Sannomiya, Kobe, Japan, April 7, 1894 
Died in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, June 25, 1956 

  • Miyagi was a multi-instrumentalist and composer, and particularly a master of the koto
  • Miyagi was a professor at the Tokyo College of Music, which is now the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music. 
  • As a composer, Miyagi was part of a modernist movement that sought to add Western musical influences to traditional Japanese musical styles. 
  • Miyagi’s work included creating innovative new instruments inspired by the koto and other traditional Japanese instruments, to increase the compositional options for Japanese music.  
  • Miyagi had a disability: he lost his sight before the age of 8.1

Composer Website from the Miyagi Koto Association 

Sources

  1. Henry Johnson, “Miyagi Michio,” Grove Music Online (May 28, 2015), accessed November 10, 2021,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-4002281506.