Kōichi Sugiyama

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Sugiyama posing with a personalized conducting rod

Kōichi Sugiyama (すぎやま こういち Sugiyama Kō'ichi) (his birth name is 椙山 浩一, which is pronounced the same) (born April 11, 1931; died September 30, 2021[1]) was the lead composer of the Dragon Quest series, with other works done for Japanese TV shows, such as Space Runaway Ideon, Cyborg 009 and Gatchaman. Sugiyama worked on the Dragon Quest series for an incredible 35 years, composing over 500 tracks for the games. Because of the incredible length of his career, Suigyama's accomplishments have been officially recognized by the Guinness World record association as the longest lived composer of video game music.

Sugiyama's music was immortalized on Friday, July 23rd 2021 during the first day of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. The series main theme, the Overture, was broadcast before hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide as the majority of the song started the opening ceremony's parade of nations, with the final bars of Overture playing at the parade's conclusion when the Olympic motto was projected on the field.

In addition to his work for the series Sugiyama held several positions within Japanese society, such as honorary chairman of the Japanese Association of Composers and Arrangers[2], the chairman of the Japanese Backgammon Association[3], as well as being the founder and representative of the Smoking Culture Research Association[4].

Kōichi Sugiyama is survived by his wife Yukiko Sugiyama, who manages his estate and the catalog of his music with the Sugiyama Kobo label.

Early life[edit]

Kōichi Sugiyama was born in the Shitaya Ward of Tokyo in 1931. His father, Yokichi Sugiyama, graduated from the Tokyo Imperial University with a degree in pharmacy and served as a health technician in the Aichi Prefecture Government in 1938 before later transferring to the Ministry of Health and Wellfare in 1942[5]. His mother, Tsutako, held a career in children's education.

Sugiyama's earliest memories of music were listening to his grandmother sing English hymns to him as a lullaby[6]. His family enjoyed singing songs such as Schumman's "Der Wanderer" and Rentaro Taki's "Flowers" together in a chorus, giving him an exposure to classical music at a very young age. The American bombing of Japan in World War II caused Sugiyama's family to be evacuated from their home in Tokyo to Taketa City in the Otia Prefecture and later Sakeshita City in the Gifu Prefecture, with the family home being destroyed in the resulting fires. The family fell on hard times after the war with Sugiyama contracting scurvy due to the food shortages, but Yokichi kept the family's spirits high by taking cloth he retrieved from their destroyed home and used it to barter for three gramophone records: Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral), Symphony No. 7, and Violin Sonata No. 9 (Kreutzer's Sonata). These records provided much needed relief from the difficulties of life in post-war Japan, with Sugiyama listening to them on a hand-crank gramophone that produced no low tones; he sang the double bass parts himself to fill in the gaps and studied the accompanying sheet music[7].

In 1949 Sugiyama would enroll in Seikei High School of Musashino City and founded the school music club. He reorganized the school orchestra that had become defunct during the war in his third year, becoming the conductor and arranger[8]. Prior to graduating, Sugiyama was approached by the Momoko Tani Ballet Company to compose a ballet piece for children to perform. This composition, "The Lost Caterpillar" (迷子の青虫さん), would mark the young man's first professional opus and be performed for decades to come[9].

Upon graduation Sugiyama planned to enroll in a private music college but was denied entry by each institution he applied to due to not knowing how to play the piano well enough at the time, a strict requisite for admission which was the norm at the time. As purchasing a piano himself for practice was prohibitively expensive, Sugiyama elected to enroll in University of Tokyo instead as it was one of the cheapest options available and pursued a science degree. The love for music would not leave the man's soul, however, and Sugiyama regularly skipped classes to participate in activities at the club he founded in Seikei High School[10]. This resulted in him needing to repeat a year, and after graduating Sugiyama found employment as a part-time quality control inspector at a factory through his father's connections. This period wouldn't last long though, as a broadcast of "The Lost Caterpillar" caught the attention of a famous contemporary music critic Yoshihiko Arisaka, who wrote very favorably of Sugiyama and recruited him into the Nippon Cultural Broadcasting radio network. First assigned to score for the news department's segments, Sugiyama found success as a part of the entertainment division where he was given control over the live performance segment "Hitachi Concert" (日立コンサート). This was a very valuable learning experience for the man as it taught him the intricacies of producing and arranging music on a professional level he was not exposed to before. In 1958, Sugiyama would move from radio to television as he took employment with Fuji Television, where he would direct programs such as "The Hit Parade" (ザ・ヒットパレード)[11].

Sugiyama would continue his career at Fuji Television while also becoming a freelance commercial composer in the 1960's, writing songs for popular musicians such as The Peanuts and The Tigers, which led to some accusations that he gave preferential treatment to his own work on his television programs. He would retire from his position Fuji Television in April of 1965 when the company entered heated disputes with the Japanese Association of Composers and Arrangers over the royalties owed to musical artists, in addition to his payments as a composer becoming greater than his salary as his popularity rose[12]. He would continue working with the company as a freelance director until 1968, when he would part ways with the company to devote himself entirely to composing.

History with Dragon Quest[edit]

Sugiyama started composing with a Japanese home computer called the PC-8801 in the early 80's to experiment with new technology, and also took up an interest in the emerging market of video games around the same time. One specific title that caught his attention was "Kazuo Morita's Shogi" (森田和郎の将棋), which was published by Enix on the PC-9801 in August of 1985, and Sugiyama found himself hooked on the simple but addictive nature of the title. The game also came packaged with a questionnaire postcard for player feedback: Sugiyama filled it out on a whim in a cheeky manner, leaving the questionnaire on his desk before stepping away for other business. In a moment of pure chance, his wife Yukiko saw the card and slotted it into their mailbox as she stepped out to go grocery shopping[13]. The questionnaire was later presented to Enix producer Yukinobu Chida, who was surprised to find that it was filled out by a celebrity because all of the names were written in hiragana, something to be expected of an elementary school student. Intrigued, Chida sent out an Enix representative to contact Sugiyama to see if he would be interested in composing music for a game: Sugiyama immediately replied and after a meeting in Shinjuku was arranged he was hired to write for "Wingman 2: The Resurrection of Kitaklar" (ウイングマン2 -キータクラーの復活), which would be released in April of 1986.

The original Dragon Quest was in development at the same time as the second Wingman game, and Chida would approach Sugiyama to write music for it as well as the Enix employee felt that the score written by the staff of developer Chunsoft was not satisfactory. Sugiyama was intrigued by the project, but his inclusion was strongly opposed by the president of Chunsoft Koichi Nakamura. This was due to Chunsoft being an extension of a school club and the young programmers were wary of a man in his 50's writing music for a video game.

It would be up to Chida and Yuji Horii to act as intermediaries between the staff of Chunsoft and Sugiyama, with the latter lightening the mood by speaking casually about his obsessions with analog games such backgammon, bingo, and especially pinball. Sugiyama would relate how he would frequently drive to Yokohama after work to play pinball for hours at a time, and the hesitant Chunsoft staff began to see him as a fellow gamer who just so happened to be born in the previous generation[14]. With the age gap bridged Sugiyama was formally accepted as the game's composure, and he was asked to begin writing a rock-styled soundtrack to match Nakamura's vision for the game. He hesitated at this approach and asked Nakamura the nature of the game's setting and stylistic tone, and explained that classical music would much better suit a medieval fantasy world than contemporary rock.

The actual production of the game's soundtrack progressed very smoothly and was completed within one week, with the Overture in particular being conceived and finalized in short order. Sugiyama would joke that it took him "54 years and five minutes to write this song" (54年と5分で出来た曲), referencing the story of Picasso's napkin[15]. This jovial attitude belies the seriousness Sugiyama gave to the project, as he determined that the overworld and battle themes would need to be exceptionally well-crafted due to the frequency in which the player would hear them[16]. In addition to his official designation as the game's composer Sugiyama also assisted in debugging and balance adjustments for the project to give a different perspective compared the group of men in their early twenties. This further tightened the sense of camaraderie between the key staff of Dragon Quest, cementing a friendship that would last for decades.

Once the game was released on May 27th 1986, Sugiyama would then assert himself as the very first video game composer to record his video game music with a live orchestra. In 1986, the CD "Dragon Quest I Symphonic Suite" was released, utilizing the Tokyo Strings Ensemble to interpret Sugiyama's melodies.

In 1987, he composed for Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line, and then held the very first video game music concert in the world. "Family Classic Concert" was arranged and conducted by Sugiyama himself. It was performed by the Tokyo Strings Ensemble on August 20, 1987 at Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Japan. "Dragon Quest I Symphonic Suite" and "Dragon Quest II Symphonic Suite" were performed. The "Family Classic Concerts" have done exceptionally well with audiences every time; since then, Sugiyama has held them annually up to 2019.

Sugiyama continued to compose for video games from 1987 to 1990. In 1991 he introduced a series of video game music concerts, five in all, called the Orchestral Game Concerts, which were performed by the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. The performances included music from over eighteen different video game composers such as Koji Kondo, Yoko Kanno, Kentarou Haneda, Nobuo Uematsu, Keiichi Suzuki, as well as Sugiyama himself. These concerts were held from 1991 to 1996; during this time, Sugiyama composed for other video games and arranged some of them to be performed in the Orchestral Game Concerts.

In September 1995, Sugiyama composed the Dragon Quest Ballet, which was choreographed by Minoru Suzuki. It premiered in 1996, and has since been performed regularly over the years the Star Dancers Ballet. During those years, he also released the Symphonic Suites for the Dragon Quest games he had worked on thus far. As this was the very first ballet inspired by a video game in the world, Sugiyama was awarded a place in the Guinness World Records book for his accomplishment.

In late 2004, he finished and released the Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Original soundtrack, and the "Dragon Quest VIII Symphonic Suite" as well.

In 2005, he was holding a series of concerts in Japan with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra for Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, as well as his classic compositions from the past. In August 2005, his music from Dragon Quest was performed live at the European Symphonic Game Music Concert. There, for the first time, his music was presented in a live symphonic concert outside Japan.

From 2006, he also worked on diverse projects, one of them being the music for Dragon Quest Swords. On August 19, 2006 Sugiyama announced Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies's production in Japanese video game magazine Famitsu as saying "I'm not sure when Dragon Quest IX will be released, but it seems that progress is continually being made. I'm personally excited."

On January 26th, 2016, Sugiyama received his second award from Guinness World Records, celebrating his status as the world's oldest video game composer at age 85.

Dragon Quest Discography[edit]

Torneko conducting.png

Non-Dragon Quest Works[edit]

Sugiyama has a lengthy career of composition spanning several decades. Some of the highlights of his work include:

Political jingles[edit]

  • Nippon no Kokoro (Heart of Japan), official party anthem

Film and Animation[edit]

  • The Return of Ultraman (1971), television series
  • Kum-Kum (1975), anime
  • Manga Sekai Mukashi Banashi (1976), anime
  • Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The Movie (1978), animated film
  • Gatchaman II (1978), anime
  • Cyborg 009 (1979), anime
  • Space Runaway Ideon (1980), anime
  • Cyborg 009: Legend of the Super Galaxy (1980), animated film
  • The Sea Prince and the Fire Child (1981), animated film
  • The Ideon: A Contact (1982), animated film
  • The Ideon: Be Invoked (1982), animated film
  • The Yearling (1983), animated film
  • Godzilla vs Biollante (1989), voted by Japanese fans as the best Godzilla film in a 2014 poll.
  • The Voyage of Little Sindbad (1991), live-action film
  • Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (1991), anime
  • Magic Knight Rayearth (1994), anime
Sugiyama's cameo as a playable and enemy species in 46 Okunen Monogatari: The Shinkaron

Other Video Games[edit]

  • World Golf (1985~1990), various
  • Wingman II (1986), various
  • Jesus (1987), various
  • Angelus: Akuma no Fukuin (1988), NEC PC-8801
  • 46 Okunen Monogatari: The Shinkaron (1990), NEC PC-9801
  • Backgammon (1990), Famicom
  • Jesus 2 (1991), various
  • Akagawa Jiro no Yuurei Ressha (1991), Famicom
  • Tetris 2 & Bombliss (1991), Famicom
  • Hanjuku Hero: Ah Sekaiyo Hanjukunare (1992)
  • E.V.O. Search for Eden (1992), Super Nintendo
  • Monopoly (1993), Super Famicom
  • Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (1995), Super Famicom, Nintendo DS, iOS
  • Shiren the Wanderer GB: Monster of Moonlight Village (1996), Game Boy
  • Shiren the Wanderer 2: Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion (2000), Nintendo 64
  • Derby Stallion 64 (2001), Nintendo 64

Pop singles[edit]

  • The Peanuts
    • "Rome no Ame" (1966), "Koi no Fuga" (1967), "Koi no Rondo" (1968), "Ai e no Inori" (1968), "Kanashiki Tango" (1969), "Itoshii Hito ni Sayonara wo" (1969), "Aishu no Valentino" (1969), "Yuhi ni Kieta Koi" (1969), "Owakare desu Anata" (1974), "Kisetsu Meguri" (1974)
  • The Tigers
    • 1967: "My Mary", "Let Me See You Baby", "Seaside Bound", "Prince in the Heaven", "Mona Liza's Smile", "Red Jacket"
    • 1968: "Love Only For You", "The Story of the Falling Leaves", "Romance in the Milky Way", "Flower Necklace", "Knight in the Night", "The Glorious World", "Jinjin Banban"
  • Garo
    • "Gakuseigai no Kissaten" (1972), "Kimi no Tanjobi" (1973), "Futari Dakeno Hiru Sagari" (1973), "Hime Kyodai" (1974)
  • Izumi Yukimura
    • "Watashi wa Nakanai" (1972), "Saigo no Bansan" (1972)
  • Candies
    • "Heart Dorobo" (1976), "Ima ga Chance Desu" (1976)
  • Noriko Hidaka
    • "Hatsukoi Sunshine" (1980), "Pretty Love" (1980)
  • Anna Makino
    • "Love Song Sagashite" (1987), "Heart" (1987)

Studio Albums[edit]

  • Golden Deluxe (1968) - The Peanuts
    • "Nagisa no Concerto", "Aoi Mugi", "Werther e no Tegami"
  • Human Renasence (1968) - The Tigers
    • "Flower Festival", "The Boat Without Sail", "Lullaby for the Lost Son", "Endless Rain"
  • Julie II (1971) - Kenji Sawada
    • "Life is Tough"
  • Jumping Flash (1974) - Eiko Shuri
    • "Tsumi na Anata", "Nanpasen"
  • Ai no Katachi (1974) - Shizue Abe
    • "Modigliani no Shojo", "Sayonara no Machi de"
  • Okinawa (1976) - Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalo
    • "Sasquatch", "Okinawa Blues", "Sunset Okinawa"
  • Chika Ueda + Karyobin 3 - Chika Ueda
    • "Memory"
  • Hello Good-bye (1981) - Yoshie Kashiwabara
    • "Mayoigo Tenshi", "Hitorigoto", "Koi wa Marshmallow"
  • Märchen (1984) - Toshihiko Tahara
  • String Quartet "The Beatles" (1990) - Tokyo Youth Quartet
    • Arrangements
  • Love Only For You (2008) - Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
  • Dances for Strings 2007 (2012) - Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra

Compositional Style and Inspirations[edit]

Sugiyama has stated that Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, and George Frideric Handel are his main sources of inspiration. His style varies between games and other media, but maintains a strong thematic quality reminiscent of Baroque and early-Classical work.

Influence on the medium[edit]

The professionalism of Sugiyama's work changed the way that people viewed video game music in Japan, trascending the technical limitations of the 8-bit NES to speak to the listener. As mentioned above, Koichi Sugiyama's Family Classic Concert was the first game music to be played by a live orchestra, performed on August 20th, 1987 at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. This transformed the Japanese public's perception on the nature of the medium, paving the way for countless other composers to follow.

Trivia[edit]

  • Sugiyama's favorite monster is Dracky, which he likens to a conductor wearing a coattail (指揮者が燕尾服を着ているように見えるから)
  • Sugiyama writes his name in hiragana instead of the traditional kanji.
  • Suigiyama's first connection to the Godzilla series predated vs Biollante by 21 years; he created the song Koi no Fuga for the Peanuts sister duo in 1967. Beyond their musical career in their home country, the Peanuts are famous for their portrayal of the diminutive Shobijin in three of Toho studios kaiju-eiga: being Mothra, Mothra vs Godzilla, and Ghidorah: the three-headed monster during the early-to-mid 60's.

Gallery[edit]

  • Artwork by Akira Toriyama celebrating Sugiyama's 88th birthday

  • Sugiyama in a recording studio, circa 1990

  • The three legends celebrating the release of the eleventh Dragon Quest

External link[edit]

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  1. ↑ http://sugimania.com/
  2. ↑ 『ゴジラVSビオランテ コンプリーション』ホビージャパン、p. 134, 2015年12月16日。ISBN978-4-7986-1137-2。https://archive.fo/ecXB0
  3. ↑ https://archive.fo/CDnJW
  4. ↑ https://archive.fo/5PT3m
  5. ↑ 『AERA』 10巻、朝日新聞社出版本部、1997年4月7日、61–62頁
  6. ↑ https://archive.fo/yGame
  7. ↑ "僕の音楽のバックグラウンドは、クラシック音楽です。子供の頃に家族３人でシューマン「流浪の民」、滝廉太郎「花」などの歌を合唱で歌って楽しみながら、譜面を読むという音楽の基礎を覚えました。それから、戦後間もない頃に親が買ってくれたベートーベンの交響曲第６番（田園）、第７番、“クロイツェル・ソナタ” といった３曲のレコードを譜面を見ながら、繰り返し聴きましたね。子供の頃は、おもちゃよりもレコードを買ってもらう方が嬉しかったんです。当時は、手巻きの蓄音機だったからジャリジャリした雑音だらけで低音も出ないので、譜面をたよりにコントラバスのパートを自分で歌って補っていました（笑）。" https://archive.fo/7NUdH
  8. ↑ https://archive.fo/YpN4C
  9. ↑ DQ30thアニバーサリー 2016, pp. 13、83.
  10. ↑ "Q それほど音楽に傾倒していたのに進学したのは音楽大学ではありませんでしたね A もちろん音大に進みたくてあらゆる音大から願書を取り寄せたのですが、どの学校にも試験科目に「ピアノの実技」があるのです。当時、家にはピアノがなかったので音楽大学受験のための練習ができませんでした。そこで音楽大学はあきらめて「仕方なく」東京大学に入学しました。東大に通っている間も出身高校の音楽部の活動に足繁く通い、音楽に没頭していましたね。"
  11. ↑ Q 大学卒業後は文化放送やフジテレビで活躍されます A はい。文化放送では最初報道部に配属されたのですが、その後芸能部に移り、生の演奏を放送する「日立コンサート」という番組を担当しました。ここで音楽のプロの作曲・編曲方法を体験したことがその後の作曲人生にとても役立ちました。1958年にはフジテレビに転職し、ディレクターとして「ザ・ヒットパレード」などの番組に携わりました。振り返れば、文化放送でもフジテレビでも常に音楽に関わってきた会社人生でしたね。
  12. ↑ DQ30thアニバーサリー 2016, pp. 12–14
  13. ↑ "（笑）。そのアンケートはがきには 「終盤は強いけど、序盤の駒組みがイマイチ」みたいに、 ちょっと生意気なことを書いて、 そのままほったらかしにしておいたんです。 そしたら、たまたまうちのカミさんが それを見つけて、買い物に行く途中に ポストに放り込んだみたいなんです。" https://archive.fo/pz7E3
  14. ↑ ニンテンドードリーム2005年11月号
  15. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140222200104/http://sugimania.com/says1.html
  16. ↑ 「すぎやまこういち VS 田尻智」『ドラゴンクエストIV マスターズクラブ』JICC出版局、1991年2月10日、13頁。ISBN978-4-7966-0084-2。
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