Koichi Sugiyama facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Koichi Sugiyama
Sugiyama in 2011
Background information
Native name	すぎやま こういち
Birth name	椙山 浩一
Born	(1931-04-11)April 11, 1931 Tokyo, Japan
Died	September 30, 2021(2021-09-30) (aged 90) Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Classical symphonic video game jazz
Occupation(s)	Composer conductor orchestrator
Years active	1968–2021
Labels	SUGI Label
Associated acts	Hayato Matsuo

Koichi Sugiyama (すぎやま こういち, Sugiyama Kōichi, April 11, 1931 – September 30, 2021) was a famous Japanese composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He is best known for creating the music for the popular Dragon Quest video game series. He also wrote music for many other video games, anime shows, movies, and TV programs.

Sugiyama had a classical music background. Many people saw him as a big inspiration for other Japanese video game music composers. He worked from the 1960s until he passed away in 2021.

Besides music, Sugiyama was involved in other groups. He was a council member of the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers, and Publishers (JASRAC). He was also the honorary chairman of the Japanese Backgammon Society. Before he died, the Japanese government honored him with the Order of the Rising Sun and named him a Person of Cultural Merit.

Koichi Sugiyama's Musical Journey

Early Life and TV Work

Koichi Sugiyama was born in Tokyo, Japan, on April 11, 1931. His home was always full of music when he was growing up. This helped him discover his love for music. In high school, he started writing his own small musical pieces.

He went to the University of Tokyo and graduated in 1958. After college, he worked in reporting and entertainment for Nippon Cultural Broadcasting. He also joined Fuji TV as a director that same year. In 1965, he left Fuji TV to work on his own. By 1968, he was focusing only on writing and arranging music.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Sugiyama wrote music for many things. These included musicals, commercials, pop songs, animated movies, and TV shows. Some of his famous works from this time include Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The Movie and Cyborg 009. He also helped with music for Godzilla vs. Hedorah.

Creating Music for Dragon Quest and Other Games

Sugiyama first connected with the game company Enix because he sent them a fan letter. He wrote about a computer shogi game in the early 1980s. The people at Enix were very surprised to get a letter from such a famous person. They were also impressed by how much he knew about games. So, they asked him to create music for their games.

Sugiyama started composing for the PC-8801 computer. His first project with Enix was the 1986 game Wingman 2. Later that year, he worked on his first big project, Dragon Quest. His classical music for this game was a big deal for console video game music. It changed how game music was made.

Sugiyama was one of the first video game composers to record his music with a real orchestra. In 1986, the album Dragon Quest I Symphonic Suite was released. It featured the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing Sugiyama's melodies. The eight main tunes in the soundtrack became a model for many role-playing video game soundtracks that came after.

In 1987, he wrote music for Dragon Quest II. Music from the first two Dragon Quest games was played at one of the first game music concerts. It was called "Family Classic Concert." Sugiyama himself arranged and conducted the music. The Tokyo String Music Combination Playing Group performed it on August 20, 1987, at Suntory Hall in Tokyo. He went on to hold eighteen more concerts like this across Japan.

From 1987 to 1990, Sugiyama continued to compose for other Enix games. In 1991, he started a series of five video game music concerts. They were called the Orchestral Game Concerts. The Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra performed at these events. More than eighteen different video game composers, including Sugiyama, were featured. These concerts took place from 1991 to 1996. During this time, Sugiyama kept writing music for games and arranging them for the concerts.

In September 1995, Sugiyama created the Dragon Quest Ballet. It first showed in 1996 and returned several times until 2002. In those years, he also released many Dragon Quest Symphonic Suites. In late 2004, he finished the music for Dragon Quest VIII. In 2005, Sugiyama held concerts in Japan with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. They played music from Dragon Quest VIII and his older works. In August 2005, his Dragon Quest music was played live in Europe. This was the first time his music was performed by a live orchestra outside Japan. Sugiyama also wrote the music for Dragon Quest X and its updates, as well as Dragon Quest XI.

Sugiyama often used musical motifs in his work. These are short musical ideas that repeat. This helped keep a consistent and familiar feel across the different Dragon Quest games. Each game he worked on included a very similar, upbeat theme song called "Overture." Sugiyama's music style is often compared to music from the late Baroque and early Classical periods.

Sugiyama had many hobbies outside of music. He enjoyed photography, traveling, building model ships, and collecting old cameras. He even had a camera section on his website. In June 2004, he started his own record label, SUGI Label. Sugiyama also composed the special fanfares played when the gates open and close at the Tokyo and Nakayama Racecourses.

Sugiyama passed away from septic shock at age 90 on September 30, 2021. A TV show about his work with Dragon Quest was shown on Nippon TV on August 27, 2022.

Koichi Sugiyama's Works

Video Games

Film and Television

See also

In Spanish: Koichi Sugiyama para niños