AKIRAIFUKUBE.ORG

BIOGRAPHY

Part 1

THE EARLY YEARS

The distinguished Ifukube (Ihokibe) family can be traced back to at least the 7th century. This ancient family was originally a powerful clan from the Inaba region (today Tottori Prefecture) in western Japan which long ago appeared to have run a metal-refining industry. Later, many generations from this family served as priests of the Ube Shrine, a Shinto temple with some of the most established traditions in Inaba.

Ube Shrine, Tottori (formerly Inaba) (1907)

Toshizo Ifukube (Akira's father) (1866-1949) was the son of Nobuyo and Suzu Ifukube. Nobuyo was a priest of the Ube Shrine.

Nobuyo and Suzu Ifukube

Born at the dawn of the Meiji Restoration (the modernization of Japan), the forward-thinking Toshizo decided in his youth that the vocation of priesthood was too "old fashioned;" thus, he became the first male Ifukube in many generations who did not become a Shinto priest. Instead, Toshizo joined the Imperial Japanese Army in 1894 . During his military career, Toshizo served in both the Sino-Japanese (1894-1895) and Russo-Japanese (1904-1905) Wars. After having achieved the rank of sergeant, Toshizo retired from the military in December 1905.

Toshizo Ifukube as a young man (left) and in later years (right)

Toshizo and his wife Kiwa (née Suzuki) (1877-1965) had their first child, a daughter named Sayoko, in 1901. Tragically, Sayoko died 5 years later in April 1906.

Kiwa Ifukube as a young woman (left) and in later years (right)

After serving in the Japanese military, Toshizo moved his family to the town of Odawara (Kanagawa Prefecture) where he became a police officer. After some time in Odawara, the Ifukubes transferred to the northern island of Hokkaido in May 1907.

Upon their arrival to Hokkaido, Toshizo and his wife settled in the island's marshy region of Kushiro.

Two views of Kushiro in the early 20th century

Once again, public service was Toshizo's calling and he was employed as a police officer. He was also a town supervisor in Kushiro.

The Kushiro police station where Toshizo Ifukube was employed

The Ifukubes eventually had seven more children, four daughters and three sons. The first two sons were Muneo (1909 - 1975) and Isao (1912 - 1942).

The third son and final child, Akira Ifukube, was born on May 31, 1914 at 6:30 pm in Kushiro. The name "Akira" has special significance. It was chosen by Toshizo who was an avid scholar of the Chinese philosopher Laozi.

Akira's first name is derived from a line of Chinese text by Laozi: . Loosely translated, this text means "Don't be boring; don't study too much but remain smart." The character repeated twice at the end of the line happens to represent the name "Akira" in modern Japanese kanji. Because Toshizo was particularly impressed by this line of wisdom from his favorite philosopher, he chose to use its final character to represent the name "Akira" for his newest son.

Originally, Toshizo and Kiwa had chosen to put Akira up for adoption. They planned to give their child to a retired geisha named Koyatsu, who was the former mistress of the celebrated Japanese poet Takuboku Ishikawa. The Ifukubes eventually decided against this as they believed Akira showed great intelligence from a very early age and thus needed to stay in the family.

During Akira's childhood, the Ifukube family lived in various parts of Hokkaido including the villages of Nemuro, Abashiri and Obihiro. Toshizo gained employment in Obihiro as a police officer and was later promoted to police chief. In 1923, the Ifukubes relocated to the town of Otofuke. Because of Toshizo's years as a respected public servant in the region, he would later be elected mayor of Otofuke.

Obihiro, Hokkaido (left), Muneo and Akira Ifukube in Otofuke (1921)

Akira Ifukube lived in Otofuke from the ages of 9 to 12; it is here that he started gaining interest in music. This was partially due to his older brother Isao who enjoyed music and played the guitar. Also, it was in Otofuke where Akira encountered the songs and dances of the Ainu (Hokkaido's indigenous population) and the folk tunes sung by Japanese pioneers who had also settled in Hokkaido.

Music was not the only subject that captivated Akira's imagination. Growing up in a "remote wilderness" such has Hokkaido caused the young boy to be deeply fascinated by the natural world. He even once considered his best friends to be the snakes and insects he collected!

Young Akira attended Tsunehiro elementary school in Otofuke where the student population was half Japanese and half Ainu. Indeed, from an early age, Ifukube was already well acquainted with the culture of the Ainu and was especially interested in their musical traditions.

Unlike many Japanese at the time, the Ifukube family did not discriminate against the Ainu; in fact, the Ainu were often welcome guests in the Ifukube house and young Akira had many Ainu friends.

Ainu woman (with tattooed lips) and man (left), and Tsunehiro elementary school in Otofuke (right)

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