AKIRAIFUKUBE.ORG

BIOGRAPHY

Part 3

WORLD WAR II

Since the 1930's, the Japanese Empire had already been involed in an on-going war with China. Years later on December 7, 1941, the Japanese military attacked the American naval base of Pearl Harbor which "officially" thrusted Japan into an already raging world war.

During the early days of the war, Ifukube was active as a composer. He wrote nationalist pieces such as his Symphony Concertante (1941) and Ballata Sinfonica (1943) which he dedicated to his late brother Isao. He was also commissioned on several occasions to write martial pieces such as Kishi Mai (1943) and Prélude du soldat (1944).

Although he did not officially serve in his country's armed forces during World War II, Ifukube was appointed by the Imperial Army toward the end of the war to conduct a study on the vibratory strength and elasticity of wood. The Japanese army had captured an all-wood British war plane, the DeHavilland Mosquito, and Ifukube was assigned to examine the aircraft because of his scopic studies of the properties of wood during his university days. Unfortunately, this process involved the extensive use of X-rays, and because of the wartime shortage of lead, these experiments were performed without the benefit of a protective suit. Ifukube was later hospitalized for radiation exposure, unable to work again for over a year.

The DeHavilland Mosquito

At the end of the war, while he was still in the hospital due to his radiation exposure, Ifukube was startled one day to hear Kishi Mai being played over the radio when General Douglas MacArthur arrived at the Atsugi air base to formalize the Japanese surrender.

General Douglas MacArthur (center) arriving at Atsugi Air Base, August 30, 1945

Sick from radiation poisoning and depressed due to Japan's defeat in the war, Ifukube became bitter and felt that all of his musical creativity had died. For a time, he decided that he would never compose music again. One day, however, he happened to hear a performance of his Ballata Sinfonica broadcast over the radio and Ifukube interpreted this as a sign to continue from his late brother, Isao, to whom the work was dedicated. Ifukube felt inspired, reassured and re-energized; he felt that he could return to the art he loved so much.

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