Composers from Japan

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Japanese Composers of all time. This list of famous Japanese Composers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Japanese Composers.

1. #1

   

   Ryuichi Sakamoto

   1952 - 2023

   HPI 71.0447 langs

   Ryuichi Sakamoto is most famous for his work with Yellow Magic Orchestra and for his film scores for the films Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence...Read moreShow less

   Ryuichi Sakamoto is most famous for his work with Yellow Magic Orchestra and for his film scores for the films Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence and The Last Emperor.

2. #2

   

   Ichirou Mizuki

   1948 - 2022

   HPI 67.4895 langs

   Japanese singer, voice actor (1948-2022)

3. #3

   

   Toru Takemitsu

   1930 - 1996

   HPI 65.7738 langs

   Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory

4. #4

   

   Miki Matsubara

   1959 - 2004

   HPI 64.5327 langs

   Japanese singer-songwriter (1959-2004)

5. #5

   

   Toshi Ichiyanagi

   1933 - 2022

   HPI 61.4617 langs

   Japanese composer, pianist (1933-2022)

6. #6

   

   Nobuo Uematsu

   b. 1959

   HPI 60.1732 langs

   Japanese video game composer

7. #7

   

   Shunsuke Kikuchi

   1931 - 2021

   HPI 59.8718 langs

   Japanese composer

8. #8

   

   Koichi Sugiyama

   1931 - 2021

   HPI 59.8722 langs

   Japanese music composer

9. #9

   

   Keiko Abe

   b. 1937

   HPI 59.6722 langs

   Japanese composer and marimba player

10. #10

    

    Kenji Kawai

    b. 1957

    HPI 57.9724 langs

    Japanese composer