profile

A cellist who represents Japan in both name and reality. He studied under Hideo Saito at the Toho Gakuen Music School for Children and the Toho Gakuen High School Music Department. In 1961, he studied abroad at Indiana University in the United States and studied under Janos Starker. In 1963, he won second place at the Munich International Competition and first place at the Casals International Competition.
He has received numerous awards and accolades, including the Torii Music Award (now the Suntory Music Award), the Eugène Ysaÿe Medal (Belgium), the Mobil Music Prize, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Arima Award, the City of Vienna Honorary Gold Medal, the Mainichi Art Award (Music Division), and the Agency for Cultural Affairs' 50th Anniversary Commendation.
He was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in the autumn of 2009. In 2013, he was selected as a Person of Cultural Merit.
After working as an associate professor at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, a professor at the University of Illinois, and a professor at Indiana University, he is currently a professor at Toho Gakuen School of Music (former president 2004-2013) and a visiting professor at Korea National University of Arts. He has been the director of Suntory Hall since 2007. He is a member of the Japan Art Academy.