13 MICHIAKI UENO Toshirō Mayuzumi (1929–1997), trained at both Tokyo University of the Arts and the Paris Conservatoire, rose to prominence as an avant-garde composer at a young age. However, a turning point came in 1958, just before his 30th birthday. That year, he composed his monumental Nirvana Symphony, blending Buddhist chant (shōmyō) with the Western orchestra. At the same time, he published an article titled “Farewell to European Music” in the magazine, signaling a swift and decisive shift toward incorporating Japanese tradition into his compositional voice. One of the most representative works of this transition is BUNRAKU (1960), a solo cello piece that evokes the sound world of traditional Japanese puppet theater. Drawing inspiration from the deep, resonant shamisen used in bunraku and the emotive vocal narrations (tayū), Mayuzumi conjures vivid sonorities through techniques such as Bartók pizzicati and subtle portamenti. These sonic textures intertwine with lyrical, speech-like lines to create a dramatic musical dialogue— almost as if the puppet master were performing before our very eyes. Ueno recalls being struck by the theatrical intensity of bunraku upon first seeing it—a reaction likely shared by the young Mayuzumi himself.
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