Yoshiharu Abe is known as the father of personal multi-track recording in the audio engineering field. He was one of the five founders of TEAC in 1957 and went on to become one of the co...
Takehiko Akaboshi, the legendary Japanese music therapist and founder of the world renowned Japan Music Volunteer Association, began his career as a popular singer who recorded tradition...
Toshio Akiyama is an internationally renowned figure widely known for his contribution as the "father of the Japanese wind bands." Having received his education at the famous Eastman Scho...
Shiro Arai was the founder of Aria Guitars, a Japanese electric guitar company that gained great international success in the wake of the Beatles invasion—both in America and Japan. Mr. ...
Emiko Araki is a passionate musician and a proud member of the New Horizons Band at NAMM’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California. Originally from Japan, Emiko’s early love for mu...
George Azuma remembered growing up in Tokyo and having many opportunities to play rock and roll along with his brother and several childhood friends. After high school, George attended c...
Tsutomu Chiba is the president for the Barock Music Company in Japan. He is also a musical instrument designer for many products. With the distribution company named PlayWood Professional...
Kenji Chiwaki followed in the footsteps of Toru Hora as the president of Buffet Crampon Japan. Hora-san opened the branch in Tokyo in 1967 and helped establish the brand within the Asian...
Yohsihiro Doi joined Yamaha in 1980 and worked in retail for the company for two years before transferring to the wholesale department within the musical instrument division. Doi-san work...
Tadamichi Fukuda was the Chairman for the Global Corporation, located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1975 based on the repairing of musical instruments, especia...
Hitoshi Fukutome has enjoyed a long and interesting career at the Yamaha Corporation. He joined Yamaha in 1982 and has served in many roles for the company over the years including Manag...
Jim Funada has dedicated the past four decades to serving the music products industry with passion and commitment. His journey began at the Yamaha Corporation, where he delved into keyboa...
Takashi “Hagi” Hagiwara has been called the “godfather of Yamaha drums” as the unofficial ambassador of the company’s percussive products around the world. His father was a silversmith i...
Kyoko Hara is proud to continue her family tradition of being involved in the music products industry. It all began in 1919 when her grandfather opened a small store. Her father, Ryoji Ok...
Motohichi Harada led the movement that brought the very first marching band to Japan, which took place in 1963. He has since worked for the NHK for over thirty years and formed the Japan...
Karl Hirano was an electronic engineer for Yamaha in Japan during the great MIDI boom of the early 1980s. In fact, Karl was a member of the team that gathered at the 1983 NAMM Show to dis...
Toshiaki Hirose, President of Shimamura Music in Japan, played a pivotal role in securing NAMM’s Oral History interview with the company’s founder, Mr. Mototsugu Shimamura, in 2007. His l...
Akio Hiyoshi was on the engineering team at Yamaha in 1959 that designed the Electone Organ, which brought the small piano manufacturer into the electronic musical instrument market, wher...
Toru Hora was classically trained on the piano and attended Juilliard. He joined the Buffet Crampon company in 1964 and both established and served as president of the Buffet Japan branch...
Masato Horibe is proud of the origins of his company, which date back to 1917 when Mr. Niimi opened a small store in Japan. He first began selling phonograph needles and later brought int...
Yoshitada Hoshino is the president of Hoshino Gakki Company, a music company that has remained in his family since first opening in 1908 to sell sheet music in Japan. The distribution seg...
Masahiro Iijima enjoyed working as an engineer in the music industry and was hopeful to one day create his own company and brands. He worked for KORG in Japan for 5 years, which is where...
Haruhiko Ikebe developed a novel way of approaching music retailing, creating Super Pro Shops that stock vintage and new instruments along with accessories and knowledgeable sales staff f...
Takeshi Inomata was the noted jazz drummer who, among other things, helped design the first percussive instruments for Yamaha. His work with Yamaha took place during the early 1960s when...
Kazuo Ishibashi spent over 25 years in the Special Equipment Division of JVC (Japan Victor Corporation) and headed their musical instrument engineering section. JVC marketed electronic o...
Kiyokazu Ishibashi is proud to be in the music products industry and to follow the path of his father, who started the business following World War II. The music store was small in the be...
Kenji Ito has committed himself to music education and the safety of those who take lessons from his music studios and stores. As Chairman of Ito Music Corporation in Japan, he prays each...
Shuji Ito began his career with Yamaha Corporation in 1965 and has since held a series of positions in Japan, the United States and in Europe including managing director and senior managi...
Akira Jimbo, a drummer out of Japan, has been playing drums since he was 17. Akira has released over 10 solo albums throughout his career and has demonstrated a passion for education thro...
Ikuo Kakehashi’s passion for music developed early in his life. Of course, he was exposed to many innovative electronic musical instruments being the son of synthesizer pioneer and Roland...
Ikutaro Kakehashi, the founder of Roland Corporation, created more than a successful business with a host of important innovations in electronic musical instruments; he has also paid trib...
Hideo Kamimoto wrote the book on guitar repair! He built his first guitar in the late 1950s and soon discovered he had a true passion as a luthier. Within a decade he opened H. Kamimoto...
