Shunichi Tokura | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Tokyo, Japan | 21 June 1948
Website | s-tokura |
Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs | |
Assumed office April 1, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Ryohei Miyata |
Shunichi Tokura (Japanese: 都倉 俊一, Hepburn: Tokura Shun'ichi, born 21 June 1948), is a Japanese composer and was the chair of the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) from 12 August 2010 to 31 March 2016.[1][2] In April 2021, he was appointed commissioner of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs.[3]
Tokura began playing the violin at age 4. He spent his elementary and high school years in Germany where he gained a basic music education.[1]
Tokura debuted as a composer while still a student at the Faculty of Law at Gakushuin University. He further studied composition, conducting as well as screening and studio production in the United States and the United Kingdom.[1]
Tokura served as a member of the Council for Cultural Affairs, a managing director for the Japan Composer's Association (JACOMPA), a director for the All Japan Authors and Composers’ Association and the Japan Composers & Arrangers Association, and an advisor to the Song Writer's Union of Japan.[2]
On 7 December 2017 it was announced that Tokura would conduct the closing theme to the 68th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen (68th NHK Red & White Song Festival), 31 December 2017. The theme, "Hotaru no Hikari", was to have been conducted by Masaaki Hirao but Tokura replaced him following Hirao's death in July.[4]
In March 2021, he was appointed commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs following a decision by the Japanese government at a Cabinet meeting, effective on 1 April 2021.
Since 2015, he's also a member of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council.[5]