ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to interpret the film score for Seigenki (Time within Memory) (1973), directed by Tōichirō Narushima, in terms of popular music. The score was composed by an internationally celebrated, contemporary Japanese composer, Tōru Takemitsu (1930–96). Since his death, the number of studies of his work has increased dramatically both inside and outside Japan. However, serious musicologists have focused exclusively on his “art” compositions for orchestra and chamber ensembles, and have tended to neglect his hundred or more scores for films, which have been considered to be merely supplementary to his other, more “serious” concert music.
