Shukichi Mitsukuri

Japanese composer Shukichi Mitsukuri studied at the department of applied chemistry at the Imperial University of Tokyo and moved to Berlin in 1921. There he entered the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute (now Max Planck Institute) for physical chemistry and electrochemistry but also studied harmony under German composer Georg Schumann. Four years later Mitsukuri returned to Japan to work at the Naval Institute of Technology. In parallel, he also pursued his musical career and studied under Yuzuru Ike, Ikenouchi Tomojirō, Josef König from Germany and Joseph Rosenstock from Poland, who were teaching music in Tokyo.

In 1935 Mituskuri founded the Japanese section of the International Society for Contemporary Music and became its secretary-general. In 1939 he became a doctor of science and was named a professor for oriental music in Tokyo. He was later appointed general secretary of the Japanese branch of the International Music Council. Mituskuri composed symphonies, piano and chamber music, as well as violin and song collections. He was a great-grandson of Genpo Mitsukuri, a professor and an important figure during the Shogunate, when Japan first reached out to the Western world.

His entry for Berlin 1936 was listed in the German catalog as Gesunder Sommer (Healthy Summer). The original title Sakan’na natsu is probably better translated as Blooming Summer.