Ichiro Fujiyama's Trumpet

2024/11/07

A single photograph taken during the Waseda-Keio rivalry in the autumn of 1932 (Showa 7). The person playing the trumpet is Takeo Masunaga, the singer Ichiro Fujiyama. He was capable of playing not only the piano but also the accordion, violin, flute, and all kinds of percussion instruments.

Takeo was familiar with Western music from an early age, and after entering Keio Yochisha Elementary School in 1918 (Taisho 7), he met the singing teacher Seitaro Ezawa. He studied piano and singing not only in class but also as extracurricular activities. In his fourth year, he was given his first opportunity to record a record. When Takeo's piano at home was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake, Ezawa encouraged him to take up instruments such as the violin and trumpet. Takeo was initially shocked, thinking he was being told to stop singing, but he realized it was Ezawa's consideration to avoid overusing his throat during the voice-changing period. This is the trumpet he acquired at that time.

When he moved on to Keio Futsubu School, the music teacher Ryutaro Hirota was there. Hirota was a master pianist known for composing children's songs such as "Suzume no Gakko" (The Sparrow's School) and "Haru yo Koi" (Come, Spring). While active in the rugby club at Keio Futsubu School, Takeo also attended the branch school of the Tokyo Music School (now Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Music), where Hirota served as an assistant professor, to learn piano. Furthermore, he was taught vocal music by the high-baritone singer Tadashi Yanada, who was at the same branch school, and violin by Jun Otsuka, the first conductor of the Keio Wagner Society Orchestra. He also began visiting the home of Nagayo Motoori, Hirota's mentor and composer of "Jugoya Otsuki-san" (The Full Moon).

In 1929 (Showa 4), Takeo enrolled in the Tokyo Music School, which he had already been frequenting. However, his connection with the Juku did not end. This trumpet, which protected young Takeo's throat and helped increase his lung capacity, continued to play a role even after he became a student at the Tokyo Music School, whenever he joined in supporting the Keio baseball team at Jingu. Of course, he was also very active in singing, and it is said that his volume was so great that a complaint came from the Waseda cheering section saying, "Don't let Masunaga out."

The fact that doors to various possibilities open if one seeks them is the interesting part of Keio University's integrated education, and in that sense, Takeo could be called a true product of Keio University. Looking back on the life of singer Ichiro Fujiyama is also a way of reflecting on the education of Keio University. (The Keio History Museum Autumn Special Exhibition "Ichiro Fujiyama is on his way! From "Wakaki-chi" to the People's Honor Award" is held until December 14.)

(Takeyuki Tokura, Associate Professor, Keio University Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies)