I want to be someone who can always look back and say, "I was able to do something new this year."

Alumnus Naoyuki Chikatani (Graduate of the Faculty of Economics)

March 19, 2025

Naoyuki Chikatani / Composer and Music Producer
Graduated from the Faculty of Economics in 2011. He began playing the piano in his childhood, joined the mandolin club at Keio Chutobu Junior High School, and was absorbed in band activities during his high school years. In addition to his band activities, he played the viola in the Wagner Society Orchestra while in high school and university. He also composed a celebratory piece for Keio University's 150th anniversary. After graduating from university, he joined the commercial music production company Mr. Music, where he was in charge of commercials for numerous major corporations. In 2013, he won the "ACC Gold" award in the TV CM category at the ACC CM FESTIVAL for "Mitsui Rehouse 'Minna no Koe Enpitsu' (Everyone's Voice Pencil)." After going independent in 2015, he established his own company and has been involved in a wide range of work, including music for television programs, films, and games, as well as providing and producing songs for artists. His major production works include the TV dramas "Ya Boy Kongming!" and "Tokyo Tower."

https://lit.link/chikataninaoyuki

-What was your first encounter with music, Mr. Chikatani?

Chikatani: I don't remember it well, as it was around the time I was just becoming aware of things. Due to my father's work, I lived in New Orleans in the United States from the age of one to three. New Orleans is known as the city of music where jazz was born. Street musicians were playing everywhere in the city, and my parents tell me I used to happily jump around and dance to their music. I also started piano lessons around that time, but I didn't particularly enjoy practicing. However, I was happy when my parents and the adults around me were pleased when I played well. Rather than playing correctly according to the sheet music, I enjoyed improvising by creating my own melodies and rhythms. Perhaps the "joy" I felt then was what led me to start composing.

When I look at my elementary school graduation yearbook after returning to Japan, it says, "I want to be a composer." But at the time, it was still just a vague dream.

-I hear that during your time at Keio Senior High School, you were passionate about your band activities while also participating in the student musical group, the Wagner Society Orchestra (hereafter, Wagner Society).

Chikatani: Yes. I played guitar in the band, and helped by the free atmosphere of Keio University, I focused more on the Wagner Society and band activities than on my studies. I'm still close with my bandmates from that time. They are now working hard in their respective fields as a certified public accountant, a professional drummer, a successor to a family business, and a composer like myself, but when we meet, we can instantly go back to our junior high and high school days. My time in the band was truly the essence of my youth. Incidentally, it was a very happy experience to work with the bassist, Motoo Miyamoto (now President and Representative Director of Toto Kanko Kogyo Co., Ltd.), who commissioned me to create commercial music for the Toto Jidosha Group in 2021.

-At university, you studied in the Faculty of Economics and continued to play the viola in the Wagner Society.

Chikatani: I briefly considered applying to a music university, but I wanted to think not only about music but also about the business and society surrounding it, so I ultimately chose the Faculty of Economics. In the seminar of Professor Tamon Yamada (at the time), I researched the economic effects of events like music from the perspective of cultural economics. I wasn't very conscious of it then, but now that I've chosen music as my career, I believe that having seriously thought about the connection between business, society, and music has become an invaluable experience.

That said, I continued with my band and played the viola in the Wagner Society, so my life was still immersed in music, just as it was in junior high and high school. Among my peers in the Wagner Society was Kenjiro Sakairi, who is now an up-and-coming conductor. He was also my classmate in the Faculty of Economics.

-You started composing seriously in university.

Chikatani: When I became a university student, I learned that with a computer and DTM (Desktop Music) software, I could create and perform music all by myself, which made my dream of making music my career grow even stronger. From my second or third year, I started assisting professional composers, and I also composed the celebratory orchestral piece "150 no Keisho" for the Keio University 150th Anniversary Concert. It's also a fond memory that I was featured in "Juku" in my fourth year. A photo of me smiling as a student composer was published in the magazine at the time, and I want to tell my past self, "You have a tough road ahead of you!" (laughs).

-So there were quite a few twists and turns in actually making a career out of music.

Chikatani: Yes. While my friends were all working hard toward their respective career paths, I had no idea how to even become a composer. In the end, I was a complete NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) for over six months after graduating from university. I worked part-time at a convenience store during that time, and I felt down when I heard my classmates at drinking parties excitedly talking about things like buying presents for their parents with their first paycheck. I felt pathetic and ashamed that after studying at Keio University for 10 years, I was living without any future prospects, and during this period, I naturally distanced myself from my friends from my student days. However, even during that time, I continued to compose while harboring feelings of frustration. I focused on just one company, the industry leader in commercial music production, and kept sending them demo tapes of my original compositions, waiting endlessly for a reply. Thinking back now, it was reckless, but my father's words, "If you're going to aim for it, aim for the number one company in the industry," were stuck in my head. As a result, I was finally able to join that company a little over six months after graduation.

-You carved out your path to becoming a "composer" with incredible persistence.

Chikatani: No, I was just lucky. It's a method I would never recommend to anyone (wry smile). Right after joining the company, I was an odd-jobber with not much work, but I learned from the vast data and materials of famous composers I had access to in-house, and I desperately tried to seize opportunities by creating various types of songs on my own and presenting them internally. About a year after joining, I started being entrusted with work, and from then on, I was involved in the production of 200 to 300 songs per year. It was certainly a dizzying level of busyness, but thanks to handling that volume, there are many things I came to understand. I also acquired a kind of "how-to" for creating music tailored to the target audience and product characteristics of commercials. After about four years of that life, I started thinking about the next step. I still love working on commercial music, but I began to want to spread my wings more broadly as a composer. And so, in 2015, at the age of 27, I took my first step as a freelance composer.

-Was your work going smoothly after you went independent?

Chikatani: Yes, without doing any particular sales activities, I was able to receive a lot of work from my seniors at the company and the people I had worked with before. The variety of my work also expanded to include music for TV programs and films, and I also provided and produced songs for famous artists like PUFFY and BONNIE PINK. I was spending my days genuinely glad that I had gone independent, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Work related to commercials and events was canceled one after another and decreased sharply. I was in a considerable predicament for a while, but from around the latter half of 2021, I managed to make a comeback, mainly with television work. At TV Asahi, a junior from the Wagner Society is active as a producer, and I sometimes get work offers through him, for which I am nothing but grateful.

Recently, I have been in charge of the music for Fuji TV's "Ya Boy Kongming!," TV Asahi's "Tokyo Tower," and TV Tokyo's "Kinshicho Paradise - Just One Stop from Shibuya." In "Ya Boy Kongming!," I even had the valuable experience of appearing as the protagonist's father. For "Kinshicho Paradise," which I'm currently working on, I incorporated the "stateless" feeling I got from actually walking around Kinshicho into the composition, and I tried creating a variety of songs, including ethnic music, rock, and psychedelic. I'm looking forward to seeing how the viewers feel about it.

Working on dramas is interesting. In my case, I read the script I'm given beforehand and create the musical image while imagining the scenes being performed by the actors in my head. While I'm composing, I work while muttering the lines to myself, so I'm sure it's a sight that I couldn't show to anyone (laughs).

-Please tell us about what you want to do in the future and your aspirations as a composer and musician.

Chikatani: I would definitely like to work on NHK's Taiga dramas and morning dramas, which are watched by many people of all ages. If I were to be in charge, I think my grandmother, who loves these programs, would be overjoyed. However, rather than saying "I want to do XX job," I want to live in a way that I can look back each year and say, "I was able to do something new this year." During my student days, I could never have imagined that I would be talking about commercial music production on a TV music program or performing as a keyboardist at Shiori Tamai's (of Momoiro Clover Z) solo concert. Ms. Tamai's concert at the Tokyo International Forum was also my debut as a performer. The same goes for my pseudo-acting debut in "Ya Boy Kongming!" that I mentioned earlier; while handling various music jobs day to day, I always want to maintain a mindset where I can enjoy any curveball that comes my way with all my might. This is because I believe the stimulation and tension gained from challenging the unknown are the keys to unlocking my new potential.

I deeply resonate with the late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Inc., and his words about life being "Connecting the dots." The gist of these words is that each past experience (the dots), when connected over time, creates an unexpected "picture" of one's life. At the time of each individual "dot," it's hard to imagine what kind of picture will emerge, but for me now, having gone through many twists and turns to make music my career, I keenly feel that "lines can only be born, and pictures can only be drawn, by connecting the dots."

I feel that being interviewed for "Jukuin Sanmyaku (Alumni Profiles)" like this now will also become an important "dot" in my future life. To all the Keio University alumni reading this, I will tackle everything from your company's commercials to music production for dramas and films with a full swing, so please feel free to contact me (laughs). Of course, curveballs are also very welcome!

-Finally, do you have a message for current Keio students?

Chikatani: My life has had a strong element of "luck," so I don't think it will be much of a reference for the younger students, but even so, I believe I have continued to make an effort in my own way to increase the "dots" that Jobs talks about. That's probably because, more than anything, I truly love music. My life has certainly had its share of ups and downs, but I believe that being able to do what you love for a living is the greatest happiness of all.

If there are any lost Keio students who are interested in the music industry but don't know specifically what to do, please feel free to consult with me. Just as I have been helped by my seniors and peers from Keio University, I now believe it's my turn to fulfill that role, so I would be more than happy to welcome any Keio students.

Of course, life isn't just about work. Especially for you, the current Keio students, who have infinite possibilities ahead of you, I hope you will fully enjoy not only your studies at the university but also your friendships, which will likely last a lifetime, and your romantic relationships.

-Thank you very much for your time today.

This article was published in the "Jukuin Sanmyaku (Alumni Profiles)" section of "Juku" AUTUMN 2024 (No. 324).