Masaru Sato

Masaru Sato

Original Name 佐藤 勝
Born May 29, 1928
Rumoi, Hokkaido, Japan
Died December 5, 1999 (71)

Prolific film composer, with 300 film scores to his credit, notable for his upbeat, jazzy style. Sato first entered the film industry as a pupil of Fumio Hayasaka, Akira Kurosawa’s go-to composer. After Hayasaka’s passing, Sato became Kurosawa’s preferred composer for the rest of his career. He also frequently collaborated with Hideo Gosha and Kihachi Okamoto.

In the sci-fi genre he’s known for providing a refreshing contrast to Akira Ifukube’s dour style, scoring Jun Fukuda’s Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966), Son of Godzilla (1967), and later Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster (1974).

Original Name 佐藤 勝
Born May 29, 1928
Rumoi, Hokkaido, Japan
Died December 5, 1999 (71)

Prolific film composer, with 300 film scores to his credit, notable for his upbeat, jazzy style. Sato first entered the film industry as a pupil of Fumio Hayasaka, Akira Kurosawa’s go-to composer. After Hayasaka’s passing, Sato became Kurosawa’s preferred composer for the rest of his career. He also frequently collaborated with Hideo Gosha and Kihachi Okamoto.

In the sci-fi genre he’s known for providing a refreshing contrast to Akira Ifukube’s dour style, scoring Jun Fukuda’s Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966), Son of Godzilla (1967), and later Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster (1974).