Satô Masaru

Satô Masaru was a prolific film composer notable for his upbeat, jazzy musical style, writing over 300 film scores throughout his accomplished career.

Satô first entered the film industry as a pupil of Hayasaka Fumio, who was director Kurosawa Akira’s go-to composer. Following Hayasaka’s sudden passing in 1955, Satô became Kurosawa’s preferred composer for the duration of his career. Beyond Kurosawa, he also frequently collaborated with directors Gosha Hideo and Okamoto Kihachi.

In the sci-fi genre, Satô is well regarded for providing a refreshing, poppy contrast to Ifukube Akira’s dour, march-heavy style. Satô scored three films in the Godzilla franchise for director Fukuda Jun: Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966), Son of Godzilla (1967), and later Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974).