was a Japanese composer.

Life

Kikuko Kawahira was born on the Ryukyu island of Miyako-jima

Miyako-jima

Miyakojima is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It lies approximately 400 kilometres east of Taipei, Taiwan...

, Okinawa, and studied voice at the Nihon Music School and composition at the Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 Academy of Music with Kanichi Shimofusa

Kanichi Shimofusa

Kanichi Shimofusa was a Japanese composer.Kanichi Shimofusa was born in Sunahara, Haramichi-mura, Saitama . He studied composition with Kiyoshi Nobutoki at Tokyo Music School , where he graduated first on the list in 1920...

 and Kishio Hirao. Working as a composer, she produced songs and orchestral music using the Ryukyuan pentatonic scale.

In 1954 she studied the dodecaphonic method in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 with Hans-Joachim Koellreutter

Hans-Joachim Koellreutter

Hans-Joachim Koellreutter was a composer, teacher and musicologist...

, and incorporated atonal composition into her work. She was awarded the Mainichi Prize for Cultural Publication in 1955, and a prize by the Okinawan government for her opera Okinawa monogatari in 1968. She died in Tokyo.

Works

Selected works include:

• Ryūkyū no min’yō (‘Folksongs of Ryūkyū’) 1954
• Okinawa monogatari opera
• Miyako-jima engi (Legend of Miyako Island) (ballet), 1949
• Ryūkyū hiwa (A Hidden Story of Ryūkyū) (jazz ballet), 1951
• Hiren Karafune (Love Tragedy on Tang Boat) (op, 4, Kanai and K. Yano), 1960
• Okinawa monogatari (Tale of Okinawa), 1997
• Symphony, no.1, 1938
• Okinawa buyō kumikyoku (Okinawan Dance Suite): no.1, 1940, no.2, 1946
• Ryūkyū kyōsōkyoku (Ryūkyū Rhapsody) no.1, 1946
• Symphony, no.2, 1946
• Uruma no shi (Poem on Uruma), 1952
• Festival Overture ‘Hishō’, 1972
• Ryūkyū kyōsōkyoku no.2, pianoforte octet, 1950
• Ryūkyū Ballade, pianoforte, 1951
• Sonata, violin, pianoforte, 1952
• Brazil Rhapsody, pianoforte, 1955
• Hamachidori hensōkyoku (Variations on Hamachidori), koto, Electone, percussion, 1970
• Okinawa min'yō niyoru gasshōkyoku-shū (Choral Pieces on Okinawan Folksongs), 1953–60
• Haha to ko no Okinawa no uta (Okinawan Songs for a Mother and Children), 1965

Her work has been recorded and issued on CD, including:

• Just For Me - Noriko Ogawa plays Japanese piano music (1997) BIS
• Bridges to Japan Audio CD (October 17, 2000) Bis, ASIN: B0000508RU