Editing Kōichi Sugiyama (section)

==Early life==
Kōichi Sugiyama was born in the Shitaya Ward of Tokyo in 1931. His father, Yokichi Sugiyama, graduated from the Tokyo Imperial University with a degree in pharmacy and served as a health technician in the Aichi Prefecture Government in 1938 before later transferring to the Ministry of Health and Wellfare in 1942<ref>『AERA』 10巻、朝日新聞社出版本部、1997年4月7日、61–62頁</ref>. His mother, Tsutako,  held a career in children's education.

Sugiyama's earliest memories of music were listening to his grandmother sing English hymns to him as a lullaby<ref>https://archive.fo/yGame</ref>. His family enjoyed singing songs such as Schumman's ''"Der Wanderer"'' and Rentaro Taki's ''"Flowers"'' together in a chorus, giving him an exposure to classical music at a very young age. The American bombing of Japan in World War II caused Sugiyama's family to be evacuated from their home in Tokyo to Taketa City in the Otia Prefecture and later Sakeshita City in the Gifu Prefecture, with the family home being destroyed in the resulting fires. The family fell on hard times after the war with Sugiyama contracting scurvy due to the food shortages, but Yokichi kept the family's spirits high by taking cloth he retrieved from their destroyed home and used it to barter for three gramophone records: Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral), Symphony No. 7, and Violin Sonata No. 9 (Kreutzer's Sonata). These records provided much needed relief from the difficulties of life in post-war Japan, with Sugiyama listening to them on a hand-crank gramophone that produced no low tones; he sang the double bass parts himself to fill in the gaps and studied the accompanying sheet music<ref>"僕の音楽のバックグラウンドは、クラシック音楽です。子供の頃に家族３人でシューマン「流浪の民」、滝廉太郎「花」などの歌を合唱で歌って楽しみながら、譜面を読むという音楽の基礎を覚えました。それから、戦後間もない頃に親が買ってくれたベートーベンの交響曲第６番（田園）、第７番、“クロイツェル・ソナタ” といった３曲のレコードを譜面を見ながら、繰り返し聴きましたね。子供の頃は、おもちゃよりもレコードを買ってもらう方が嬉しかったんです。当時は、手巻きの蓄音機だったからジャリジャリした雑音だらけで低音も出ないので、譜面をたよりにコントラバスのパートを自分で歌って補っていました（笑）。" https://archive.fo/7NUdH</ref>.

In 1949 Sugiyama would enroll in Seikei High School of Musashino City and founded the school music club. He reorganized the school orchestra that had become defunct during the war in his third year, becoming the conductor and arranger<ref>https://archive.fo/YpN4C</ref>. Prior to graduating, Sugiyama was approached by the [https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B0%B7%E6%A1%83%E5%AD%90%E3%83%90%E3%83%AC%E3%82%A8%E5%9B%A3 Momoko Tani Ballet Company] to compose a ballet piece for children to perform. This composition, "The Lost Caterpillar" (''迷子の青虫さん''), would mark the young man's first professional opus and be performed for decades to come<ref>DQ30thアニバーサリー 2016, pp. 13、83.</ref>.

Upon graduation Sugiyama planned to enroll in a private music college but was denied entry by each institution he applied to due to not knowing how to play the piano well enough at the time, a strict requisite for admission which was the norm at the time. As purchasing a piano himself for practice was prohibitively expensive, Sugiyama elected to enroll in University of Tokyo instead as it was one of the cheapest options available and pursued a science degree. The love for music would not leave the man's soul, however, and Sugiyama regularly skipped classes to participate in activities at the club he founded in Seikei High School<ref>"Q それほど音楽に傾倒していたのに進学したのは音楽大学ではありませんでしたね
A もちろん音大に進みたくてあらゆる音大から願書を取り寄せたのですが、どの学校にも試験科目に「ピアノの実技」があるのです。当時、家にはピアノがなかったので音楽大学受験のための練習ができませんでした。そこで音楽大学はあきらめて「仕方なく」東京大学に入学しました。東大に通っている間も出身高校の音楽部の活動に足繁く通い、音楽に没頭していましたね。"</ref>. This resulted in him needing to repeat a year, and after graduating Sugiyama found employment as a part-time quality control inspector at a factory through his father's connections. This period wouldn't last long though, as a broadcast of "The Lost Caterpillar" caught the attention of a famous contemporary music critic [https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%89%E5%9D%82%E6%84%9B%E5%BD%A6 Yoshihiko Arisaka], who wrote very favorably of Sugiyama and recruited him into the [https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96%E6%94%BE%E9%80%81 Nippon Cultural Broadcasting radio network]. First assigned to score for the news department's segments, Sugiyama found success as a part of the entertainment division where he was given control over the live performance segment "Hitachi Concert" (''日立コンサート''). This was a very valuable learning experience for the man as it taught him the intricacies of producing and arranging music on a professional level he was not exposed to before. In 1958, Sugiyama would move from radio to television as he took employment with [https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%82%B8%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3 Fuji Television], where he would direct programs such as "The Hit Parade" (''ザ・ヒットパレード'')<ref>Q 大学卒業後は文化放送やフジテレビで活躍されます
A はい。文化放送では最初報道部に配属されたのですが、その後芸能部に移り、生の演奏を放送する「日立コンサート」という番組を担当しました。ここで音楽のプロの作曲・編曲方法を体験したことがその後の作曲人生にとても役立ちました。1958年にはフジテレビに転職し、ディレクターとして「ザ・ヒットパレード」などの番組に携わりました。振り返れば、文化放送でもフジテレビでも常に音楽に関わってきた会社人生でしたね。</ref>.

Sugiyama would continue his career at Fuji Television while also becoming a freelance commercial composer in the 1960's, writing songs for popular musicians such as The Peanuts and The Tigers, which led to some accusations that he gave preferential treatment to his own work on his television programs. He would retire from his position Fuji Television in April of 1965 when the company entered heated disputes with the Japanese Association of Composers and Arrangers over the royalties owed to musical artists, in addition to his payments as a composer becoming greater than his salary as his popularity rose<ref>DQ30thアニバーサリー 2016, pp. 12–14</ref>. He would continue working with the company as a freelance director until 1968, when he would part ways with the company to devote himself entirely to composing.