Sugiyama, Koichi

Birth name: 椙山 浩一 (Sugiyama Koichi)

Koichi Sugiyama was a Japanese music composer, council member of JASRAC (Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers, and Publishers), and honorary chairman of the Japanese Backgammon Society. He was best known for composing music for the Dragon Quest video game series, which is published by Square Enix and several Japanese TV shows, such as Space Runaway Ideon, Cyborg 009, and Gatchaman.

A classically trained conductor, he was considered a primary inspiration for other game music composers such as Nobuo Uematsu, and has been referred to as a "Big boss of game music." Prior to his death, the Japanese government honored him with Order of the Rising Sun and named him a Person of Cultural Merit. Sugiyama was also active in politics and activism, promoting ideas such as Japanese nationalism while denying Japanese war crimes.

Date of death: September 30, 2021 (aged 90)