Ikuma Dan
Japanese composer, essayist (1924–2001)
Ikuma Dan (團 伊玖磨, Dan Ikuma; 7 April 1924 – 17 May 2001) was a Japanese composer. Dan was born in Tokyo, the descendant of a prominent family, his grandfather Baron Dan Takuma having been President of Mitsui before being assassinated in 1932. He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin and Tokyo Music School in 1946. He studied with teachers including Kosaku Yamada, Kunihiko Hashimoto, Kan'ichi Shimofusa, Saburō Moroi, and Midori Hosokawa.
During his career he completed six symphonies, all recorded and released on the Decca label in Japan, and wrote seven operas as well as a number of filmscores, and many songs. He wrote celebratory music for the Japanese imperial family, actively promoted cultural exchange with China (from 1979 until his death in Suzhou, China, in 2001), and received the commission to write an opera (Takeru) for the 1997 opening of the New National Theatre, Tokyo, Japan's main opera house.
Dan is known in Japan for his 1951 opera Yūzuru (Twilight Crane), which is regularly revived there.
Honors
19th Yomiuri Prize, 1968
Japan Foundation Award, 1998
Works
Stage
Yūzuru (Twilight Crane), opera in 1 act, text by Junji Kinoshita, (Osaka, 1952)
Kikimimizukin (The Listening Cap), opera in 3 acts, text by Junji Kinoshita (Osaka, 1955)
Yōkihi (Yang Guifei), opera in 3 acts, text by Jirō Osaragi (Tokyo, 1958)
Futari Shizuka, dance drama (1961)
Hikarigoke (Luminous Moss), opera in 2 acts, text by Taijun Takeda (Osaka, 1972)
Chanchiki, opera in 2 acts, text by Yoko Mizuki (Tokyo, 1975)
Master Flute Player, ballet (1989)
Susanō, opera, text by Ikuma Dan (1994)
Takeru, opera, text by Ikuma Dan and Kenya Oda (Tokyo, 1997)
Symphonies
Symphony No. 1 in A (1948-49/56-57)
Symphony à la Burlesque (1954)
Symphony No. 2 in B♭ (1955-56/88)
Symphony No.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2381947. VIAF identifies the subject as 14979250. The Library of Congress control number is n79089448. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1924, 2001, 1932 and 1946.
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