Rentarō Taki

瀧廉太郎　/　不明

American pianist

August 24, 1879 – June 29, 1903　・　Tokyo, Japan

pianist
composer

My Take

Rentarō Taki is one of those figures you encounter and immediately feel a pang of loss for what might have been. Born in 1879 and gone by 1903 at just twenty-three — tuberculosis taking him right as his talent was fully blooming — he still managed to leave Japan some of its most enduring melodies. "Kōjō no Tsuki" alone would have been a career. He trained at the Tokyo Music School, absorbed Western classical forms with serious discipline, and then turned around and used them to capture something distinctly Japanese. There's a bittersweet quality to his music that feels almost self-aware in retrospect, like he somehow knew time was short. A pianist-composer whose whole catalog fits in a few pages yet echoes through Japanese culture well over a century later — that's not a footnote, that's a legacy.

Overview

Rentarō Taki (滝廉太郎, Taki Rentarō; 24 August 1879 – 29 June 1903) was a Japanese pianist and composer of the Meiji era. Taki was born in Tokyo, but moved to many places during his childhood owing to his father's job. He went to Tokyo Music School (now known as Tokyo University of the Arts) and was taught by Nobu Koda, graduating in 1901.

1. Profile

Name (English): Rentarō Taki
Name (Japanese): 瀧廉太郎
Reading: 不明
Born: August 24, 1879 – June 29, 1903
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Virgo / Rabbit
Origin: Tokyo, Japan
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: pianist / composer

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Private

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%80%A7%E5%BB%89%E5%A4%AA%E9%83%8E