Culture and Arts Stem from Daily Life

I was born in Tanashi Town and have lived near Tanashi Station all my life. Even before the establishment of this promotion association, I have been involved in activities with individuals who consider the lateral connections with the city’s cultural organizations. As the city’s form has become more solidified, the emergence of this association seems to be a very positive development. My specialty is in the study of Mozart. Salzburg, where Mozart was born, has a population of about 180,000, roughly the same population as the current Nishi Tokyo City.

I have been asked to take on the role of chairman of the promotion association and accepted the position, hoping that I can be of service. Culture and arts originate from the city we live in and are born from our daily lives. Tanashi was a post town where stones were transported during the construction of Edo Castle, and it served as a one-night stopover post town. Even I would only return home to sleep during busy times. From now on, I hope to contribute to the culture and arts of Nishi Tokyo City.

Ebisawa Bin / Born in Tokyo Prefecture. After attending Tokyo Metropolitan Ishigami High School, he graduated from the Aesthetics Department of the Faculty of Letters at the University of Tokyo in 1955. In 1958, he completed his master’s degree program at the same university.

From 1962 to 1964, he studied abroad in France as a recipient of a scholarship from the French government. He served as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Letters at the University of Tokyo, professor at the National University of Music, president, and chancellor, and is currently an emeritus professor.

In 1982, he won the Suntory Prize for the Arts for his work “Rousseau and Music,” and in 1987, he received the Minister of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize for “Musunde Hiraita Kao.” In 1989, he was appointed an honorary member of the Salzburg International Mozarteum Foundation and a member of the Foundation’s Mozart Research Institute. In 1991, he received the NHK Broadcasting Culture Award, and the same year, the Golden Medal of Honor from the State of Salzburg. In 1996, he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon, and in 2007, he was recognized as a Person of Cultural Merit. He has also received the Grand Cross of Merit of the Republic of Austria, the Order of Academic Palms Officer, and the Order of Arts and Culture Officer from the Government of France. He has served as the director of the New National Theatre Opera Training Institute, director of the Japan Mozart Research Institute, president of the Japan Mozart Association, and honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in Bologna.