For me, 2006 was a memorable year. I created three works in completely different styles that year: the song "Ke no Motif" (Hair Motif), which incorporated rock idioms (winner of the Sogakudo Song Competition); "Let’s play a duet!", which explored new horizons for piano duets (commissioned by my close friends Seo & Kato); and "Koi no Shudai" (Theme of Love), which aimed for fresh music with a tonal background.

I believe "Koi no Shudai" is quite an atypical piece among all my compositions. Although I have not written any other pieces in this style since then, listening to this work again after a long time made me realize anew that my musical essence might, after all, lie in "tonality (a popular song composer?)".

(Reprinted from the program notes for "Presentation Part 40: Contemporary Works," June 17, 2012)