Slow Movement

Initially, this movement was intended to be composed in accordance with the following statement: "In homage to the activities of the commissioner, Ms. Naoko Sugiura, who champions Japanese composers, this movement was to incorporate sounds that I consider uniquely Japanese." However, upon its realization, certain sections became constrained by formal beauty, ultimately resulting in a Western style.

Nevertheless, the sixteenth-note figure appearing from measure 26 onwards is modeled after the second song, "Mushikago" (Insect Cage), from my song cycle "Three Songs by Kansuke Naka". As "Mushikago" itself was composed with a strong awareness of Japanese sounds, I hope that this figure will evoke a Japanese sensibility within the sonata. (Ms. Sugiura commented that it resembled the sound of insects, and indeed, the lyrics of that particular section in "Mushikago" are precisely the onomatopoeic insect cries "chiriri korenren.")