After graduating from university in 1935, he composed while working in a forestry office in Hokkaido as a forestry researcher. In the same year, the first orchestra work “Japanese Rhapsody” won the first prize in an international competition for young composers promoted by Alexander Tcherepnin. In 1938, “Piano Suite”, written in his school days, received an honourable mention at the I.C.S.M. festival in Venice, and he gained worldwide attention. His musical style was nationalistic, featuring traditional Japanese melodie and strong ostinato which persistently repeats motif.
伊福部 昭 ピアノ組曲