 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pianist based in Fukuoka, specializing in the keyboard works of J.S. Bach. Representative of Yamada Music Academy.
Born in Fukuoka in 1965.
He became interested in the piano after listening to his younger sister play and began lessons in the third term of second grade. However, as a child who could play reasonably well without practicing much, he later came to deeply appreciate the challenge, complexity, and depth of music.
He continued lessons until the latter half of second year in junior high school, but had to stop due to his teacher’s overseas study and his own entrance exams. From then on, he pursued music independently.
At the same time, he discovered band activities, initially playing keyboards. When the drummer broke his wrist two days before a planned live performance, Chikara stepped in to play drums, an experience that later shaped his unique sense of rhythm.
Just as he was encouraging his bandmates to move to Tokyo, he took a course in ear training with his late uncle, Junnosuke Yamada. There he encountered Bach chorales. The music’s intensity, refinement, and simplicity struck him like a hammer blow, transforming his musical perspective and approach.
This awakening led him to a period of rigorous study. Previously uninterested in university, he decided at age 20 to pursue higher education in music, inspired by the freedom and opportunities it could offer.
Although his most familiar instrument was piano, he initially aimed for the composition department, believing his unconventional technique would prevent him from entering the piano department. Starting lessons in composition and piano the year before, he miraculously passed the entrance exam to Musashino Music University.
During the exam period, however, he found himself longing for piano, and on the first day of enrollment requested a transfer to the piano department, which could not be granted. Resolving to pursue Bach in Germany, he spent the following year in Tokyo honing his skills.
The next April, he returned to Fukuoka and studied German for two months. Confident he could speak, he flew to Munich without arranged lodging. Upon arrival, his luggage did not arrive, and he struggled to communicate in German, relying on a notebook and pencil as his only tools.
Despite passing the entrance exam, his lack of preparation in German and absence of contact with the professors led to the remark, “Even if you enter, your seat will not be available.” He tried to argue in Hakata dialect to no avail and returned home early from his tourist visa stay.
Later, he met a Fukuoka-born pianist living in Hamburg, who offered him the use of his home. Chikara embraced this opportunity as a journey to find his music and to experience true solitude. He cut off all external contact, devoting nearly every moment of his 90-day stay to music. The ticking of clocks became the loudest noise, and each second felt intensely precious. Through this extreme focus, he developed a profound awareness of life and death.
In isolation, he reflected on his path and realized, “Music is all I have. It is all I have done, and all I can do.” He resolved to dedicate his life to sharing music with society—a singular, transformative experience.
Back in Japan, Chikara began educational activities to share his music. Having learned mostly on his own, he navigated the early challenges of teaching with the support of his late aunt Nozomi Shiga, a piano teacher, and his late uncle Junnosuke Yamada, a solfège and ear training teacher. Their guidance shaped his distinctive educational style.
At age 42 (2007), he gave his first solo recital featuring an all-Bach program in Fukuoka. The performance was well received, followed by additional concerts in Miyazaki (2007) and Tokyo’s Oji Hall (2008).
In 2013, he performed the Goldberg Variations in Fukuoka, captivating audiences with his unique musical perspective. This led to annual consecutive performances of Bach’s suites (English, French, and Partitas) from 2014, completed in 2022. He also reprised the Goldberg Variations in 2017.
In autumn 2021, Chikara began experiencing loss of finger control, diagnosed as focal dystonia in 2021. He underwent functional brain surgery in October 2024. Through dedicated rehabilitation, he successfully performed a “revival concert” approximately one year later, inspiring and moving his audience.
Chikara regularly leads the Bach-focused course Ongakudō, and operates YouTube channels BACHIKARA (performance) and Sound Recording Lessons (recording feedback). He also performs as a pianist in German Lieder and as a harpsichordist.
Currently, he serves as the representative of Yamada Music Academy, having nurtured and launched numerous musicians into society.
