NEWS

[Obituary] Professor Emeritus Tatsuhiko Itoh Passes Away at Age 72

Update: September 29, 2025

Professor Tatsuhiko Itoh, who served at ICU from 1992 to 2019, passed away on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at the age of 72. The funeral service will be held as follows.

Date and time: Tuesday, September 30, from 10:00 a.m.
Place: University Chapel
* Upon the family's request, financial offerings will not be accepted.

Professor Tatsuhiko Itoh joined ICU as Assistant Professor in 1992 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1998 and Professor in 2003. For 26 years he made outstanding contributions to education, research, and university administration During his 26 years at ICU he has been active as an educator, administrator and researcher.

His field was musicology, and his studies ranged widely from Haydn to music education and liturgical music. His 2002 book Genius Musicians' Stammbuecher covered a little-researched topic, and is an important contribution to Western musicology in Japan. As an educator, he supervised many undergraduate and graduate students in writing theses. He has striven towards a broad liberal arts education, often taking on students not working directly on musical topics. Many of Professor Itoh's advisees have gone on to illustrious careers in academia and other fields.

Within ICU, he served for many years as Director of the Sacred Music Center, organizing concerts, public lectures, and organ activities. From 2013 to 2017, he introduced many innovations into ICU as the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, particularly those concerning the entrance examination. The new Aptitude Test for Liberal Arts (ATLAS) was widely covered in the media, and increased ICU's status among Japanese and foreign universities.

Outside ICU, he held key roles such as Chair of Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM) organization in Japan, the International Association of Music Libraries (Japanese Branch), and the Japan Society of Liturgical Musicology, making significant contributions to the global musicological community. We hereby express our deepest respect and gratitude for his distinguished achievements.