:Fujita Haruko
{{short description|Japanese musician and jurist (1918–2001)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{family name hatnote|Fujita|lang=Japanese}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Fujita Haruko
| native_name = 藤田晴子
| image = Fujita Haruko (cropped).JPG
| image_size =
| caption = Fujita, {{circa|late 1930s}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1918|02|25|mf=yes}}
| birth_place =Tokyo, Empire of Japan
| death_date = {{death date and age|2001|10|10|1918|02|25|mf=yes}}
| death_place =
| restingplace =
| othername =
| occupation = {{cslist|Pianist|music critic|jurist}}
| yearsactive =
| spouse =
| children =
| alma_mater = University of Tokyo
| awards = Order of the Sacred Treasure
}}
{{nihongo|Fujita Haruko|藤田晴子|extra=February 25, 1918 – October 10, 2001}} was a Japanese pianist, teacher, music critic, and jurist. Born to a family of jurists, she became one of the leading Japanese pianists of the 1930s. After the Pacific War she turned from music to jurisprudence, becoming one of the first female students enrolled at University of Tokyo. In later life she primarily worked as an academic, music critic, and constitutional scholar.
Biography
Fujita was born in Tokyo in 1918;{{Cite web |title=藤田 晴子 |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%97%A4%E7%94%B0%20%E6%99%B4%E5%AD%90-1654037 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230224000616/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%97%A4%E7%94%B0%20%E6%99%B4%E5%AD%90-1654037 |archive-date=February 24, 2023 |access-date=February 23, 2023 |website=Kotobank |language=Japanese}} her father was an international lawyer.{{sfn|Sirota Gordon|1997|p=64}} In 1923 she and her family moved to Leipzig, Germany, where she became fluent in German.{{sfn|Sirota Gordon|1997|p=64}} Later in life she also became fluent in English, French, and Italian.
In 1930 Fujita began to study piano with Leo Sirota, who had immigrated to Japan with his family in 1929. In 1931 her father became ill, which strained her family's finances. Sirota pledged to support the development of her talents and taught her free of charge. Later when Fujita was preparing for her public debut recital, Sirota's wife showed her support by gifting her a concert gown.{{sfn|Sirota Gordon|1997|p=64}} Fujita's father died in May 1945.
During the 1930s Fujita ascended into the forefront of Japanese pianists.{{sfn|Yamamoto|2019|p=104}} In 1936 Fujita was the runner-up in the piano division of the Fifth {{ill|Japan Music Competition|ja|日本音楽コンクール}}. The 1937 contest was canceled because of the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, but she shared the top prize with {{ill|Tanaka Sonoko|ja|田中園子}} when it resumed in 1938.{{sfn|Yamamoto|2019|p=161}} In 1941 her Nippon Victor recording of the Japanese Fantasia for piano and orchestra by {{ill|Yamamoto Naotada|ja|山本直忠}} was awarded the Ministry of Education Prize. She was also the member of a piano trio with violinist Suzuki Shinichi and his cellist brother Fumio, which they founded in 1937.
After the start of the Pacific War, Fujita became a frequent soloist in concerts with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.{{sfn|Yamamoto|2019|p=170}} When her teacher Sirota was banned from public performance because of his Jewish heritage, Fujita was abruptly asked to deputize for him in a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in Yokohama.{{sfn|Yamamoto|2019|pp=174–175}} When Sirota and his wife were forcibly relocated to Karuizawa in 1944, Fujita kept her former teacher supplied with food rations.{{sfn|Yamamoto|2019|p=179}} After the war in 1946 Fujita unsuccessfully campaigned for Sirota to remain in Japan.{{sfn|Yamamoto|2019|p=188}}
Changing styles of piano performance disillusioned Fujita.{{sfn|Yamamoto|2019|p=200}} She enrolled at the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, becoming one of the institution's first 19 female students.{{Cite web |title=初めての東大女子入学生は19名 |url=https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/kyodo-sankaku/ja/activities/model-program/library/UTW_History/Page03.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230224013414/https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/kyodo-sankaku/ja/activities/model-program/library/UTW_History/Page03.html |archive-date=February 24, 2023 |access-date=February 23, 2023 |website=Office for Gender Equality, The University of Tokyo |language=Japanese}} After graduating in 1949 she worked as a research assistant at the University of Tokyo, then as a librarian at the National Diet Library; she was promoted to director of the Political Administration Bureau in 1966. After retiring from her post at the National Diet Library, Fujita joined the faculty of Yachiyo International University. She was also a respected constitutional scholar{{sfn|Sirota Gordon|1997|p=64}} and music critic.{{sfn|Yamamoto|2019|p=99}}
Fujita was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class, in 1988. She died on October 20, 2001.
Legacy
In 2009 the Fujita Haruko Memorial Museum was opened in Hachimantai, Iwate.
References
{{reflist}}
=Sources=
- {{cite book |author-last=Sirota Gordon |author-first=Beate |author-link=Beate Sirota Gordon |year=1997 |title=The Only Woman in the Room: A Memoir |location=Tokyo |publisher=Kodansha |isbn=4-7700-2145-3}}
- {{cite book |author-last=Yamamoto |author-first=Takashi |translator-last1=Bantock |translator-first1=Gavin |translator-last2=Inukai |translator-first2=Takao |year=2019 |title=Leo Sirota: The Pianist Who Loved Japan |location=Kashiwa |publisher=First Servant Books |isbn=978-4-9910037-1-4}}
External links
- Fujita Haruko plays a [https://youtube.com/watch?v=ULkpcekmGoQ Mazurka] and [https://youtube.com/watch?v=fq9ND5spfzI Tarantella] by Mitsukuri Shūkichi
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Category:Japanese classical musicians
Category:Japanese classical pianists
Category:Japanese emigrants to Germany
Category:Japanese legal scholars
Category:Japanese women musicians
Category:Musicians from Leipzig
Category:Place of death missing
Category:Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
Category:University of Tokyo alumni