A musician who spent his youth in New York City in the hot late 60s, made his debut in Tokyo in the 80s, and since then has been tirelessly active and progressive, and continues to struggle outside the society of Japan. (Outside Society)

Appearing in the book: Yokoo Tadanori, Shuji Terayama, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Kishin Shinoyama, Seiji Ozawa, Yukio Mishima, Miles Davis, Andy Warhol, Yuji Takahashi, Takehisa Kosugi, Steve Lacy, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bill Bruford, Keiji Haino, Mutsuro Takahashi, John Zorn, Peter Hammill, Maddy Prior, Dave Mattacks, Horace Silver, John Cage, Terry Riley, Kazue Sawai, Hiromi Ohta, EPO, John Cale...

Ayuo Takahashi is a musician (songwriter, lyricist, composer, vocalist, and guitarist) with over 20 albums released in Japan and the United States. Ayuo grew up in New York during the 1960s, interacting with many cultural figures while still a child including Seiji Ozawa, Toru Takemitsu, Yokoo Tadanori, Hiroshi Teshigahara, John Cage, and others. He has recordings with Ryuichi Sakamoto, John Zorn, and Peter Hammill, among others, released on JVC, Tzadik, MIDI, Epic-Sony, and other labels. He continues to create works based on medieval mythology and contemporary literature. In recent years, Ayuo's work has increasingly included music theater and chamber music mixed with dance and theatrical elements. He is also a journalist writing about music, films, and culture for magazines in Japan. In 2020, the compilation album "Kankyo Ongaku: Japanese Ambient Music," which includes Ayuo's composition "Nagareru," was nominated for a U.S. Grammy Award. His recent works are available at ayuo.bandcamp.com.