* Masaru Sato; Music Director for Kurosawa

Masaru Sato, 71, music director for filmmaker Akira Kurosawa who scored such films as “Yojimbo.” Sato composed music for several insignificant films in the early 1950s and the better-known “Godzilla Raids Again.” He met Kurosawa through his teacher, “Rashomon” composer Fumio Hayasaka, whom Sato once described as a god. When Hayasaka suddenly died in 1955, Sato stepped in to complete his score for Kurosawa’s “Ikimono no Kiroku.” Although Sato received no film credit for the work, Kurosawa was so impressed with his efforts that he hired him to compose the music for all his pictures over the next decade. Sato’s music for “Yojimbo” was particularly memorable for its rousing accompaniment to the many samurai battle scenes. Sato also wrote the music for such Kurosawa films as “Red Beard” and “Sanjuro.” The two had a falling out after “Red Beard” in 1965, but Sato remained in demand by other Japanese directors. Sato scored more than 300 films, including several in the Godzilla series. On Sunday in Tokyo after collapsing at a party.