Kiyoshige Koyama was born in Nagano in the central highlands of Japan in 1914, and studied composition under Kornei Abe, a pupil of Klaus Pringsheim, and Tornojiro Ikenouchi, a pupil of Henri Bussel. His career started late and it was not until after the war that his works began to be performed. His style is based on Japanese folk tradition, the result of the influence of the nationalist group of composers in the 1930s and 1940s, including Ifukube, Fumio Hayasaka, and Urato Watanabe. His compositions include an opera, Sanshyo-Dayu, and a symphonic suite, Masque of Noh Play.