Japanese pianist Muroi Mayako, who practiced 4 hours a day even at 100, dies at 105

Muroi Mayako, a Japanese pianist who continued performing well past the age of 100, died Sunday of age-related illness, Kyodo News and other outlets reported Saturday. She was 105.

Born in Tokyo in April 1921, Muroi began playing the piano at age 6. She graduated top of her class from the Tokyo Music School — now the Tokyo University of the Arts — in 1941, and made her debut in 1945 at a Japan Symphony Orchestra performance held at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo. The Japan Symphony Orchestra was the predecessor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra.

She appeared under her own name in a performance scene in the 1955 film "Here Is a Spring," which depicted the early days of Japanese orchestral music. After training in Austria and Germany, she went on to an international career as one of Japan's leading pianists, with a particular specialty in Beethoven.

Even past the age of 80, she remained active, performing as a soloist with orchestras across Japan. In a 2021 interview with Daily Shincho, she recalled that when she had her single-story home demolished and rebuilt as a two-story house after turning 80, neighbors urged her not to install soundproofing — saying they did not want to lose the sound of her piano. That same year, at 100, she said she was still practicing four hours a day without exception. She also held a centenary special concert at Nikkei Hall in 2021.

Muroi authored several books, beginning with "The Path to Becoming a Pianist" in 1971 and including "Keep Going Every Day — Habits for a Fulfilling Life from a 97-Year-Old Active Pianist" in 2018. She had continued writing a regular column for the Japanese music magazine Monthly Chopin through its most recent issue.