DescriptionTōru Takemitsu, one of the most important Japanese composers of the twentieth century, holds a truly unique position among Asian composers. While a large number of Asian composers trained in Western art music strove to find their own voices by presenting the characteristic musical materials of their traditional music in the foreground or compromising between Eastern and Western traditions, Takemitsu never tried to reconcile East and West in a conciliatory manner or give weight to either of them. Indeed, his output, especially that of his mature third period, allowed his original voice to flourish, moving beyond and blurring the distinction between the two different traditions. In this essay, I trace Takemitsu’s musical journey. Specifically, I discuss his aversion to Japanese music during his early years, the influences of various Western contemporaries such as Anton Webern, Olivier Messiaen, and John Cage, and the reconciliation of his Japanese identity with Western training and influences, his active employment of diverse non-musical subjects such as water and dream, and the resurrection of tonal materials in his third period. I then provide an analysis of one of the representative works of his third period, I Hear the Water Dreaming.