A selection of incredible soundtrack recordings by Fumio Hayasaka and Masaru Sato, made for films by the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) is now available in a deluxe 4LP vinyl set courtesy of the Doxy label.

The set includes the soundtracks for Rashomon (1950), Ikuru (AKA To Live) (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), Record of A Living Being (AKA I Live In Fear) (1955), Throne Of Blood (1957) and The Hidden Fortress. The 180g LPs are housed in a book-style quadruple gatefold sleeve with full colour artwork.

Doxy has assembled this edition to mark the 100th  anniversary of Kurosawa’s birth. Here’s what they had to say about it:

“Akira Kurosawa’s films dominated Japanese cinema for nearly half a century and his influence has been so widespread and profound that the world’s best filmmakers seem to unanimously sing his praise. He first gained the attention of the international filmmaking community in 1951 when his masterpiece, Rashomon, won top prize at the Venice Film Festival.

“It was during this time that Kurosawa also began collaborating with the award-winning composer Fumio Hayasaka. The two great men soon formed a deep connection, with Kurosawa later commenting that Hayasaka caused him to see film music as a “counterpoint” to the image instead of a mere “accompaniment”. Another promising young composer, Masaru Satō, soon joined the ranks at Toho Studios, working under Hayasaka. However, when Hayasaka died suddenly in 1955, Satō was left on his own to finish the unfinished film score.

“Kurosawa was so impressed with the results that he asked Satō to score his next two films, Throne of Blood and The Hidden Fortress.”

The set is out now; more information and samples here.