Hikari Oe

  Hikari Oe (大江 光 Ōe Hikari, born 1963) is a Japanese composer who has autism. He is the son of Japanese author Kenzaburo Oe.

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Hikari Oe was born developmentally disabled. Doctors tried to convince his parents to let their son die, but they refused to do so. Even after an operation, Oe remained visually impaired, developmentally delayed, epileptic and with limited physical coordination. He does not speak much.

When Oe expressed interest in music, his parents arranged a piano teacher, Kumiko Tamura, for him. Instead of speaking, Oe began to express his feelings in music and through musical composition. Eventually he was taught musical notation.

Kenzaburo Oe has credited his son for influencing his literary career because he tried to give his son a "voice" through his writing.

Published works

• Music of Hikari Oe, Vol. 1 by Hikari Oe, Hiroshi Koizumi, and Akiko Ebi (Audio CD)
• Music of Hikari Oe, Vol. 2 by Hikari Oe, Hiroshi Koizumi, Akiko Ebi, and Tomoko Kato (Audio CD)