Seiji Ozawa was born in 1935 in Fenytien (now Shenyang, Liaoning, China). His parents were Japanese. Shenyang was under Japanese occupation at the time. When his family returned to Japan in 1944 he started learning the piano. After hurting his finger in a game of rugby in 1950 he became interested in conducting. He studied at the Toho School of Music, Tokyo and graduated with first prizes in composition and conducting. In 1959 he won first prize at the International Competition of Orchestra Conductors in Besançon, France. He was invited to the Tanglewood Music Center where he won a prize for conducting.