Student of Fumio Hayasaka's, Masaru Sato really started his career as a composer in 1955, when he landed the coveted role of composing for the second Godzilla film, Godzilla Raids Again (1955). While his score for the second Godzilla movie is often regarded as his worst theatrical scoring, the composer still showed great promise and was teamed up with Ishiro Honda for his next film, Half Human (1955). Unfortunately, Sato's teacher, Hayasaka, died the very same year that Sato began his career at Toho. Stuck with an unfinished score for I Live in Fear (1955), Sato was brought onto the project to finish the soundtrack for the film. Sato's work struck a chord with the director, Akira Kurosawa, who would use Sato on everyone of his films up to Red Beard (1965). Just when his partnership with Kurosawa was ending, though, director Jun Fukuda brought Sato in to score his latest Godzilla film, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966), choosing Sato over the favored Akira Ifukube to work the film. Sato would return to compose for two additional Godzilla films, and its his work on the Godzilla series and his scores for Kurosawa's film that he would be most remembered for.

Composer Toho Filmography
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Half Human (1955)
I Live in Fear (1955)
Vampire Moth (1956)
Throne of Blood (1957)
The Lower Depths (1957)
The Living Koheiji (1957)
Bitchy Old Hag (1957)
Successful Bitchy Old Hag: Doto uhen (1957)
Vulgar Bitchy Old Hag: Fu uhen (1957)
H-Man (1958)
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
I Want to Be a Shellfish (1958)
Desperado Outpost (1959)
One Day I... (1959)
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
The Gambling Samurai (1960)
Westward Desperado (1960)
University no Sanzokutachi (1960)
The Last Gunfight (1960)
Yojimbo (1961)
Challenge to Live (1961)
Hell no Kyoen (1961)
The Underworld no Bullet Marks (1961)
Sanjuro (1962)
The Crimson Sky (1962)
Operation Enemy Fort (1962)
Thief's Monthly Salary (1962)
Samurai Pirate (1963)
High and Low (1963)
Warring Clans (1963)
The Elegant Life of Mr. Everyman (1963)
Operation X (1963)
Legacy of the 500,000 (1963)
Oh! My Bomb! (1964)
Could I But Live (1964)
Fort Graveyard (1965)
Red Beard (1965)
100 Shot, 100 Killed (1965)
Samurai Assassin (1965)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Zero Fighter (1966)
Moment of Terror (1966)
The Mad Atlantic (1966)
Sword of Doom (1966)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Prime Growth (1967)
Epoch of Murder Madness (1967)
Japan's Longest Day (1967)
River of Forever (1967)
Booted Babe, Busted Boss (1968)
Kill! (1968)
Admiral Yamamoto (1968)
Neck (1968)
Elder's no Sweetheart (1968)
Festival of Gion (1968)
Battle of the Japan Sea (1969)
Red Lion (1969)
Japan Supports Printing Washudan (1969)
Samurai Banners (1969)
Band of Assassins (1969)
Goyokin (1969)
The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan (1970)
City of Beasts (1970)
Incident at Blood Pass (1970)
The Ambitious (1970)
Battle of Okinawa (1971)
Eternal Cause (1972)
Japan Sanjushi: Osaraba Tokyo no Volume (1972)
Submersion of Japan (1973)
Long Journey Into Love (1973)
Japan Sanjushi: Place Where Mother's Side of the Family End's One Long Volume (1973)
Senile Person (1973)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Lupin the Third: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy (1974)
Fresh Leaves Shigereru (1974)
Battle Cry (1975)
Without Pillars (1975)
Between Women and Wives (1976)
Figure Sanshiro (1977)
Sweet Revenge (1977)
The Alaska Story (1977)
Blue Stigma (1978)
Nomugi Pass (1979)
Highest Honor (1982)
The Silk Road (1988)
Rainbow Kids (1991)
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) Minilla's Theme, Mechagodzilla's Theme