This study presents the three solo flute works of Toru Takemitsu and their common traits, in order to create a comprehensive understanding of the works individually, and as a subgroup of Takemitsu’s works. Each piece makes use of the Japanese concept of ma, or space, as a structural device, hollow-tone trills and multiphonics, and the layering of several nonmusical programmatic inspirations are featured in each work. Voice was inspired by the poetry of Shuzo Takiguchi and combines theatrical elements in the style of Japanese Noh theater. Itinerant: In Memory of Isamu Noguchi was Takemitsu’s dedication to his friend, the artist Isamu Noguchi. The two shared an interest in international identities, which Takemitsu sought to create using wind and shakuhachi flute as programmatic references. Finally, Air was written as a sketch for a flute concerto. It contains each of Takemitsu’s compositional traits in a more traditional Western framework. Takemitsu’s flute works imitate the shakuhachi and Noh flutes as Takemitsu’s attempt to bridge Japanese and Western musical elements. Each of these compositional elements appears throughout Takemitsu’s catalog, which this study discusses briefly, and are especially prevalent in his works for solo flute. / School of Music