Highlights
- Composer Joe Hisaishi has been inducted into Japan’s elite Order of the Rising Sun for his significant contributions to art, particularly his iconic scores for Studio Ghibli.
- Hisaishi has been the lead composer for Studio Ghibli since 1984 and has also worked on other projects, such as The Tale of Princess Kaguya and My Neighbor Totoro stage production.
- Known for his instantly recognizable soundtracks, Hisaishi has received numerous awards throughout his career and has conducted his music with renowned symphonies around the world. Excitingly, he is currently on a world tour.
Award-winning production company Studio Ghibli can add yet another award to its name, though this one is for one particular member of the team. The composer for nearly all of the Studio’s iconic theme music and musical scores, Joe Hisaishi, has been named a recipient of one of the highest honors in Japan. The award is called the Order of the Rising Sun, and is more of an induction into an elite group than a typical award.
Hisaishi was inducted into the Order of the Rising Sun last Friday, November 3rd, 2023. It was announced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which posted this year’s honorees on the website for the Autumn Conferment of Decorations. His name was among the other 1,914 members of the Order. The actual ceremony for induction will take place in Tokyo on November 10th, 2023.
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The Order of the Rising Sun was first established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. It is awarded to those people who have made significant contributions to Japan, outside of anything related to the military. This can be across various fields, including art, which is how it has been awarded to Hisaishi. It has been awarded to many people over the years, not all of whom are Japanese (there are currently 103 foreign members).
Joe Hisaishi has been the lead composer for Studio Ghibli since Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, which released back in 1984. Since then, he has composed the scores for every other Ghibli movie. In addition to Studio Ghibli, Hisaishi also composed the score for The Tale of Princess Kaguya by Isao Takahata, and was the producer for the stage production of My Neighbor Totoro in London.
This is not Hisaishi’s first award, either. In 2010, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The same year, he also won the Japanese Academy Award for “best music” for the sixth time! It is no surprise, either, considering how iconic and memorable many of Studio Ghibli’s soundtracks are. Music like “The Path of the Wind” from My Neighbor Totoro or “One Summer’s Day” from Spirited Away (just to name two!) are instantly recognizable to movie buffs around the world and can be heard playing in shops around Japan on a daily basis.
Joe Hisaishi has toured around the world and is currently in the middle of another world tour. He has conducted some of his music scores with the world’s biggest symphonies, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and the American Symphony Orchestra, to name a few. Hopefully, we still have a lot of years of great music coming from Joe Hisaishi, both for Studio Ghibli and beyond.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork
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