Early life Hisaishi was born in
Nakano, Nagano, Japan, as . He started learning the violin at the age of four using the
Suzuki method, and began watching hundreds of movies each year with his father. He attended the
Kunitachi College of Music in 1969, where he majored in
music composition, and collaborated with
minimalist artists as a music engraver. In 1974, Hisaishi wrote music for the anime series
Gyatoruzu, and composed some of his other early works, under his given name. He also composed for
Sasuga no Sarutobi (Academy of Ninja) and
Futari Daka (A Full Throttle). In the 1970s, Hisaishi's compositions were influenced by
Japanese popular music,
electronic music and
New Age music, and by the Japanese electronic band
Yellow Magic Orchestra. He developed his music from
minimalist ideas and expanded toward orchestral work. Around 1975, he presented his first public performance. His first album,
MKWAJU, was released in 1981; his second, the electropop-minimalist
Information, was released a year later. His first major anime scores were for
Hajime Ningen Gyatoruz (1974) and
Robokko Beeton (1976). As he became better known, Hisaishi formulated an alias inspired by American musician and composer
Quincy Jones: the same
kanji in "Hisaishi" can also be pronounced "Kuishi," which is close to the way "Quincy" is transliterated into Japanese as "Kuinshī"; and "Joe" came from "Jones".
Anime film music In 1983, Hisaishi was recommended by
Tokuma, who had published
Information, to create an image album for Hayao Miyazaki's animated film
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. It was the first of many of Miyazaki's films Hisaishi would score. Their collaboration has been compared to that of director
Steven Spielberg and composer
John Williams. In 1985, Hisaishi founded his own recording studio, Wonder Station. In 1986, he scored
Laputa: Castle in the Sky for Miyazaki's newly established
Studio Ghibli; then in the 1990s, scored the Ghibli films
Porco Rosso and
Princess Mononoke. Hisaishi's compositions (including eight theatrical films and one
OVA) become well known as a style associated with early anime. He also composed for such TV and movie hits as
Sasuga no Sarutobi,
Two Down Full Base,
Tonde Mon Pe and the anime
Tekuno porisu 21C (all 1982),
Oz no mahōtsukai (1982),
Sasuraiger (1983),
Futari Taka (1984), and
Honō no Alpen Rose (1985). He also scored the sci-fi adventure series
Mospeada (1983). Other films he scored included,
Birth (Bāsu) (1984),
Arion (1986),
Robot Carnival (1987),
My Neighbor Totoro (1988),
Crest of the Royal Family (1988),
Venus Wars (1989), ''
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) and Ocean Heaven (2010). He also did theme-song arrangements and composed other anime opening, closing, and insert title theme songs such as Mahō Shōjo Lalabel (1980), Hello! Sandybell (1981), Meiken Jolie (1981), Voltron (1981), Ai Shite Knight (1983), Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel: Curtain Call (1986), and Kimagure Orange Road: The Movie'' (1988). Hisaishi also developed a solo music production career. In 1989, he released his first solo album,
Pretender, through his new Wonder Land Inc. label.
1998–2004 In 1998, Hisaishi provided the soundtrack to the
1998 Winter Paralympics. The next year, he composed the music for the third installment of , a series of popular animated educational films about the human body produced by
NHK and the score for the Takeshi Kitano film
Kikujiro, whose title track
Summer became one of his most recognized compositions. In 2001, Hisaishi produced music for another Kitano film,
Brother, and Hayao Miyazaki's animated film
Spirited Away. The opening theme to this film, ''
One Summer's Day, had great popularity, with over 109 million Spotify streams as of April 2026. He also executive-produced the Night Fantasia 4 Movement at the Japan Expo in Fukushima 2001. On October 6, he debuted as a film director in Quartet
, having also written its music and script; it received excellent reviews at the Montreal World Film Festival. His first soundtrack for a foreign film, Le Petit Poucet'', was released the same year. Miyazaki film ''
Howl's Moving Castle was released on November 20, 2004, in Japan. Its main theme, Merry-Go-Round'', became Hisaishi's most commercially successful movie score, with over 137 million
Spotify streams as of September 2025. characterized by a significantly eclectic and contemporary Eastern style. Zhan Li Jun, the
erhu player of the Chinese band
12 Girls Band, featured music from the album in a live concert. The next year, Hisaishi composed and recorded the soundtrack for
Frederic Lepage's film
Sunny and the Elephant, and for Miyazaki's film
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (both released in 2008), and the score for
Jiang Wen's film
The Sun Also Rises (太阳照常升起). In 2008, Hisaishi composed soundtracks for the Academy Award-winning film
Departures. He also scored , a post-
World War II war-crime trial drama, based on the 1959 Tetsutaro Kato novel and film currently being remade and directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa, starring
Masahiro Nakai and
Yukie Nakama. In August 2008, he arranged, performed in, conducted, and played piano in a concert with the World Dream Symphony Orchestra to observe his 25 years of collaboration with director Hayao Miyazaki. Featuring over 1200 musicians, it sold out the world-famous
Budokan. In 2009, Hisaishi released a solo album featuring tracks from
Shellfish and
Departures. In 2010, he became an invited professor at the Japanese National College of Music. In 2013, he composed the score for the
NHK wildlife documentary
Legends of the Deep: Giant Squid , narrated by
David Attenborough, for BBC's Natural World special
Giant Squid: Filming the Impossible. On June 28, 2013, Hisaishi was among those invited to join the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, recognizing people "who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures."
2016–2019 In 2016, Hisaishi was appointed art director of the Nagano City Art Museum. In 2017, he gave three concerts in Paris, similar to his 25-year Ghibli collaboration anniversary concert, performed in the
Palais des Congrès de Paris. In May 2018, Hisaishi performed five sold-out concerts in his North American debut in California, US, at the
San Jose Center for the Performing Arts with
Symphony Silicon Valley. He also wrote the soundtrack for the
TBS Nichiyō Gekijō drama
In This Corner of the World.
2020–present On February 21, 2020, the album
Dream Songs: The Essential Joe Hisaishi was released through
Decca Gold, featuring 28 compositions from Hisaishi's career. On February 19, 2021, the film
Soul Snatcher (赤狐书生)'s soundtrack album
Red Fox Scholar (Original Soundtrack) was digitally released, with 34 compositions ranging from 25 seconds to nearly five minutes in length. In 2022, Hisaishi worked on the
Royal Shakespeare Company theatre production of
My Neighbour Totoro. On March 30, 2023, Hisaishi signed an exclusive recording agreement with
Deutsche Grammophon. Hisaishi composed the soundtrack for the film
Silent Love, released on January 26, 2024. In 2025, Hisaishi composed the soundtrack for
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, his first Western film soundtrack. == Awards and recognition ==