Joe Hisaishi is the score composer of every Miyazaki film since Nausicaa.
If anyone deserves this honor, it’s Hisaishi.
The Order of the Rising Sun
On April 10th of 1875, Emperor Meiji had established the Order of the Rising Sun. This Order is awarded to people who have distinguished themselves through exemplary service to the state of Japan. It’s the third highest Order currently granted by the Japanese government, and the highest ordinarily conferred one (with Order of the Chrysanthemum reserved for the heads of state or royalty, and Order of the Paulownia Flowers for politicians in general).
This, of course, makes it all the more impressive that on November 3, the Japanese Government's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced Joe Hisaishi to be one of 4179 of the recipients of this Order. The award ceremony will be held this November 10th in Tokyo (with local ceremonies held in corresponding prefectures).
Who is Hisaishi?
Joe Hisaishi, born on December 6, 1950, has been working with Studio Ghibli for nearly 40 years by now, enhancing many fantastical, magical worlds with his beautiful orchestral compositions. In fact, he composed the scores for every Miyazaki movie, starting with Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa), including My Neighbour Totoro (Tonari no Totoro), Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime), Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi), Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl no Ugoku Shiro) and the recent The Boy and the Heron (Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka) — as well as many, many more.
Naturally, this is not Hisashi’s first award, as he justifiably received several Japan Academy Awards and Best Music Awards over his career — though it is arguably the highest one so far on his impressive resume.
It’s no secret that Japan takes its multimedia industry very seriously. During the opening of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, athletes from all around the world paraded to the music from many popular Japanese video games, such as “Song of the Ancients” from Nier, “Hero’s Fanfare” and “Olympus Coliseum” from Kingdom Hearts and “Star Light Zone” from Sonic the Hedgehog, among others. Still, it is pleasantly surprising to see such high recognition of the industry’s best from the Japanese state. In fact, this is what Hisaishi said on receiving the Order of the Rising Sun:
“This is an honorable award. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I want to continue to be active in my activities.”
Hisaishi’s contributions to world culture are indisputable, and we sincerely hope he will continue to bring us more magical experiences in the following years.
Joe Hisaishi is the score composer of every Miyazaki film since Nausicaa.
If anyone deserves this honor, it’s Hisaishi.
The Order of the Rising Sun
On April 10th of 1875, Emperor Meiji had established the Order of the Rising Sun. This Order is awarded to people who have distinguished themselves through exemplary service to the state of Japan. It’s the third highest Order currently granted by the Japanese government, and the highest ordinarily conferred one (with Order of the Chrysanthemum reserved for the heads of state or royalty, and Order of the Paulownia Flowers for politicians in general).
This, of course, makes it all the more impressive that on November 3, the Japanese Government's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced Joe Hisaishi to be one of 4179 of the recipients of this Order. The award ceremony will be held this November 10th in Tokyo (with local ceremonies held in corresponding prefectures).
Who is Hisaishi?
Joe Hisaishi, born on December 6, 1950, has been working with Studio Ghibli for nearly 40 years by now, enhancing many fantastical, magical worlds with his beautiful orchestral compositions. In fact, he composed the scores for every Miyazaki movie, starting with Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa), including My Neighbour Totoro (Tonari no Totoro), Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime), Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi), Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl no Ugoku Shiro) and the recent The Boy and the Heron (Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka) — as well as many, many more.
Naturally, this is not Hisashi’s first award, as he justifiably received several Japan Academy Awards and Best Music Awards over his career — though it is arguably the highest one so far on his impressive resume.
It’s no secret that Japan takes its multimedia industry very seriously. During the opening of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, athletes from all around the world paraded to the music from many popular Japanese video games, such as “Song of the Ancients” from Nier, “Hero’s Fanfare” and “Olympus Coliseum” from Kingdom Hearts and “Star Light Zone” from Sonic the Hedgehog, among others. Still, it is pleasantly surprising to see such high recognition of the industry’s best from the Japanese state. In fact, this is what Hisaishi said on receiving the Order of the Rising Sun:
“This is an honorable award. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I want to continue to be active in my activities.”
Hisaishi’s contributions to world culture are indisputable, and we sincerely hope he will continue to bring us more magical experiences in the following years.
