Summary
Award-winning production companyStudio Ghiblican 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’siconic 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 anythingrelated 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 forStudio GhiblisinceNausicaä 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 forThe Tale of Princess Kaguyaby Isao Takahata, and was the producer for the stage production ofMy Neighbor Totoroin 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” fromMy Neighbor Totoroor “One Summer’s Day” fromSpirited Away(just to name two!) areinstantly recognizable to movie buffsaround 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 ofyears of great musiccoming from Joe Hisaishi, both forStudio Ghibliand beyond.
