Joe Hisaishi

Joe Hisaishi
Hisaishi in Paris in 2011
Background information
Native name	久石 譲
Birth name	Mamoru Fujisawa
Born	(1950-12-06) December 6, 1950 (age 66) Nakano, Nagano, Japan
Genres	Film score classical romanticism
Occupation(s)	Composer conductor arranger
Instruments	Piano keyboards violin
Years active	1974–present
Website	joehisaishi.com

Mamoru Fujisawa (藤澤 守, Fujisawa Mamoru^?, born December 6, 1950), known professionally as Joe Hisaishi (久石 譲, Hisaishi Jō^?), is a Japanese composer and musical director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.

While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic, European classical, and Japanese classical. Lesser known are the other musical roles he plays; he is also a typesetter, author, arranger, and conductor.

He has been associated with animator Hayao Miyazaki since 1984, having composed scores for all his films save The Castle of Cagliostro. He is also recognized for the soundtracks he has provided for filmmaker 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano, including A Scene at the Sea (1991), Sonatine (1993), Kids Return (1996), Hana-bi (1997), Kikujiro (1999), and Dolls (2002), as well for the video game series Ni no Kuni. He was a student of legendary anime composer Takeo Watanabe.