Joe Hisaishi: Studio Ghibli’s Man of Music

For more than 40 years, the Japanese composer has partnered with filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki to make some of the world’s most fascinating animated films.

Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi poses backstage with the Best Composer award for his work on "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" during the Asian Film Awards 2009 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Hong Kong on March 23, 2009. Victor Fraile/Getty Images

Joe Hisaishi is a famed Japanese movie and independent composer. His music evolved from Japanese electronic music of the 70s into the symphonic and cinematic masterpieces he is internationally praised for.

He has composed for some of Japan’s most famous animated films, including “Princess Mononoke,” “Laputa: Castle in the Sky,” “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” and “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.”