Something of a Japanese Disney, Studio Ghibli creates animated masterpieces of sight and sound. Under the direction of founder Hayao Miyazaki, the film and animation studio has prospered and gained international renown since its founding in 1984. Miyazaki’s film career has left a lasting impression on the animation industry and inspired audiences with the powerful messages of his many feature films. The quality that Studio Ghibli instills in its work is revealed through beautiful animation and scoring.
However, the films of Studio Ghibli would not have been nearly as influential without the cooperation of composer Joe Hisaishi. Together, in one of the longest partnerships in animation history, Miyazaki and Hisaishi created masterpieces that forever changed the animation industry and influenced the world of classical music. Joe Hisaishi is one of Japan’s most famous and beloved composers. Born December 6, 1950 in Nakano, Nagano, Japan, Hisaishi is a composer of the 21st-Century period of classical music that possesses an indescribable, unique style of composition.
Born Fujisawa Mamoru, he took on the professional name of Joe Hisaishi, taking inspiration from African-American musician Quincy Jones. In Japanese, “Quincy,” is pronounced similar to “Kuishi,” which can be written in kanji as Hisaishi. The first name “Joe” was derived from “Jones,” easily enough. At the age of five, Hisaishi began to take violin lessons, in which he discovered his passion for music, which he later pursued in attending the Kunitachi College of Music, where he majored in music composition. He was also a student of famous anime composer Takeo Watanabe.
Hisaishi began his musical career in the 1970s, beginning by composing for a small animation project known as Gyatoruzu. Hisaishi’s claim to fame however, is thanks to a recommendation to create an Image Album for the upcoming film Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, (1984). Though the soundtrack for the film was originally to be composed by Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, Hayao Miyazaki was so impressed by Hisaishi’s Image Album that he recommended Hisaishi compose the soundtrack instead, establishing the beautiful partnership of Hisaishi and Miyazaki that has spanned until present day.
Since the beginning of Hisaishi’s partnership with Miyazaki, Hisaishi has been responsible for composing the soundtracks for many of Studio Ghibli’s feature films, including Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, (1984), Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor Totoro, (1988), Kiki’s Delivery Service, (1989), Porco Rosso, (1992), Princess Mononoke, (1997), Spirited Away, (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle, (2004), Ponyo on the Cliff, (2008), The Wind Rises, (2013), and most recently, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, (2013).
Studio Ghibli prides itself on the experience provided by its films, which immerse audiences in elaborate worlds full of imagery provided by the tailored fit of Hisaishi’s sounds and Miyazaki’s sights. Together, they combine to create an inseparable piece of art. The very nature of this imagery directly reflects the deeper meanings of coexistence, harmony, and balance that many of the films share. In composing his music, Hisaishi works together with Miyazaki to create the world.
Rather than creating music to accompany the animation, Hisaishi is given concepts and artwork in the early stages of production, which he then gives life to with his composition. The music is produced alongside the animation to create the emotion and imagery that the worlds of the movies are teaming with. The settings that are created are complete, with a spirit of their own. Hisaishi goes through a process of “expansion” and “reduction” in creating music for the films.
First, he creates a theme and expands on it to create pieces similar to a concert, which becomes the first CD of the soundtrack, the Image Album. The music is presented to Miyazaki in the form of concert pieces, however, these pieces are often fragmented when they are used in the films. In the later stages of production, he reduces these pieces and strategically stretches them out throughout the film. A prime example of this practice would be the main theme for Howl’s Moving Castle, (2004): The Merry-Go-Round of Life, which can be heard throughout the film from the opening scenes all the way into the finale.
Hisaishi’s style of composition is difficult to describe in that it blends many different styles together yet creates something completely new. Hisaishi draws inspiration from impressionism, minimalism, and traditional Japanese music, which separates his style from others. The signature style of Hisaishi is most prominent in Princess Mononoke, (1997,) and Spirited Away, (2001), which possess his most critically acclaimed soundtracks. In fact, Princess Mononoke was once the highest-grossing film in Japan, before Titanic was released next year.
However, Studio Ghibli reclaimed the number 1 spot in 2001 with the release of Spirited Away, the most successful Japanese film in history, and critically acclaimed to be one of the greatest animated films of all time. In Princess Mononoke, Hisaishi mixed eastern and western influences to create a beautiful, haunting score that portrays the conflict between humanity and nature in the late Muromachi period of Japan (1337-1573 C. E. ). Hisaishi illustrates the harmony of nature and traditional life with lush string passages, contrasting with the heavy beat of drums and brass to portray industry and war.
The ending result is a dramatic, gorgeous scenario that creates lasting memories in audiences. Similarly, Spirited Away focuses on the themes of luxury, greed, and loyalty, as well as lost Japanese traditions. In the score, Hisaishi creates a lively atmosphere to portray the spirit world and the ancient bathhouse in which the story takes place, as well as creating drama and mystery in the motifs surrounding the leading characters. An audiovisual masterpiece, Spirited Away is storytelling at its finest and showcases the cooperation between Hisaishi and Miyazaki phenomenally.
Taking a departure from the traditional atmosphere of Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, (1989), Porco Rosso, (1992), and Howl’s Moving Castle, (2004) reveal how European styles influenced Hisaishi. Set in distinctly European lands, these three movies utilize European styles in their instrumentation and structure. The scores of these movies prominently feature pieces in 3/4 time, creating the feeling of a waltz. Instruments such as the accordion, guitar, castanets, and piano play major roles in the melodies of these soundtracks.
The overall mood of the music is light and whimsical, complimenting the themes of self-confidence, love, and courage that these films convey. Howl’s Moving Castle stands out amongst these three films as a more serious, sophisticated piece that illustrates a fantasy world full of romance and magic, with contrasting imagery of war and insecurity. The singular piano and full-fledged orchestra that is characteristic of European music features prominently with large, dance-like music that matches the sweeping emotions of the characters.
The soundtrack’s leitmotif is The Merry-Go-Round of Life, which accumulates many variations over the course of the film which express the diverse emotions of the characters from excitement, to sadness, and to love. Hisaishi later combined these variations from the film to create a concert piece which he performed in the concert Joe Hisaishi in Budokan – Studio Ghibli 25 Years Concert, celebrating the 25 years of musical collaboration between Hisaishi and Miyazaki. Rather than create music as an accompaniment to Miyazaki’s animation, Joe Hisaishi creates music as a commentary in order o interpret visual events and relate them to senses and emotions.
His use of motif shows evidence of this as the music illustrates the emotional progression of Miyazaki’s characters. Many motifs that are tied to the characters reveal themselves at crucial times to emphasize the characters’ emotions. Hisaishi seems to use music as a form of punctuation and uses the presence or absence of music in a scene to create tension and atmosphere. However, Hisaishi’s scores are expansive and don’t leave much room for long periods of silence. In Spirited Away, the longest periods of silence only last about three minutes.
Hisaishi’s style is unique and influential in that it is very flexible, yet iconic and memorable. Hisaishi’s pieces possess a certain je ne sais quoi that audiences can recognize as distinctly his. As a film composer, Hisaishi not only has to create music that grants atmosphere and emotion to the story, but has to match it to a living image. In composing music, he must also decompose it, breaking it down into iconic fragments. This method is something that Hisaishi developed over several years, as evidenced by the evolution of his style throughout his almost 30 years of working with Hayao Miyazaki.
Hisaishi himself reflects the message of a Studio Ghibli film. It is the message of change, the message of balance, and the message of learning to coexist with other forces. Joe Hisaishi played an integral role in the success of Studio Ghibli. Without the collaboration of Miyazaki and Hisaishi, neither of them would have achieved international renown. Through their collaboration, Joe Hisaishi and Hayao Miyazaki have left a profound impact on the world with their beautiful, emotionally charged works.