, known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, conductor, and pianist. Over the course of his career, Hisaishi has received over 73 award nominations and has won 43. Hisaishi was recognized by the Government of Japan with the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon in 2009, and again in 2023 with the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette. For his contributions across his career, Hisaishi was presented the Golden Mulberry Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2015 Far East Film Festival and the Winsor McCay Award at the 2024 Annie Awards.
Hisaishi began his career creating minimalist and electronic pieces, but he gradually moved to writing for orchestra and creating film scores for directors like Isao Takahata. However, he still occasionally revisited his minimal style, such as his work on Takeshi Kitano's A Scene at the Sea(1991), for which he won Best Music at the Mainichi Film Awards. Hisaishi has since become internationally known for his soundtracks for the films of Hayao Miyazaki, which had started with their collaboration on Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind(1984). He went on to score several of the highest-grossing films in Japan, and received a number of awards and nominations for his work on the soundtracks of Studio Ghibli films, including wins at the Annie Awards, Japan Gold Disc Awards, and Mainichi Film Awards for the music of Spirited Away(2001), as well as a nomination for Best Original Score at the Golden Globe Awards for the music of The Boy and the Heron(2023). Hisaishi has also received 16 nominations at the Japan Academy Film Prize in the Outstanding Achievement in Music category between 1991 and 2015, earning the award eight times among them.
Accolades
+ Award / Organization Year Category Nominated work(s) Result Asian Film Awards 2009 Best Composer Ponyo 2015 Best Composer Gone with the Bullets 2018 Best Original Music Our Time Will Come Annie Awards 2003 Music in an Animated Feature Production Spirited Away 2010 Music in a Feature Production Ponyo 2015 Music in a Feature Production 2024 Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production Winsor McCay Award Blue Dragon Film Awards 2005 Best Music Welcome to Dongmakgol Chicago Film Critics Association 2003 Best Original Score Spirited Away Decoration Bureau of the Cabinet Office 2009 Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon 2023 Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette Dorian Awards 2024 Film Music of the Year Far East Film Festival 2015 Golden Mulberry Award for Lifetime Achievement Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2023 Best Score 2018 Best Score/Music Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom Golden Globe Awards 2024 Best Original Score Golden Horse Awards 2017 Best Original Film Score Our Time Will Come Grand Bell Awards 2006 Best Music Welcome to Dongmakgol Hong Kong Film Awards 2006 Best Original Film Score 2008 Best Original Film Score 2018 Best Original Film Score Our Time Will Come Houston Film Critics Society Awards 2024 Best Original Score International Cinephile Society Awards 2010 Best Original Score Ponyo 2015 Best Score 2024 Best Score International Film Music Critics Association Awards 2007 Best Original Score for Television 2008 Best Original Score for an Animated Film Ponyo 2011 Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch 2014 Best Original Score for an Animated Film 2018 Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom 2024 Film Score of the Year Best Original Score for an Animated Film Best Archival Release Japan Academy Film Prize 1991 Outstanding Achievement in Music Kanbakku / Tasmania Story / Tsuribaka Nisshi 2 / 1992 Outstanding Achievement in Music 1993 Outstanding Achievement in Music 1994 Outstanding Achievement in Music Sonatine / / Samurai Kids 1997 Outstanding Achievement in Music Kids Return 1999 Outstanding Achievement in Music Hana-bi 2000 Outstanding Achievement in Music Kikujiro 2003 Outstanding Achievement in Music Dolls 2007 Outstanding Achievement in Music Yamato 2009 Outstanding Achievement in Music Ponyo Departures 2011 Outstanding Achievement in Music Villain 2013 Outstanding Achievement in Music Tenchi: The Samurai Astronomer 2014 Outstanding Achievement in Music Tokyo Family / The Tale of the Princess Kaguya 2015 Outstanding Achievement in Music Japan Gold Disc Awards 2002 Animation Album of the Year Spirited Away 2009 Instrumental Album of the Year Piano Stories Best '88-'08 Soundtrack Album of the Year Ponyo 2024 Classic Album of the Year Japan Record Awards 1997 Composition Award 2001 Gold Award Japanese Movie Critics Awards 2009 Best Film Music Artist Departures / Ponyo JASRAC Awards 1999 Bronze Award Princess Mononoke 2003 Gold Award Spirited Away 2007 Gold Award Howl's Moving Castle Korean Film Awards 2005 Best Music Welcome to Dongmakgol Laurence Olivier Awards 2023 Best Original Score or New Orchestrations My Neighbour Totoro Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2005 Best Music Howl's Moving Castle Mainichi Film Awards 1991 Best Music 1992 Best Music Porco Rosso / 2001 Best Music Spirited Away Music Awards Japan 2025 Best Classical Album 2026 Best Classical Album Joe Hisaishi Conducts Saturn Awards 2003 Best Music Spirited Away Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards 2024 Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film Tokyo Anime Award 2002 Best Music Spirited Away 2005 Best Music Howl's Moving Castle Yokohama Film Festival 1992 Best Music
Other accolades Guinness World Records + Year Record Record holder 2025 Most tickets sold by a classical composer at the Tokyo Dome (single run) Hisaishi 2026 Highest-selling classical run in the Hollywood Bowl Longest residency by a classical composer at Radio City Music Hall (single run)
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