Joe Hisaishi (born Mamoru Fujisawa, 1950) is a Japanese composer, conductor and pianist whose partnership with director Hayao Miyazaki - spanning every Studio Ghibli film from Nausicaä (1984) to The Boy and the Heron (2023) - made him one of the most recognised film composers in the world. With over 100 film scores and nearly 40 solo albums, he moves fluidly between orchestral film music, minimalist concert works and classical conducting. Since 2023 he has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, and holds posts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Century Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Hisaishi composed the score for A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, his first Western film soundtrack.
Deutsche Grammophon released Joe Hisaishi Conducts, pairing his orchestral work The End of the World with Steve Reich's The Desert Music.
Hisaishi made debut performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and at the BBC Proms with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hisaishi became Music Director of the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra from the 2025-26 season and was named Composer-in-Residence of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Hisaishi announced a 2026 world tour of over 40 concerts across the USA, Canada, Japan, France, the Netherlands, UK, Germany and Switzerland.
