In 1974 Hisaishi wrote music for the anime series Gyatoruzu, and composed some of his other early works, under his given name. He attended the Kunitachi College of Music in 1969, where he majored in music composition, and collaborated with minimalist artists as a music engraver. He started learning violin at the Violin School Suzuki Shinichi at the age of four, and began watching hundreds of movies each year with his father. Hisaishi was born in Nakano, Nagano, Japan, as Mamoru Fujisawa ( 藤澤 守, Fujisawa Mamoru). He was a student of anime composer Takeo Watanabe. He is also recognized for his music for filmmaker 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano, including A Scene at the Sea (1991), Sonatine (1993), Kids Return (1996), Hana-bi (1997), Kikujiro (1999), Brother (2000), and Dolls (2002), and for the video game series Ni no Kuni. He has been associated with director and animator Hayao Miyazaki since 1984, having written scores for all but one of Miyazaki's films. He has also worked as a music engraver and arranger. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic, Western classical, and Japanese classical. 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, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.
