So it’s 2017, right, and I’m in a Tokyo park trying to entertain a group of small schoolchildren. They’d gathered around to stare at my tattoos (which are rare in Japan), and, in a moment of not knowing what to do, I decided to seek common ground through music.
I sung Katy Perry. No reaction. I sung Taylor Swift. Some giggles, but mostly blank stares.
Then it hit me: I’m in Japan! So I started singing the theme to My Neighbor Totoro, and instantly, a dozen young Japanese children in matching yellow caps burst into song with me, laughing and singing as we shared an odd, beautiful moment of human connection.
Multiply that by about 100 million, and you start to understand the global impact of the wonderful music of Joe Hisaishi.
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Which is why it was no surprise when tickets for Hisaishi’s three concerts this week with the San Francisco Symphony sold out quickly. As a longtime collaborator of Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, Hisaishi has composed scores for such timeless films as Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke. With the continued rise of Studio Ghibli’s profile in the United States, and the rare opportunity to see Hisaishi conduct his own music live at the podium, the auditorium was packed.