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Ghibli's Composer Joe Hisaishi Warns Against Unauthorized Use of His Music

Among all anime music composers, only a few have left a mark on the anime industry. One of those composers is Joe Hisaishi, the composer for many of the songs featured in Studio Ghibli movies such as Spirited Away, Nausicaä, My Neighbor Totoro. His memorable scores have shaped music heard in anime. However, Hisaishi recently revealed on X (formerly Twitter) on April 26 that he does not want any unauthorized use or arrangements of his music.

In Hisaishi's statement, his company Wonder City Inc. requested those without permission to cease arranging his scores and including his name in the title of concerts.

Removing Hisaishi's name in the title of concerts is understandable. By using his name, it gives the appearance he is/was involved in the planning of the performance. Due to an individual's right to their name, image, and likeness, the unauthorized use of Hisaishi's name in the title of a concert would violate his rights.

However, Hisaishi's reasons for arranging his scores is a bit trickier. At face value, rearranging Hisaishi's scores without his expressed permission is a violation of his copyright. However, while practicing a piece for a performance, musicians and composers often make small modifications to the score to suit their needs. These might include adding or removing a crescendo or decrescendo, changing the dynamic notation, or some other factor. So, would this be a violation of Hisaishi's copyright? Either way, full rearrangements, such as a medley, would infringe on Hisaishi's copyright and should not be done without his permission.

Hisaishi is well within his rights to enforce his copyright to the music he has composed. While copyright laws differ from nation to nation, there is likely some commonality within those laws.

Joe Hisaishi has composed the scores for all of Hayao Miyazaki's films from Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind onwards. He also composed the score for Isao Takahata's film The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, and was the executive producer of the stage version of My Neighbor Totoro at London's Barbican Centre in 2022.

The Japanese government honored Hisaishi with the Order of the Rising Sun Award, Gold Rays with Rosette for his significant contributions to the country last November.

Source: Joe Hisaishi X/Twitter account, Joe Hisaishi website