Joe Hisaishi’s Soundtrack for My Neighbor Totoro (33 1/3 Japan Series)

My Neighbor Totoro is a long-standing international icon of Japanese pop culture that grew out of the partnership between the legendary animator Miyazaki Hayao and the world-renowned composer Joe Hisaishi. A crucial step in the two artists' collaboration was the creation of the album, My Neighbor Totoro: Image Song Collection, with lyrics penned by Miyazaki and Nakagawa Rieko, a famed children's book author, and music composed by Hisaishi. The album, released in 1987 prior to the opening of the film, served not only as a promotional product, but also provided Miyazaki with concrete ideas about the characters and the themes of the film. This book investigates the extent to which Hisaishi's music shaped Miyazaki's vision by examining the relationship between the images created by Miyazaki and the music composed by Hisaishi, with special emphasis on their approaches to nostalgia, one of the central themes of the film. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Examples Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Nostalgia in My Neighbor Totoro Chapter 1 Miyazaki, Hisaishi, and Their Collaboration Joe Hisaishi: A Biographical Sketch The Process of Collaboration Chapter 2 Two Songs from the Image Album “My Neighbor Totoro” (I-1): A Song Rich in Nuance “Hey Let’s Go” (I-3) Chapter 3 Totoro in Music and Sound Mei Meets Totoro Satsuki Meets Totoro Moonlit Flight Totoro to the Rescue Chaptre 4 The Wind and the Forest Image Song with an “Ethnic Feel” The Wind and the Forest in the Film At Home among Trees Chapter 5 Satsuki and Mei “A Haunted House” (S-3) “Mei and the Susuwatari” (S-4) Visiting Mother “A Lost Child” (I-4) Chapter 6 Forgotten Sounds “The Catbus” (I-6) “Fushigi Shiritori Song” (I-7) “Dondoko Festival” (I-10) “The Village in May” (S-2) Conclusion: Forgetting and Remembering A Snapshot from the Past Coming Home to Satsuki and Mei’s House Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 References Filmography Discography Track Lists Index "Miyazaki Hayao's beloved animated film, My neighbor Totoro (1988), expresses nostalgia for both an innocent past and a distant home, sentiments greatly enhanced by Joe Hisaishi's music"-- Provided by publisher