Joe Hisaishi in Budokan

Joe Hisaishi in Budokan – 25 years with the Animations of Hayao Miyazaki (久石譲in武道館〜宮崎アニメと共に歩んだ25年間〜, Hisaishi Jo in Budoukan Miyazaki Anime to Tomo ni Ayunda 25 Nenkan) was a concert given on August 4th and 5th, 2008 (plus an added performance on the 6th as tickets had sold out on the first day) at Tokyo's 14,000-seat Nippon Budoukan venue commemorating both the Japanese theatrical premiere of "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" and the 25 years of musical collaboration between composer Joe Hisaishi and film maker Hayao Miyazaki.

This massive concert featured performances of these signature Miyazaki film scores composed by Hisaishi, conducting from the piano, and the 200-member New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra, along with six featured vocalists, the 800 combined voices of the Ippan Koubo, Ritsuyuukai and Little Singers of Tokyo choirs, plus a 160-piece marching band. Altogether there were some 1,160 musicians and singers on stage, backed by images from Miyazaki's films projected on a giant screen.

These performances were recorded and broadcast by NHK in two versions - an edited 1-hour version aired on NHK on 31 August, and the full concert aired on the NHK satellite channel BS2 on 23 September 2008. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released R2 DVD and Blu-ray versions of this 2-hour concert in Japan on 3 July 2009. In 2017, Hisaishi continued his world tour featuring the score from Studio Ghibli films with "Joe Hisaishi Symphonic Concert: Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki".

Overview
"Joe Hisaishi in Budokan" is a commemorative concert that pays tribute to film maker Hayao Miyazaki, and features music from "Castle in the Sky," "My Neighbor Totoro," "Kiki's Delivery Service," "Porco Rosso," "Princess Mononoke," and "Spirited Away," "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea". Over thirty tracks, including an encore were played in the 14,000-seat Nippon Budoukan venue in the summer of 2008.

Rehearsals were held at the Makuhari Messe Exhibition Hall on August 2nd and 3rd, 2008. The space was chosen so that the 1,200 concert participants could meet and rehearse, and the stage was set up just like the actual performance. A huge of 88 x 162 meter custom-made screen was also installed. The rehearsal lasted about six hours in a span of two days.

Arrangements
Joe Hisaishi elaborates on, "For this concert, I wrote a new score tailored made for a large-scale orchestra, and it is a large orchestra with 6 tubes and 24 strings. The opening timpani of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" is also a double timpani made for two players... and it is a large family including musical instruments with various percussion (Japanese drums, taiko drums, chanchiki, etc.)."

The songs that were played as the venue's background music (BGM) before the performance were "Music a del Museo," "Birthday 15+," and "La neve è rimossa (Musica del Museo Terzo Parte)," which are used as the venue BGM for the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo. The music presented during Hayao Miyazaki's birthday has not been made into a museum original BGM or CD.

"Bygone Days" (Porco Rosso) is a jazzy organization featuring Joe Hisaishi on the piano, accompanied by saxophone, trombone, and tuba.

"Cave of Mind" (Howl's Moving Castle) is directed by the trombone and trumpet banda from the front row of the first floor stand.

Joe Hisaishi faced a challenged in arranging the order of music that would be played, "I was worried about various balances at the Budokan performance. First of all, there are nine works ranging from "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" to "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea", so it was a challenge to compose them. I began with "Nausicaä", "Castle in the Sky", "My Neighbor Totoro", "Kiki's Delivery Service" as they are the simplest and most reassuring, but I had to find a way to insert "Princess Mononoke". As the concert was ongoing, the audience can predict that "it's in the middle of the moment"."

"Instead, what is needed to betray the audience's prediction is "composition". Shooting a movie is the same way, the composition leaves an impression. The charm of the movie is "suspended". It means "suspended", but what happens to the audience? I think it's necessary to have a feeling of excitement that pulls in. The balance between the image and the music. It's no good if the screen is too big. Humans get a strong impression of the image, so the music sticks to the image. If it feels like it's terrifying, there's no point in having a concert. However, if it's too small, the image will be a bonus, so that's no good. 88 meters x about 162 meters, it's huge, but it's just balanced. I think it was a nice size screen."

"Usually, when I perform my concerts at Suntory Hall, I have the same age limit as a general classical concert, but this time I've made it possible for children and babies to come. It's a large scale concert that I've never done before, and I wish I could have this experience elsewhere. People who liked music will love it more because of this concert. I'd be happy if there were people who wanted to become musicians in the future. I think it made sense to hold this concert just because they thought that music was good. There are people who chose the chorus in the above, but they all seemed to be pleased. The participation of the publicly recruited chorus was that I was particular about "I really want to join". After that, I got a booklet that they wrote together, and I was happy with that. No, I'm really glad I did this concert."

Release
Joe Hisaishi in Budokan was recorded and broadcast by NHK in two versions - an edited 1-hour version aired on NHK on 31 August, and the full concert aired on the NHK satellite channel BS2 on 23 September 2008. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released R2 DVD and Blu-ray versions of this 2-hour concert in Japan on 3 July 2009. In 2017, Hisaishi continued his world tour featuring the score from Studio Ghibli films with "Joe Hisaishi Symphonic Concert: Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki".