Japanese Classical

Japanese classical music encompasses a wide range of compositions and styles melding traditional Eastern elements with Western classical structures. With roots extending back to the Meiji Restoration, when Japan opened itself to Western influences, the genre often reflects a unique fusion that reveres the aesthetics of Japanese culture. It utilizes both Western instruments and traditional ones like the koto and shamisen, embracing pentatonic scales and the sensitive subtleties of Japanese nature and poetry. Contemporary composers such as Toru Takemitsu have elevated the genre with their serene yet avant-garde techniques, while others like Joe Hisaishi and Nobuo Uematsu have brought it to broader audiences through film scores and video game music, blending symphonic textures with indigenous melodies to create evocative soundscapes that resonate with emotional storytelling.

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Akio Yashiro
Akira Ifukube
Akira Kosemura
Akira Miyoshi
Akira Nishimura
Andrea Battistoni
Andrew MacGregor
Benyamin Nuss
Brueder Selke
Carol Wincenc
Claudio Jacomucci
Clive Bell
Cornelius Boots
Dai Fujikura
Duo En
Eckehard Stier
Ensemble Modern
Flute Shakuhachi
Fumio Hayasaka
Hajime Mizoguchi
Hideo Osaka
Hikaru Hayashi
Hirofumi Nakamura
Hiromitsu Agatsuma
Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Jaques Morelenbaum
Jean-Pierre Rampal
Jin Oki
Jo Kondo
Joe Hisaishi
Junichi Hirokami
Junko Ueda
Jérémy Jouve
Kaori Muraji
Katarzyna Mycka
Keigo Mukawa
Keiichiro Shibuya
Keiko Abe
Kenichi Kawamoto
Kiyoshi Shomura
Ko Omura
Koichi Morita
Kojiro Umezaki
Kotaro Fukuma
Kyohei Sorita
Liu Fang
Marc Grauwels
Mariko Senju
Masaki Sakamoto
Masako Ohta
Michiyo Yagi
Michiyoshi Inoue
Momokusu Iwata
NHK Symphony Orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Nobuo Uematsu
Norichika Iimori
Noriko Ogawa
Noriko Tsukagoshi
Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra
PianoDeuss
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
Riley Lee
Rinko Kobayashi
Rintaro Akamatsu
Rodrigo Rodriguez
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryusuke Numajiri
Saito Kinen Orchestra
Satoshi Hashimoto
Sayuri Hayashi Egnell
Shinichi Suzuki
Shinobu Kawashima
Shin’ichirō Ikebe
Shuishan Yu
Soichi Muraji
Steffen Schleiermacher
Tadaaki Otaka
Takashi Yoshimatsu
Teizo Matsumura
Tico Moon
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
Toru Takemitsu
Toshio Hosokawa
Ulster Orchestra
Vlastislav Matoušek
Wadaiko Matsuriza
Yang Jing
Yasuji Ohagi
Yasunori Mitsuda
Yoko Kanno
Yoshihiro Koseki
Yoshinao Nakada
Yuki Murakami
Zygmunt Krauze
knoak
仲道祐子
神前 暁
高木梢
Joe Hisaishi
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Nobuo Uematsu
Akira Kosemura
Jaques Morelenbaum
knoak
Yasunori Mitsuda
神前 暁
PianoDeuss
Riley Lee
Sayuri Hayashi Egnell
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Yoko Kanno
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
Jean-Pierre Rampal
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Kaori Muraji
Shinichi Suzuki
Akira Ifukube
Ulster Orchestra
Yoshida Brothers
Kyohei Sorita
Shigeaki Saegusa
Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Saito Kinen Orchestra
Satoshi Hashimoto
Momokusu Iwata
Yoshihiro Koseki
NHK Symphony Orchestra
Liu Fang
Yamato Ensemble
Toru Takemitsu
Hiromitsu Agatsuma
Jin Oki
Keiichiro Shibuya
Noriyasu Takeuchi
Takashi Yoshimatsu
Andrea Battistoni
Tico Moon
Kiyoshi Yoshida
Akio Yashiro
Nonesuch Explorer Series
Shin-ichi Fukuda
Kotaro Fukuma
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
Chen Min
Keigo Mukawa
Rodrigo Rodriguez
Kenichi Ebe
Hajime Mizoguchi
Takuo Yuasa
Jérémy Jouve
Clive Bell
Yasuji Ohagi
Junichi Hirokami
Ensemble Modern
Wadaiko Matsuriza
Yuki Murakami
Shuishan Yu
Benyamin Nuss
Mariko Senju
Dacan Chen
Flute Shakuhachi
Soichi Muraji
Michio Miyagi
Takeo Izumi
Rentaro Taki
Eckehard Stier
Noriko Ogawa
Stan Richardson
Zhang Weiliang
Shinobu Kawashima
Marc Grauwels
吉田兄弟
Brueder Selke
Hikaru Hayashi
Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin
Steffen Schleiermacher
Robert Aitken
Claude Delangle
仲道祐子
Norichika Iimori
Koichi Morita
Yu Xunfa
Duo En
Kiyoshi Shomura
Yoshinao Nakada
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
Hirofumi Nakamura
Lin Shicheng
Takao Hatakeda
Rintaro Akamatsu
Fumio Hayasaka
輝&輝(KIKI)
Yoshikazu Iwamoto
Somei Satoh
桐原宗生
Tadaaki Otaka
Liu Dehai
Yoko Suzuki