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
Anne Akiko Meyers
Benyamin Nuss
Brueder Selke
Claudio Jacomucci
Clive Bell
Cornelius Boots
Dai Fujikura
Duo En
Eckehard Stier
Ensemble Modern
Flute Shakuhachi
Fumie Hihara
Haiqiong Deng
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
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
Naoko Yoshino
New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Nobuo Uematsu
Nobuyuki Nakajima
Norichika Iimori
Noriko Ogawa
Noriko Tsukagoshi
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
Shin Sasakubo
Shinichi Suzuki
Shinobu Kawashima
Shin’ichirō Ikebe
Shuishan Yu
Soichi Muraji
Steffen Schleiermacher
Tadaaki Otaka
Takashi Yoshimatsu
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
Joe Hisaishi
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Nobuo Uematsu
Akira Kosemura
Jaques Morelenbaum
knoak
Yasunori Mitsuda
神前 暁
PianoDeuss
Riley Lee
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Sayuri Hayashi Egnell
Yoko Kanno
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
Jean-Pierre Rampal
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Kaori Muraji
Shinichi Suzuki
Akira Ifukube
Takashi Yoshimatsu
Ulster Orchestra
Hong Ting
Yoshida Brothers
Kyohei Sorita
Shigeaki Saegusa
Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Saito Kinen Orchestra
Satoshi Hashimoto
Momokusu Iwata
Aiko Hasegawa
New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Yoshihiro Koseki
Liu Fang
NHK Symphony Orchestra
Sachio Fujioka
Noriyasu Takeuchi
Yamato Ensemble
Toru Takemitsu
Hiromitsu Agatsuma
Jin Oki
Keiichiro Shibuya
Tico Moon
Andrea Battistoni
Kiyoshi Yoshida
Akio Yashiro
Kotaro Fukuma
Nonesuch Explorer Series
Shin-ichi Fukuda
Toshiko Yonekawa
Michio Miyagi
Satomi Saeki
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
Keigo Mukawa
Megumi Yonekawa
Hiroe Yonekawa
Goro Yamoguchi
Chikatoyo Tsujimoto
Chen Min
Masumi Yonekawa
Takuo Yuasa
Hajime Mizoguchi
Kenichi Ebe
Anne Akiko Meyers
Naoko Yoshino
Rodrigo Rodriguez
Nanae Yoshimura
Shinichi Yuize
Kifu Mitsuhashi
Jérémy Jouve
Weishan Liu
Clive Bell
Yasuji Ohagi
Junichi Hirokami
Mariko Senju
Benyamin Nuss
Wadaiko Matsuriza
Yuki Murakami
Shuishan Yu
尹群 (Qun Yin)
Dacan Chen
Marc Grauwels
Ensemble Modern
邓海琼 (Haiqiong Deng)
Flute Shakuhachi
Shin Sasakubo
崔静怡 (Jingyi Cui)
Soichi Muraji
Takeo Izumi
Masayo Ishigure
Tomoko Sunazaki
Noriko Ogawa
Eckehard Stier
Shinobu Kawashima
Zhang Weiliang
Stan Richardson
Noriko Tamura
Nobuyuki Nakajima
Brueder Selke
吉田兄弟
Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin