Toyohashi, Japan, 1953
Kitarō
The Japanese new age musician won the Golden Globe for Oliver Stone's Heaven & Earth.
His real name is Masanori Takahashi. He played in the Far East Family Band, where Klaus Schulze gave him advice on synthesizers. His music for the Japanese NHK documentary series Silk Road made him known outside Japan. Oliver Stone commissioned Heaven & Earth from him in 1993, and The Soong Sisters won him Taiwan's Golden Horse and the Hong Kong Film Award.
- Style
- Warm synthesizers, slow Eastern-flavoured melodies, flutes and big taiko drums.
- Awards
- Golden Globe for Heaven & Earth (1994). Golden Horse (1997) and Hong Kong Film Award (1998) for The Soong Sisters, shared with Randy Miller. Grammy for Best New Age Album (2001) for Thinking of You.
Essential films
- Silk Road (documentary series) (1980)
- Heaven & Earth (1993)
- The Soong Sisters (1997)
Awards counted up to the 2026 Academy Awards. Facts reviewed in October 2026.