Mai Fujisawa

Mai Fujisawa (Japanese: 藤澤 麻衣, Hepburn: Fujisawa Mai, born 1980) is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and lyricist. She has released four studio albums and has performed for several soundtracks. Fujisawa has collaborated on several occasions with her father, composer Joe Hisaishi, on the soundtracks for the films of Studio Ghibli. She has also performed on the soundtracks of other media, including the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) and the video game Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (2011).

Mai Fujisawa
藤澤 麻衣
Born1980 (age 42–43)
Tokyo, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • lyricist
Years active1984–present
Websitesing-mai.com

Personal life

Fujisawa was born in Tokyo,[1] and is the daughter of Joe Hisaishi. She studied at Seijo University in Tokyo, and later at Menlo College in Atherton, California.[2]

Career

At age four, Fujisawa performed "Nausicaä's Requiem", featured on the soundtrack of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) which was composed by Joe Hisaishi. Reflecting on the experience in 2019, she said that she "was always hoping" that she could perform in another Studio Ghibli film. While Fujisawa has not performed in another soundtrack, she has recorded songs for the image albums – collections of demos and musical sketches that serve as a precursor to the finished score – for Princess Mononoke (1997) and Ponyo (2008).[3]

As an adult, Fujisawa founded the choir Little Carol,[4] who perform for Japanese television and have toured internationally. She later began a solo career, releasing music that combines Japanese traditional and Western classical styles.[3]

In 2012, Fujisawa was a guest singer on the United Nations Singers' Japan tour; she joined them again in 2015 for the United Nations' seventieth anniversary celebrations.[5] Fujisawa is the goodwill ambassador of the city of Nakano. She has composed and performed theme songs for Nakano and Tochigi. She is also credited with writing the lyrics for the school song of Sakata Daichi Junior High in Sakata.[1]

Discography

Studio albums
Title Released Ref.
Mai (麻衣) December 15, 2010 [6]
Nursury Rhyme Songs (童謡うたう)[lower-alpha 1] May 22, 2013
Raise the Sky (空みあげて) April 8, 2015
Beautiful Harmony [lower-alpha 2] April 20, 2022

Performances in other media
Title Title of media Released Ref.
"Theme Song" Paper Lanterns May 20, 2016 [7]
"Pieces of a Broken Heart" (uncredited) Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch November 17, 2011 [8]
"Lily's Theme" (uncredited) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 July 4, 2011 [3]
"Stand Alone" Clouds Above The Hill December 18, 2009 [1]
"Rondo of the House of Sunflowers" Ponyo (image album) March 5, 2008 [9]
"Theme Song" Welcome to Dongmakgol 2005 [2]
"The Town Where I Long to Stay" Kiki's Delivery Service (vocal album) 1989 [10]
"My Heart"
"Nausicaä's Requiem" (uncredited) Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind 1984 [8]

Notes
  1. Released under the name Utaumai (うたうまい)
  2. Collaboration with Little Carol

References
  1. "Mai Fujisawa". Seattle Symphony. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  2. "久石譲の娘麻衣が語る"親子の葛藤"歌手になる…父の説得に３年". Zakzak. November 14, 2012. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  3. Wilson, Jake (December 27, 2019). "Singing the dream worlds of Ghibli". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  4. "About". Mai Fujisawa. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  5. "Melody of Japan: Animation, Film and Classics with Mai Fujisawa". Monash University. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  6. "Discography". Mai Fujisawa. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  7. "Paper Lanterns". Paper Lanterns. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  8. McPherson, Angus (February 19, 2020). "Mai Fujisawa on singing an iconic film moment". Limelight. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  9. Hisaishi, Joe (2008). 崖の上のポニョ イメージアルバム [Ponyo on the Cliff Vocal Album] (CD) (in Japanese). Tokuma. TKCA-73309.
  10. Hisaishi, Joe (1992). 魔女の宅急便ヴォーカル アルバム [Kiki's Delivery Service Vocal Album] (CD) (in Japanese). Tokuma. 30ATC-190.
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