[Emotional BGM] Carefully selected masterpieces and popular tracks recommended for work and study!

Name of Life from Spirited AwayHisaishi Joe

Name of Life (from “Spirited Away”)

Many listeners have surely been captivated by the crystalline piano tones and faintly nostalgic melody.

The theme song of Studio Ghibli’s masterpiece Spirited Away evokes a bittersweet yet warm story of searching for lost memories and one’s true self.

Its message—recalling something precious and finding one’s place—reaches us with quiet emotion.

Released in July 2001 as a single performed by Yumi Kimura, the song deepened the film’s impact.

The piece originally began as an instrumental track on the soundtrack.

Its calm, dreamlike phrasing is perfect for times when you want to focus on work or study.

Letting yourself drift on its gentle waves of sound may calm your heart and clear your mind.

A Town with an Ocean View (from “Kiki’s Delivery Service”)Hisaishi Joe

A Town with an Ocean View (from “Kiki’s Delivery Service”)

This is a piece by Joe Hisaishi with a memorable, hope-filled melody that makes you feel as if a beautiful seaside town is unfolding before your eyes.

The emotions that arise at the moment of taking a new step—expectation mingled with a touch of anxiety—are brilliantly rendered through light, sparkling piano tones.

The piece accompanies the moving scene in the July 1989 film Kiki’s Delivery Service where the protagonist soars over a new town, and it is included on the classic album Kiki’s Delivery Service: Music Collection released the same year.

Its nostalgic yet liberating atmosphere is sure to refresh you when you feel stuck with work or study.

Why not spend a focused, enriching time wrapped in its gentle, forward-looking melody?

Sometimes, a tale from long ago — from Porco RossoKatō Tokiko

Sometimes, a tale from long ago — from Porco Rosso

This is a work written and composed by Tokiko Kato herself, whose warm yet faintly bittersweet worldview evokes a deep nostalgia for days of youth gone by.

As it searches for an unseen future, it conjures scenes of passionate conversations with friends—memories many listeners will find echoing their own.

The song was included on the album “MY STORY / Toki ni wa Mukashi no Hanashi wo,” released in February 1987, and is also known as the ending theme of the 1992 film Porco Rosso.

The piano arrangement used in the film, with its striking timbre, gently lets you linger in the afterglow of the story.

With its calm melody, it’s also great to play as background music when you want to focus on work.

On the journey: “Final Fantasy VII Piano Collections”Uematsu Nobuo

On the journey

A piece from the game Final Fantasy VII that conjures up the image of a tranquil town encountered along a grand adventure.

Supervised by composer Nobuo Uematsu, it’s included on the classic album Piano Collections FINAL FANTASY VII, released in May 2004.

The serene atmosphere of the original is accentuated in its solo piano arrangement, whose delicate, faintly nostalgic tones sink deep into the heart.

It’s perfect as background music when you want to focus on work or study—the gentle, lyrical melody will calm your mind without disrupting your thoughts.

Why not spend some fulfilling time wrapped in the fleeting peace the story’s characters must have felt?

Legend of the WindHisaishi Joe

The Legend of Wind – Kaze no Densetsu

Joe Hisaishi’s mysterious composition helps boost concentration while you work.

Created for the film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, this piece is characterized by its grand orchestral sound.

It brilliantly expresses a fantastical worldview through music, drawing listeners into the story’s realm.

Widely recognized as part of the film’s soundtrack, this track is perfect not only for movie fans but also for anyone seeking a quiet environment to focus.

Surrender yourself to its beautiful melody, and your mind will naturally calm—there’s no doubt your productivity will improve.

Waltz For DebbyBill Evans

Bill Evans – Waltz For Debby

It’s a piece composed in 1956 by jazz pianist Bill Evans, and it’s considered one of his signature works.

Said to have been written about his niece, who was two years old at the time, the song’s flowing, beautiful melody has captured the hearts of many in Japan, and—unusual for an instrumental—its total domestic sales, including LPs and CDs, reached about 500,000 copies.

The live recording on the 1961 album recorded at the Village Vanguard is especially well-known, so be sure to give it a listen.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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SmokyChar

Smoky – Char

This is one of the greatest of the great songs by Naoto Takenaka, aka Char.

They say listening to rhythmically vibrant tracks like this is perfect for refreshing a mind tired from work or study.

It was released in the ’70s, but it doesn’t feel dated at all even now.

It’s cool.