Ryuichi Sakamoto

Sakamoto was one of Japan's most successful musicians, acclaimed for work in Yellow Magic Orchestra as well as solo albums and film scores.

[The Last Emperor](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/apr/15/the-last-emperor) (in which he also had an acting role), he collaborated with Bernardo Bertolucci again for The Last Buddha, and with Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence director Nagisa Oshima for Gohatto. In 1999 he debuted the multimedia opera project Life, in collaboration with artist Shiro Takatani with contributions from Bertolucci, Pina Bausch and more. [Japan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/japan) – in 1980, two of their albums stayed at No 1 and No 2 in the charts for seven weeks, and they had seven Top 5 albums during their career. He and Takatani extended the concept into installation work from 2007 onwards. He took no further acting roles, aside from appearing as a film director in Rain, a music video for Madonna. Sakamoto also starred in the film as a prisoner of war camp commander. He acted alongside David Bowie in the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and composed its [celebrated theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF9_9MZyQGo), the first in a series of film scores including Oscar-winning work in 1987 with David Byrne and Cong Su for Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor. In 2019, he composed the music for an episode of dystopian TV drama series Black Mirror. He was born in Tokyo in 1952, and began taking piano lessons aged six, later attending Tokyo University of the Arts to study music. He also scored two films by Brian De Palma (Snake Eyes and Femme Fatale), plus Wild Palms for Oliver Stone, High Heels for Pedro Almodóvar, the 1990 film adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale, and more. Michael Jackson covered their song Behind the Mask and intended to include it on Thriller, but a royalties disagreement prevented it. He trained on early synthesisers, and enthused by everything from Debussy to Kraftwerk, began working on various musical projects, including with Hosono and Takahashi.

World-renowned Japanese composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto has died at the age of 71 after battling cancer, his management company KAB America Inc.

He worked continuously until his later years, including the score for 2015 film 'The Revenant.' Four years later, he took home a Golden Globe and Oscar for best music for his score for the 'The Last Emperor.' Sakamoto wrote the score and starred alongside David Bowie in the 1983 film 'Merry Christmas, Mr.

The renowned composer and producer has passed away aged 71.

[April 2, 2023] In 2014, Sakamoto was first diagnosed with throat cancer. Additionally, he composed the soundtrack for films such as The Last Emperor and The Revenant as well as 1983’s Merry Christmas, Mr Laurence in which he also starred in alongside David Bowie. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to his fans and all those who have supported his activities, as well as the medical professionals in Japan and the U.S. Born in 1952, Sakamoto took up piano from an early age and over the course of his creative career was a pioneer within electronic and ambient music. The post revealed that he passed away last week on 28 March.

Mr. Sakamoto, whose work with Yellow Magic Orchestra influenced electronic music, composed scores for “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant.”

Mr. In later years, Mr. Nicolai, who layered glitchy electronics over Mr. “I just wanted to be showered in sound,” he said of the record. The group broke up in 1984, in part because Mr. In the 21st century, he began to focus again on more experimental work, inspired by a new generation of collaborators including the producer Fennesz and Mr. Nicolai, who performs under the name Alva Noto, Mr. “Perhaps it’s because people are looking for healing, for some answer to the stress of their country’s recession,” Mr. [synth-heavy title track](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF9_9MZyQGo) remained one of Mr. Then came music for films by the director Bernardo Bertolucci, including “The Last Emperor” (1987) “The Sheltering Sky” (1990) and “Little Buddha (1993). [Nagisa Oshima](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/movies/nagisa-oshima-iconoclastic-filmmaker-dies-at-80.html) asked him to co-star, alongside David Bowie, in “Merry Christmas, Mr. Equally comfortable in futuristic techno, orchestral works, video game tracks and intimate piano solos, Mr.

The death has been announced of the pioneering Japanese composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. He was 71 and had been battling cancer.

Please review their details and accept them to load the content. [Manage Preferences](javascript:void(0);) "We would like to share one of Sakamoto's favourite quotes: 'Ars longa, vita brevis. He was 71 and had been battling cancer. Sakamoto, who married and divorced twice, is the father of J-pop singer Miu Sakamoto, born in 1980 to the Japanese pianist and singer Akiko Yano. We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.

The Japanese musician wrote the music for Hollywood movies including The Last Emperor and the Revenant.

Also in 2007, he began the ambitious Schola project, curating 17 compilations of global music ranging from composers such as Ravel and Beethoven to Japanese pop. Following The Last Emperor (in which he also had an acting role), he collaborated with Bernardo Bertolucci again for The Last Buddha, and with Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence director Nagisa Oshima for Gohatto. The group became a huge success in Japan – in 1980, two of their albums stayed at No 1 and No 2 in the charts for seven weeks, and they had seven Top 5 albums during their career. Sakamoto also starred in the film as a prisoner of war camp commander. He was born in Tokyo in 1952, and began taking piano lessons aged six, later attending Tokyo University of the Arts to study music. As a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra alongside Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto created joyous and progressive electronic pop in the late 1970s and early 1980s, alongside solo releases.

The award-winning composer and producer, whose fans included David Bowie, has died aged 71.

As a student he was classically trained but later specialised in ethnomusicology at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. So the music goes around the world and comes full circle," he said in 2010. His film score for The Last Emperor, in 1987, won him an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe. Music is music." "After I wake up I start thinking, hmm, which music will I listen to," he said. Sometimes using electronics or blending with electronic sound can help to break this wall."

Ryuichi Sakamoto, a world-renowned Japanese musician and actor who composed for Hollywood hits such as The Last Emperor and The Revenant, has died.

She posted on her Instagram the years her father had lived: from January 17 1952, to March 28 2023 — and a photo of a worn out, half-broken piano. “How we make electricity is going to diversify, with fossil fuel and nuclear power declining,” Mr Sakamoto told the Associated Press in an interview in 2012. Mr Sakamoto also left his mark as a pacifist and environmental activist. Mr Sakamoto is survived by his daughter Miu Sakamoto, a musician. He was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. “To his final days, he lived with music,” it said.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, a world-renowned Japanese musician and actor who composed for Hollywood hits such as “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant,” has died.

“How we make electricity is going to diversify, with fossil fuel and nuclear power declining,” Sakamoto told The Associated Press in an interview in 2012. At his home in New York, he gets electricity from a company that relies on renewables, he said. The statement expressed gratitude to the doctors who had treated him in the U.S. Sakamoto also left his mark as a pacifist and environmental activist. “To his final days, he lived with music,” it said. He was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014.