Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto dies

Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto has died at the age of 71. According to the publication Yomiurihe died on March 28 from cancer in a Tokyo hospital.

Ryuichi Sakamoto is best known for his music scores for films by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci: The Last Emperor, Under Cover of Heaven and Little Buddha. In 1988, Ryuichi Sakamoto became the first Japanese to win an Oscar for Best Original Score for The Last Emperor.

Ryuichi Sakamoto started playing the piano at the age of 3 and writing music at the age of 10. The composer studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts. In the 70s, he founded the Yellow Magic Orchestra, which became one of the pioneers of Japanese electronic music.

In 1983, the composer wrote the music for Nagisa Oshima’s Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, in which he also played one of the main roles, along with David Bowie, Tom Conti and Takeshi Kitano. The score for this film won a BAFTA award.

In 2014, the composer was diagnosed with cancer. As a result, a number of his performances were cancelled. In 2020, the cancer metastasized to both lungs and moved to the 4th stage. On December 11, 2022, the composer gave his last solo piano concerto. In an interview with Kyodo News in March of this year, the composer said, “My energy and physical strength are declining to the point where it’s hard for me to make music.”

Anastasia Larina