The great Japanese composer has died Ryuichi Sakamoto. His age was 71 years. Ryuichi Sakamoto was first diagnosed with cancer in 2014. He gave his last concert at the end of 2022 and updated his fans about his health.

The great musician influenced the field of electronic music like few others and will go down in history as the composer of some great works, among them many award-winning soundtracks.

Sakamoto was one of Japan’s most prominent musicians. He began his career and rose to fame with the electronic group Yellow Magic Orchestra in the late 70s. He also had a successful solo career. He released 19 personal albums, while he had collaborated with a number of important Western musicians such as Brian Wilson, Iggy Pop and David Byrne.

Not only did he star alongside David Bowie in the 1983 film, Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, but he also composed his famous theme of the same name. He hides behind a series of soundtracks for directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Oliver Stone and Alejandro González Iñárritu. Most people know him for the Oscar he won for the score of the film “The Last Emperor”. His music for the film “Tea in the Sahara” also remains unforgettable.

In June 2022, in an online note, Sakamoto informed that the progression of the disease has been rapid – it has also metastasized to the lungs – and he is now living with stage 4 cancer.

The note was part of a series titled “How Many More Times Will I See the Full Moon?” (How many more times will I see the full moon?) which mainly covers his musical activities since 2009 and his views on life and death. In another statement about the release of the series, he said: “Since I’ve come this far in my life, I hope to be able to make music until my last moment, like Bach and Debussy, whom I adore.”

From the first steps of his discography, Sakamoto’s compositions were created with the criterion of sounding timeless. Throughout his career he has been selective in his collaborations and has always been distinguished by artistic grace and elegance. That’s why it was a perfect match for Laurie Anderson’s anarchist poetry and David Sylvian’s fragile melodies. His performances on the piano are like a symbolic representation of images that mirror his psyche.