Oscar-winning Japanese pop pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto has died aged 71 after a cancer battle.
Oscar-winning Japanese pop pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto has died aged 71 after a cancer battle
The acclaimed composer and former member of Yellow Magic Orchestra passed away on Tuesday (28.03.23) but his death was not announced until Sunday, by his international management team.
Kab America Inc said on his official website in a statement about the acclaimed experimental performeer’s life, artistic philosophy and huge legacy – which includes a series of masterwork film scores including ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence’, which starred David Bowie, ‘The Last Emperor’ and ‘The Revenant’ – “An Announcement: We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of artist and musician, Ryuichi Sakamoto,
on the 28th of March, 2023. He was 71 years old.
“While undergoing treatment for cancer discovered in June 2020, Sakamoto continued to create works in his home studio whenever his health would allow
“He lived with music until the very end. 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 US who did everything in
their power to cure him.
“In accordance with Sakamoto's strong wishes, the funeral service was held among his close family members. Please understand that we are unable to accept any calls of condolences, offerings of incense and the like.”
The statement included one of Ryuichi’s favourite quotes: “Ars longa, vita brevis – art is long, life is short.”
It also said: “While many will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”
Twice-married Ryuichi, who had four children, said in 2021 he had been diagnosed with rectal cancer and had undergone surgery to treat it.
He was previously been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but he later said it had gone into remission.
The musician – survived by his wife Norika Sora, 60, and children including the singer Miu Sakamoto, 42, from his marriage to the 68-year-old jazz singer Akiko Yano – also acted in films, including playing a Japanese soldier in ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence’, the Japanese film directed by Nagisa Ōshima.
He played the commander of a POW camp located in Japanese-controlled Java, while David Bowie and Tom Conti played prisoners in the camp.
His score for the movie was awarded a BAFTA, and he later expressed regret that he never looked up his on-screen collaborator David Bowie after the film and prior to his death, even though the two were both living in New York for a time before the singer was killed by cancer.
He won an Oscar for his score to Bernardo Bertolucci’s ‘The Last Emperor’, which also earned a Grammy for the score.
After studying jazz, he joined the Yellow Magic Orchestra trio in 1978 alongside Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahasi, who died in January – with the group attracting a Beatlemania-level of attention from fans in Japan.
He was referred to as ‘The Professor’ in YMO due to his intellect and interest in avant-garde classical music, and went solo after the group broke up in 1983.
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