Ryuichi Sakamoto, The Last Emperor Composer, Dead at 71

Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Academy Award and Grammy-winning composer known for scoring The Last Emporer (1987), has passed away at age 71. According to Variety, Sakamoto died on Tuesday after a battle with cancer. Sakamoto was also a member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978. Throughout his career, Sakamoto also won a BAFTA for Scoring Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) and Golden Globes for the music of The Last Emporer and The Sheltering Sky (1990). He also received multiple nominations for his scoring Alejandro Iñárritu’s The Revenant (2015).

Sakamoto’s management company released a statement today, which you can read here: “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 U.S. 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 condolence, offerings of incense or flowers, and the like. Finally, we would like to share one of Sakamoto’s favorite quotes: ‘Ars longa vita brevis.’ Art is long, life is short. While many will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”

Sakamoto was born in Tokyo and began pursuing music while attending university in the 1970s. In 2009, Sakamoto was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the Ministry of Culture of France for his contributions to music. In addition to winning a Grammy for The Last Emporer, he was also nominated for scoring Little Buddha and The Revenant. 

Sakamoto’s composing credits also included Wings of Honneamise (1987), The Handmaid’s Tale (1990), High Heels (1991), Tokyo Decadaence (1992), Wuthering Heights (1992), Little Buddha (1993), Wild Side (1995), Snake Eyes (1998), Femme Fatale (2002), Appleseed (2004), Silk (2007), Hara-Kiri: Dead of a Samurai (2011), Light Up Nippon (2012), I Have to Buy New Shoes (2012), The Fortress (2017), Paradise Next (2019), Proxima (2019), Minamata (2020), Love After Love (2020), and much more. He also scored the Season 5 episode of Black Mirror, “Smithereens.” 

In addition to his work in music, Sakamoto was also an actor and co-starred with David Bowie in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. He also played Amakasu in The Last Emperor and made appearances in multiple music videos, including Madonna’s “Rain.” 

Our thoughts are with Sakamoto’s family at this difficult time.