Oscar-winning Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, composer of ‘The Last Emperor’ film score, dies aged 71
- Famous for his film scores, he was also known for his work with pioneering electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra, which he co-founded
- The composer studied ethnomusicology at university, with particular interest in the traditional music of Okinawa, India and Africa
Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Oscar-winning Japanese composer famed for his scores for The Last Emperor, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence and other films, has died aged 71, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported on Sunday.
Sakamoto was also known for his work with the pioneering electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) which he co-founded.
Introduced to the piano as a toddler, Sakamoto lived for music. As a high schooler, he rode on Tokyo commuter carriages so packed nobody could move, amusing himself by counting all the different sounds the train made along the way.
Sakamoto, who described classical musician Claude Debussy as his hero, studied ethnomusicology at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, with particular interest in the traditional music of Japan’s Okinawa prefecture as well as Indian and African musical traditions.
“Asian music heavily influenced Debussy, and Debussy heavily influenced me. So the music goes around the world and comes full circle,” he told WNYC public radio in 2010.
Embracing electronic music, he and fellow studio musicians Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi formed YMO in 1978. The band’s groundbreaking use of a vast array of electronic instruments brought both domestic and global success.
