Ryuichi Sakamoto, the legendary Japanese composer, dead at 71
Legendary Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto has died at 71, his management company have announced.
The Japanese publication, Kyodo News, states Sakamoto died on March 28th. While no cause of death has been confirmed, last June, the musician revealed he was battling stage four cancer, and said: “Since I have made it this far in life, I hope to be able to make music until my last moment, like Bach and Debussy whom I adore.”
Sakamoto was first diagnosed with cancer in 2014, which returned in 2021. He played his final concert last December, Ryuichi Sakamoto: Playing the Piano 2022, which was live-streamed and comprised of four performances that he combined.
Following the show, he shared the following statement on his official website, “My strength has really fallen, so a normal concert of about an hour to ninety minutes would be very difficult.” He added: “As a result, I’ve recorded it song by song and edited it together so it can be presented as a regular concert – which I believe can be pleasureable in the normal way. Enjoy.”
Earlier this year, Sakamoto shared his final album, 12. He spent two years working on the project throughout 2022 and 2021, with each track named after the date it was written.
In a previous statement, Sakamoto explained how the album was written and referenced his cancer battle. “After I finally ‘came home’ to my new temporary housing after a big operation, I found myself reaching for the synthesizer,” Sakamoto said. “I had no intention of composing something; I just wanted to be showered in sound. I’ll probably continue to keep this kind of ‘diary’.”
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