The funeral, the date of which has not been revealed, will respect Sakamoto’s “strong wishes” and thus will only be held with the closest family.

Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away at the age of 71, according to Reuters, quoting the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri. Kyodo confirmed the death, citing a source from the musician’s office, which issued a statement this Sunday, which can be read on Artist site. Sakamoto died on March 28 due to a prolonged illness.

“While undergoing treatment for cancer that was discovered in June 2020, Sakamoto continued to create works in his studio whenever his health allowed. He lived with music to the end,” the statement reads.

The funeral, the date of which has not been revealed, will respect Sakamoto’s “strong wishes” and thus will only be held with the closest family.

Sakamoto’s musical journey began when he was a child, but in the 1970s, when he arrived at Tokyo University of the Arts to study ethnomusicology and music composition, his name began to attract attention. At this time, Sakamoto also began to take an interest in using synthesizer, similar to what Iannis Zenakis had done.

And here he began to chart a path of success, glories and surprise to many. His works became known to the general public above all through the soundtracks he composed for the works of such directors as Pedro Almodovar (“High Heels”), Oliver Stone (“Wild Palms” series), Brian de Palma (“The Eyes da Serpenti”, among others ), Luca Guadagnino (“The Staggering Girl”) or Alejandro González Iñárritu – Sakamoto was nominated for a Golden Globe with the song “The Revenant: The Reborn”, made with his regular collaborator, Alva Noto.

Health had been treacherous to him in recent years and cancer ended up overwhelming him. In 2014 he was diagnosed with a tumor in the throat, which, after years of treatment, was cured. “It was the most difficult and physically painful moment of my life. I could hardly eat, I could hardly swallow my saliva, ”he later recalled. But in January 2021, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with bowel cancer a year earlier. And last June, he wrote an article entitled “Living with Cancer,” in which he explained that the disease had spread, despite several surgeries, and that it was now in the very advanced fourth stage. And this ended his life.

Sakamoto was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1952.