He laid the solid foundations for the birth of Japanese electronic music, which has declined over the years into dozens of sub-genres: from Synth Pop to Techno, through to House, New Wave and New Romantic.

The Soundtrack and the Oscar win.

After having placed his flag at the top of musical experimentation, Sakamoto began to explore the world of film soundtracks.

In 1983, he co-wrote ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’ with David Sylvian Furyo, where he starred alongside David Bowie, while in 1987 he won an Oscar for the soundtrack to ‘The Last Emperor’, a 1987 film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

This victory was followed by the one composed for ‘The Sheltering Sky’, also by Bertolucci, in 1990 and for ‘Spiked Heels’, a 1991 film by Pedro Almodóvar.

His vast discography usually includes more than seventy different titles in as many musical genres, such as j-pop, electronic music, ambient, bossa nova, jazz, world music and even neo-classical, with a curiosity and dedication typical of the greats, combined with an almost scientific, philosophical rigour, which has imprinted his work in the history of music, forever.

A gentle Samurai who contaminated two worlds – Eastern and Western – with his music, while maintaining a proverbial discretion and humility, typical of the Japanese people.

With his favorite Hippocratic aphorism ‘Ars longa, vita Brevis‘ – life is short, art is long – his staff wanted to inform the world of his departure, paying homage to his unique, incomparable, eternal legacy.

Rest in Genius, Ryūichi.