Julian Gnam
August 7, 2015 In July of last year, world-renowned musician Ryuichi Sakamoto was diagnosed with mesopharyngeal carcinoma. He had to cancel all of his ongoing work to undergo cancer treatment, including a position as both director and performer at the 2014 Sapporo International Arts Festival.
Sakamoto’s fame began in the pionerring synth group Yellow Magic Orchestra in the late 70’s, and went on to compose scores for countless projects including the Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise and the Appleseed films. His talent did not go unnoticed by Hollywood, and throughout the 80’s and 90’s he scored Western films like The Last Emperor (for which he won an Oscar), Wuthering Heights, and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (in which he shared a lead acting role with David Bowie). He was both a composer and scenario writer for the Sega Dreamcast game L.O.L.: Lack of Love, and even developed the Dreamcast’s signature boot-up sound.
With Sakamoto’s throat cancer diagnosis in 2014, it looked as if the world might lose yet another of Japan’s most renowned creative figures. The anime and manga industries have had their share of deaths in the past several years (Satoshi Kon, Ryutaro Nakamura, and Takashi Yanase to name a few), so fans of Sakamoto’s anime scores likely assumed the worst.
Thankfully, on Monday of this week, Sakamoto announced his recovery and return through his official website:
“One year has passed since and thanks to everyone I am in great shape. I am thinking about returning to work. For the time being I intend to prioritize composing work that I can do from home and so, for my first job, I will be responsible for the music of Haha to Kuraseba (Living With My Mother), a film by the great Japanese director Yoji Yamada. I will be refraining from performing live for now.
Forgive me if this sounds corny, but the illness brought me a realisation, which I am truly thankful for. It truly is a sign from nature or heaven. Taking this sign, I will make sure to avoid my old habits and treat my days left with the utmost care.”
Here’s hoping that Ryuichi Sakamoto stays healthy and has many more years of artistry left on his ticket.
Source: Fact Magazine
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