Sakamoto Ryuichi was a Japanese musician, activist, composer, record producer, writer, singer, pianist, and actor formerly based in Tokyo and New York. Beginning his career in 1978 as a member of the electronic music group "Yellow Magic Orchestra", Sakamoto served on keyboards and sometimes vocals. The band was an international success, with worldwide hits such as "Computer Game / Firecracker" and "Behind the Mask", later playing a pioneering role in the techno and acid house movements of the 1990s. He concurrently pursued a solo career, debuting with the experimental electronic fusion album "Thousand Knives", and later released the pioneering album "B-2 Unit", which included the electro classic "Riot in Lagos".

As a film-score composer, Sakamoto has won an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and 2 Golden Globe Awards. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) marked his debut as both an actor and a film-score composer; its main theme was adapted into the single "Forbidden Colours" which became an international hit. His most successful work as a film composer is The Last Emperor (1987). In that same year, he composed the score to the cult-classic anime film Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise. He continued earning accolades composing for films such as The Sheltering Sky (1990), Little Buddha (1993), and The Revenant (2015). In April 2012, Sakamoto was announced as the composer for theme music of Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura", marking his first time to compose music for a taiga drama.

Sakamoto died from cancer on March 28, 2023, at the age of 71. His death was announced on April 2, after his funeral had taken place. Edit Biography