2023-08-21 19:28:43
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Zhang Jia
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Ryuichi Sakamoto took a photo with the piano that gradually returned to nature in the courtyard of his home in New York
“Because we don’t know when we will die, we still see life as an endless and inexhaustible source. However, what happens in our life may only happen a few times. What can we do when we witness the full moon rise? How many times? Maybe twenty at the most. But there is always the conviction that the opportunities will be endless.”
This is the last line of the movie “The Sheltered Sky”, and it is also the favorite line of Ryuichi Sakamoto, a famous Japanese composer and film soundtrack master. In the early morning of March 28, 2023, Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away, leaving his final confession “How many times can I see the full moon rise”. In this book, Ryuichi Sakamoto describes his life with extremely simple words, while facing death directly, thinking regarding “what can be left to the future”. The book was recently launched by CITIC Publishing House.
Experience pain but also find interesting brain structure
In January 2021, Ryuichi Sakamoto, who had just passed his 69th birthday, posted on Weibo: “I suffered from throat cancer in 2014, and in the following 6 years, as the disease improved, I gradually returned to normal life. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with rectal cancer once more. From now on, I will ‘live with cancer’.”
In “How many more times can I see the full moon rise”, Ryuichi Sakamoto talked regarding the time when he “lived with cancer”.
Ryuichi Sakamoto suffered from throat cancer in 2014. After treatment, his condition improved and he gradually returned to normal life. Unexpectedly, in June 2020, during an examination at a New York hospital, Ryuichi Sakamoto was diagnosed with rectal cancer once more. “In December of that year, I had a work schedule in Japan. At that time, I was troubled by frequent forgetfulness. I wanted to have a brain examination while returning to work in Japan, so I returned to Japan in mid-November. The examination results showed that there was no problem with the brain. But abnormalities were found elsewhere – cancer cells from the rectal cancer had metastasized to the liver and lymph.”
The doctor told Ryuichi Sakamoto directly, “If you don’t do anything, you only have half a year to live.” He also said that because the previous radiation therapy had damaged Ryuichi Sakamoto’s cells, the same treatment might no longer be performed. “Even with powerful anticancer drugs and painful chemotherapy, the five-year survival rate is only 50 percent.”
Ryuichi Sakamoto decided not to return to New York and chose to receive treatment in Tokyo. In January 2021, he underwent surgery to remove the primary lesion of rectal cancer, two liver metastases, and lymphatic metastases. “This is a major operation that requires the removal of 30 centimeters of the large intestine. Surprisingly, I was in a relaxed mood before the operation. In the photos left at the time, and before I was pushed into the operating room, I waved to my family and said, ‘That’s it. I went yo’ look.”
The surgery, which was expected to take 12 hours, ended up taking regarding 20 hours. It is expected that physical strength and immunity will decline following the operation, so before the operation, Ryuichi Sakamoto walked 10,000 steps a day to exercise his body. “What I am going to do this time is a major operation that requires general anesthesia, and there is also the risk of death from medical accidents. Therefore, before the operation, I thought that I must eat enough delicious food. In the name of “dinner”, I enjoyed Tokyo’s steak and Italian dishes.”
After the operation, Ryuichi Sakamoto also experienced a very frightening experience of delirium. He felt that his computer had been hacked and all his information had been exposed to the dark web. The dark world above. Ryuichi Sakamoto felt that he tried to crack it with all the programming knowledge he had learned all his life, but there was no way. “I might clearly see the automated computer screen, and I was typing on the keyboard in a desperate attempt to stop it, but my fingers were flying in the air in vain.”
Ryuichi Sakamoto said that he never thought regarding the issue of the dark web on weekdays. “It may be that the relevant information I saw by accident stayed in the brain, and it manifested through delirium at this time. This situation lasted for three days, and sometimes I was awake. Come here and find yourself drenched in sweat.”
Although it was scary, Ryuichi Sakamoto also found fun in it, “It made me discover that the structure of the human brain is so interesting, it even gave me the illusion that if I work hard, I can also write TV drama scripts. Daily life I am amazed that what I see and hear in the brain can accumulate such a large amount of information.”
The most uncomfortable time is saved by love
During the years of living with cancer, Ryuichi Sakamoto underwent 6 operations, large and small, and removed all tumors within the surgical range. The biggest operation is to remove the malignant tumor that has metastasized to the lung. In October and December 2021, it will be performed twice, and each time will take three to four hours.
Sakamoto Ryuichi said that he is usually a weak-willed person, and people around him even laughed at him as having a “leaf-like will”. After the operation, the doctor asked Sakamoto Ryuichi to move as much as possible, so, “Although there are 5 tubes inserted in my body and both arms are on drips, I will try my best to get up and sit on the sofa in the ward during the day. I lean on The crutches went to the sofa, where I sat down to read a book, listen to music, take a nap, and relax. Although I always wanted to choose to lie comfortably on the bed, I can say that I worked very hard during the hospital days.”
In addition, postoperative complications were also torture for Ryuichi Sakamoto. He mightn’t eat well and lost 13 kilograms. “The doctors did their best for me, but my physical fitness, as a key influencing factor, might not keep up with the treatment. My physical condition was not as good as expected, and I kept hovering at a low level. I began to imagine a gloomy future, and maybe I would never be able to leave the hospital for the rest of my life. Yes, these imaginings completely took my confidence away.”
After regaining his appetite, Ryuichi Sakamoto didn’t like the meals in the hospital. His lover came to the hospital to see him every day and brought him meals. “But because of the measures to prevent the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic at that time, he mightn’t meet and talk with me. Therefore, I don’t know why. Since then, it has become our habit to wave across the road in front of the hospital.”
Every evening, Ryuichi Sakamoto would take out his mobile phone to light up the flashlight, and wave it towards the opposite side of the road. He might also see a pea-sized shining spot shaking left and right on the opposite side from the window. That was the method that the lover came up with in order to get Sakamoto Ryuichi to get up from the hospital bed. “It lasted for regarding a month. Later, I was hospitalized once more, and she came to see me in the same way. Although it is not a new expression, I still want to say that I was saved by love when I was most uncomfortable.”
It is a pity that following so many operations, the lesion still remains in Ryuichi Sakamoto’s body, and he can no longer rely on surgery to remove the tumor, but to rely on drugs for systemic treatment. Finally, in the early morning of March 28, 2023, Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away.
Response to “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”
And the famous Sakamoto Ryuichi” is somewhat disgusted by this introduction
Ryu Sakamoto was born in 1952. In 1977, as a recording engineer, Ryuichi Sakamoto began to cooperate with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi. In 1978, the three established the electronic music group Yellow Magic Orchestra, which profoundly affected the development of Japanese electronic music. In October 1978, Ryuichi Sakamoto released his first solo album “Thousand Swords”. Chinese people know Ryuichi Sakamoto, mostly because of the classic movie “The Last Emperor” directed by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci. Ryuichi Sakamoto won the Best Original Score Award at the 60th Academy Awards for the soundtrack of this film.
Ryuichi Sakamoto’s film scoring career began with “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”, in which he acted for the first time as an actor, and also produced his first film score, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”. It has also become his masterpiece. So far, Ryuichi Sakamoto has released more than 80 solo music albums, and has composed scores for dozens of films directed by Nagisa Oshima, Bertolucci, Alessandro Gonzalez, and Hirokazu Kore-eda.
In “How many more times can I see the full moon rise”, Ryuichi Sakamoto revealed that it took him only 30 seconds to write the melody of “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”, “Sit at the piano and close your eyes, open your eyes The moment the melody appears on the score with the chords, you may think, stop joking! But these are true. The inspiration of music creation is a moment.”
Ryuichi Sakamoto also said that he was obsessed with writing works that surpassed “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”. Hate the public image being fixed there. So for a decade or so I was determined not to play it in recital. Everywhere I went I was asked, ‘Can you play ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence’?’ Really It’s endless, I’ve had enough.”
That changed when Ryuichi Sakamoto went to a Carol King and James Taylor concert in 2010. He, like the rest of the audience, was waiting for Carol King to sing her famous song “You Have a Friend”, but that day Carol King, as if deliberately whetting the audience’s appetite, delayed singing. Wait till the end, Carol King finally sang the song. Ryu Sakamoto was satisfied and thought it was great to be able to hear it on the spot. “Thinking ‘I don’t want to play “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”‘ and stubbornly refused to play, it was my turn to go to other artists’ concerts, but I was restless because I mightn’t hear the representative repertoire. So at that time I I figured it out: I shouldn’t deny the existence of the audience who came to Sakamoto Ryuichi’s concert for “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.”
Although he no longer rejects playing this piece of music, Ryuichi Sakamoto admits that he still feels a little disgusted by the introduction of “Ryuichi Sakamoto, who became famous for “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”, “So for a while, I also In trying to break the stereotype that the world thinks of me, this thinking has come full circle, and now I’m at the stage of ‘it’s so boring to waste my precious energy on this’. I don’t want to think that changing other people’s opinions My own motivation, as long as I can silently make the music I want to do is enough. Although my last work may not be good, I will not equate “Breaking” Ryuichi Sakamoto with “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” ’ This stereotype is the goal of the rest of my life. It would be foolish to use the rest of my time for this goal.”
Two days before his death, he was still guiding the rehearsal on the hospital bed
He lived three times as long as others
A family member said that Ryuichi Sakamoto lived three times as long as others – although he lived 71 years, the years he spent were so rich. Ryuichi Sakamoto, who was plagued by illness, once said: “In a sense, my life has become ‘less easy,’ but I have learned to discern what is important to me and what I have to do, and to be able to do it. Start working for a ‘better life’.”
On the days of “living with cancer”, Ryuichi Sakamoto composed the soundtrack for the movie, actively tried cross-border artistic creation, and participated in activities including stage works LIFE, “Time” and large-scale installation art exhibitions in China and South Korea. He has also advocated on many environmental and peace related issues and initiated the forest conservation and regeneration program “MoreTrees”. He also founded the Tohoku Youth Orchestra of Japan to support the music activities of children in the disaster-stricken areas following the “3.11” earthquake in Japan.
Ryuichi Sakamoto wrote in “How many more times can I see the full moon rise” that on his birthday in 2017, he received a tree planting certificate sent from overseas, “It turned out that Chinese fans jointly funded it. On the day I was born on January 17th, 1,170 trees were planted in the desert area of Inner Mongolia. After getting the firm’s agreement to use Ryuichi Sakamoto’s name, they did it under the condition of confidentiality with me. I am really touched Tears welled up in my eyes. In the second year, the same group of fans built music classrooms and donated musical instruments to villages in poor areas of China in my name. It just astounds me to have such an impact on the world.”
In Ryuichi Sakamoto’s music, one can feel his deep love and understanding of Chinese culture and Chinese emotions. Through music, he shows people a way of artistic expression that crosses cultures and borders. In 2021, Ryuichi Sakamoto participated in the performance of the online concert “Liang Le” planned by the Chinese team, which included a video of regarding 30 minutes of impromptu performance.
Ryuichi Sakamoto has been racing once morest time, and until two days before his death, he still borrowed communication software from his hospital bed to “conduct” the concert.
Sakamoto Ryuichi’s good friend Suzuki Massubun described the last time of Sakamoto Ryuichi in 2023 in the book. He revealed that by February 2023, it became normal for Mr. Sakamoto to wear oxygen inhalation intubation. After the surgery to remove the cancer cells, a tube needs to be inserted to extract the pus from the wound, so he has several tubes inserted in his body and has been lying in a recumbent position for a long time. Despite this, he is still actively watching movies, reading books, and continues to receive immunotherapy.
Regarding the “redevelopment” plan for the Meiji Jingu Gaien area approved by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in February, Ryuichi Sakamoto wrote a letter to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and others. In the letter, he wrote: “We cannot sacrifice the precious trees that our ancestors spent a hundred years guarding and cultivating for the sake of immediate economic benefits.” He asked for a re-examination of the “redevelopment” plan.
Ryuichi Sakamoto also worked for three consecutive days on March 14, 15, and 16, recording a 20-minute work for Otomo Yoshihide and Koyamada Keigo, telling them: “It can be used or not. If you want to use it, you You can edit it as you like, whatever you want, you can just decide.”
On March 23, Ryuichi Sakamoto said “Please, please come and accompany me”, and began to apply for family escort. During this period, the performances of the Northeast Youth Orchestra of Japan, with Ryuichi Sakamoto as the representative and music director, were held in Iwate on March 21, Fukushima on March 23, Miyagi on the 24th and Tokyo on the 26th. Ryu Sakamoto Yi watched all the live broadcasts of the performance in the ward, and gave remote guidance during the rehearsal of the orchestra as needed.
On March 25th and 26th, Ryuichi Sakamoto was still working on another “work”: in 2021, his art works and sound installations over the past 30 years will be exhibited at the M Woods Art Museum in Beijing. At the end of July 2023, This large-scale exhibition will be exhibited once more in Chengdu—for which he discussed with Shiro Takatani via teleconference.
Suzuki wrote in the article: “Mr. Ryuichi Sakamoto’s life died in the early morning of March 28. Although he didn’t know the exact time, he realized that his remaining time was very limited, and perhaps it was because Aware of this, he devoted his last life energy to these things without hesitation, not simply to maintain his own life. No, maybe these things are just to maintain his life.”
In order not to leave any regrets, I want to create more good works
At 2:30 pm on March 8, Suzuki Masamune visited Ryuichi Sakamoto, and this was also the last time he met Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Suzuki main text described: “Mr. Sakamoto’s voice was a little hoarse in the first few minutes, but his tone has been steady, clear, and the volume has gradually increased. And sometimes, he is thinking regarding how to express it. His eyes flashed with intelligence, and his sharpness was awe-inspiring. We spent more than two hours in the room, and Mr. Sakamoto not only talked regarding the books he had read recently and what interested him in them, but also We are also deeply satisfied to hear him tell regarding the happy times he spent with old books with joy.”
At 5 o’clock in the followingnoon, Suzuki Masamune left, “Mr. Sakamoto sat on the same sofa where we saw him when we came, and waved goodbye to us who were regarding to leave with an innocent smile from the heart. When we closed the door and looked back, I saw him still waving at us. That was the last time I saw Mr. Sakamoto.”
At 9:34 that night, Masamune Suzuki received an email from Ryuichi Sakamoto:
Su Mulberry，
Thank you for today.
Very enjoyable as always.
Hope to have the opportunity to meet once more.
Ryuichi Sakamoto
At 11:46 p.m., Masamune Suzuki received another email from Ryuichi Sakamoto, which read as follows:
Su Mulberry，
I forgot to tell you just now that the representative work of haikuer Tomizawa Akako is, “When a butterfly falls, its sound booms, and it freezes”.
I think it’s amazing.
Shocked me.
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Suzuki wrote: “This is the last email I received from him. After 20 days, not a butterfly, but Mr. Sakamoto fell.”
On April 2, on Ryuichi Sakamoto’s social media account, a silent black-and-white video was released, with a short sentence accompanying the text “A thousand years of art, a dew in the morning of life” and an old and damaged piano in the video, announcing the The death of a top musician. Ryuichi Sakamoto once said: “Maybe I can live for 20 years, maybe 10 years, or maybe only one year. I still have one heart. So in order not to leave regrets, I want to create more that can be sold. works. Next, I just want to live without pretense.”
Today, the stars have fallen, but the sound remains the same.
Photo courtesy/CITIC
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