On the evening of April 2, the news of Ryuichi Sakamoto's death flooded the screen, and everyone expressed their condolences and reluctance. "There is one less shining person in the world" "A hundred years from now, we will still listen to your music, and the forward will never die." Colleagues in the work group were amazed, "Huh? Isn't there a concert next? Everyone began sharing the song "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" online. Poetic lyrics, accompanied by ethereal and gentle melodies, are full of melancholy.
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People are always missed by the world after they leave.
I opened Weibo, and next to the hot search for "Ryuichi Sakamoto died" was a "burst" word. For many, Ryuichi Sakamoto is not only a musician, his influence has long gone beyond the music itself and sublimated into a classic symbol in popular culture. Suzuki, who has known him for more than 20 years, said of Sakamoto's influence on Japanese society: "If you ask a foreigner what a Japanese person is like, you will definitely mention Sakamoto's name. Without him, people's impressions of modern Japanese culture would certainly be very different. ”
On April 3, customers select Ryuichi Sakamoto's works at a record store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. (Xinhua News Agency)
At a regular press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on April 3, spokesman Mao Ning said: "Mr. Sakamoto is enthusiastic about people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan, and has created many excellent musical works containing Chinese elements. He has contributed to the friendly exchanges between the two countries with practical actions. We hope that more people of insight in China and Japan will carry on the past and forge ahead and actively devote themselves to the cause of promoting Sino-Japanese friendship. ”
Ryuichi Sakamoto's deep friendship with China is not only because he was invited by the famous director Bertolucci to score the film "The Last Emperor", but he has also been committed to promoting the friendship of Sino-Japanese relations. During the epidemic, Ryuichi Sakamoto warmly encouraged Chinese children on Weibo, so that children can enrich themselves more during their stay at home. He also studied Chinese culture quite a bit, and believed that the Shiji, like the Bible, belongs to the collection of many books, from which we can see the greatness and stupidity of mankind. He once mentioned in the book "SKMT: Who is Ryuichi Sakamoto": In 5 or 10 years, China will definitely become an existence that is difficult to ignore.
In an interview with Harper's Bazaar in 2018, Ryuichi Sakamoto said that he first expressed his love and expectations for Chinese films as a Chinese film lover. It is not difficult to see from the content of the interview that Sakamoto's understanding of Chinese cinema is not a dragonfly, and he commented that Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou's early works are "a very good way for foreigners to understand Chinese history and culture." For Chinese films in recent years, Ryuichi Sakamoto likes Jia Zhangke's works and the powerful image impact that Zhang Yimou brings him. In his eyes, China is now rich in resources, and as long as the director has talent, he can make more good movies. "In this era of globalization, Chinese films will only go more and more to the world, and their future potential is great. Of course, I hope that Chinese films will not only focus on commercial films, not only on the box office. I want to see more Chinese films with depth and art. ”
On November 1, 2017, at the 30th Tokyo Film Festival, Ryuichi Sakamoto won the "Samurai Award". (Photo courtesy of Visual China)
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Ryuichi Sakamoto's real understanding of Chinese music began only during the time of The Last Emperor. And "The Last Emperor" also brought Ryuichi Sakamoto's film scoring career to the pinnacle, establishing his international status. With magnificent orchestral music and variations rich in Chinese charm, he brings out Puyi's tragic life and undecidable destiny.
In 1986, Ryuichi Sakamoto came to China and joined the crew of "The Last Emperor", but only as an actor. Director Bertolucci suddenly asked him to prepare a background music for Puyi's accession to the throne, and only gave it three days. He relied on a piano that was terribly out of tune, and composed music almost entirely by imagination. After the role was completed, Ryuichi Sakamoto was asked to continue to score the entire film. For a whole week, he stayed up and bought more than 20 Chinese music records, arranging and recording them simultaneously. But just as he was complacently taking the piece to London, he found that Bertolucci had overhauled the film, which meant that the newly composed music could not be used. He had to shut himself in a hotel and rewrite the music, adjust the tempo with the editing, and add Chinese elements to the Western orchestra. In two weeks, he completed 44 pieces that combine Chinese style and Western modern style. The film's soundtrack eventually won three Oscars, Grammys and Golden Globes.
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In 1986, Ryuichi Sakamoto temporarily lived in China because of the filming of "The Last Emperor". He went to Beijing, Dalian and Changchun, and that experience was very precious to him. According to Ryuichi Sakamoto's recollection, he lived in Changchun where the Japanese shogun used to live, and he was particularly impressed by a large pool table with the inscription "Made in the third year of Showa" on the bottom of the table, which was left by the Japanese army that invaded China. He was saddened by that history. During his time in China, Ryuichi Sakamoto tried to experience the life of ordinary people, cycling, dining in small restaurants, and discotheques to feel the charm of nightlife. That experience was invaluable to Ryu Sakamoto.
Since then, Ryuichi Sakamoto has been to China twice, once in 1996 when he gave a concert at the Beijing Poly Theater, and the other time in 2018 when he visited friends in Beijing to play on a live tuned piano at the Jiuxiao Club. The performance was purely "on the verge of death" for him, and there was a problem with the instrument, and he had every reason to refuse to perform. But he didn't, and after he finished playing this inaccurate piano, he took the initiative to say to the audience: "Let me have another song." The familiar melody sounded, it was the song "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence", and the audience erupted into cheers of surprise.
Ryuichi Sakamoto has expressed his desire to learn more about Chinese culture more than once, "As a Japanese, I have been deeply influenced by Chinese civilization, and as I get older, my desire to understand China has become stronger." In my observations of medicine, food culture, and technology, I found more and more parts that are close to Chinese thought. So, I'd love to go to more places in China. ”
Mr. Sakamoto's wish could not be fulfilled, but his music and sentiment spread throughout the wider world of China.
Reporter: Zhang Yuchun
Editor: Chen Jianguo