Ryuichi Sakamoto

Born in Tokyo in 1952. Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, master’s degree program, and making his debut in 1978 with the album Thousand Knives. In the same year, participated in the formation of the legendary techno group “Yellow Magic Orchestra.” Producing pop albums and numerous classical compositions, two operas, and nearly 45 original film/TV scores, his film soundtracks have won prestigious awards, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, a Grammy, and more. Sakamoto also made considerable contributions to the art world with his work exhibited in museums worldwide (Seoul, 2018; Beijing, 2021; Chengdu, 2023-24; Tokyo, 2024-25). As an activist for many decades, he focused on environmental conservation and world peace, including founding the forest preservation organization “more trees,” and the “Tohoku Youth Orchestra” to support the victims of the Tohoku Earthquake through music. Sakamoto passed away on March 28, 2023.

Shiro Takatani

A visual artist and theater director, Shiro Takatani works diversely with photography, video, lighting and set design in his creations. He first worked with Ryuichi Sakamoto for his opera LIFE in 1999 as visual director. Since then, they worked on various projects and produced many collaborative works. Takatani is one of the founding members of the artist collective Dumb Type, which was established in 1984. First large-scale solo exhibition “DUMB TYPE: ACTIONS + REFLECTIONS,” was held at Centre Pompidou-Metz in 2018 and Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Tokyo in 2019-20. The latest theater piece by Sakamoto + Takatani, TIME was premiered at Holland Festival in 2021, and toured to National Taichung Theater, New National Theatre Tokyo, ROHM Theatre Kyoto in 2024, and Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2025. In 2022, Dumb Type created a new installation 2022 for the Japan Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia, welcoming Sakamoto as a new member. The following year, “Dumb Type 2022: remap” was held at Artizon Museum in Tokyo. 

Installation view of the exhibition “Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024.
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani, LIFE–fluid, invisible, inaudible..., 2007 
©2024 KAB Inc. Photo: Takeshi Asano

Installation view of the exhibition “Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024.
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani, async–immersion tokyo, 2024
©2024 KAB Inc. Photo: Takeshi Asano

Installation view of the exhibition “Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024.
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Shiro Takatani, TIME TIME, 2024
©2024 KAB Inc. Photo: Kazuo Fukunaga

Installation view of the exhibition “Ryuichi Sakamoto | seeing sound, hearing time” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2024.
Ryuichi Sakamoto with Shiro Takatani, IS YOUR TIME, 2017/2024
©2024 KAB Inc. Photo: Kazuo Fukunaga