Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Creative Legacy Showcased at Tokyo Exhibition; Player Piano Brings Sound of Musician to Ginza

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, December 18, 2024

An exhibition showcasing the works and intellectual property of Ryuichi Sakamoto, the internationally acclaimed musician who died last year, opened in Tokyo’s Ginza district on Monday.

Titled “sakamotocommon GINZA,” the exhibition will end its 10-day run on Wednesday at the Ginza Sony Park building in Chuo Ward, Tokyo. The new facility will officially open on Jan. 26 on the former site of the Sony Building.

The exhibition is part of the “sakamotocommon” project, which aims to pass on the creative legacy of Sakamoto. Data from performances by Sakamoto is utilized through a player piano at the exhibition. Among the exhibits are a collaborative artwork made by Sakamoto and media artist Daito Manabe, in which electromagnetic waves are visualized, and books owned by Sakamoto, who was known to be an avid reader.

“I hope people will see a different side of Mr. Sakamoto than his musician self, and that through it they may discover something new about his music,” Manabe said.

Only those who have made a donation to the project’s ongoing crowdfunding campaign are permitted to visit the exhibition.