One of the few figures in contemporary Japanese popular music to have found an international audience, firstly with the successful Yellow Magic Orchestra. Ryuichi began composing for films in 1983 with "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence", in which he also portrayed Captain Yonoi, and won an Oscar for the haunting score of "The Last Emperor" (1987), co-written with David Byrne and Cong Su.
Began studying piano at age three and composing at ten
1978
Founding member of Yellow Magic Orchestra
1983
After disbanding Yellow Magic Orchestra, pursued solo recording career
1983
First film as composer, Nagisa Oshima's "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" (also acted)
1987
Contributed to the award-winning score of Bernardo Bertolucci's epic "The Last Emperor"
