Picture Coney Island on a sweltering summer day: swimmers crowd the water as the low, insistent pulse of Jaws—“dun-dun… dun-dun…”—grows louder and faster. Suddenly, the beach empties as people scan the waves for a great white shark. This iconic theme from the 1975 film shows how a score can shape an audience’s emotions, sense of time, and perception of narrative tension. The Japan Society highlights that power in ‘Music by Ryuichi Sakamoto’, a film series honoring a composer whose work spans genres and decades. The series opens with the animated feature ‘Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise’.
This is no conventional cartoon. Set in an alternate world, Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise follows Shirotsugh Lhadatt, an aimless young man who volunteers to become his country’s first astronaut. Riquinni, a devout street preacher who believes society has succumbed to selfishness and sin, inspires him. To her, outer space remains the one realm humanity has not defiled, and the space program offers the possibility of a new beginning.
Lhadatt and the space program must overcome public skepticism, technological setbacks, and the schemes of a corrupt government. Seeking economic advantage, officials place the launch site in a demilitarized zone and provoke an attack by the Republic. Already inside the capsule, Lhadatt refuses to abort. He convinces the exposed ground crew to proceed, and the launch brings the fighting on both sides to a halt.
As he orbits Earth, Lhadatt broadcasts a prayer for humanity while a montage traces the world’s history and achievements. Below, Riquinni stands in the season’s first snowfall and looks skyward. Yet even this summary cannot capture the film’s philosophical depth or visual ambition.
The screening also introduces audiences to Ryuichi Sakamoto’s film music. Alongside the series, the Japan Society is promoting Music Sets You Free, Sakamoto’s bestselling Japanese memoir, translated by Sam Bett. The book reflects on Sakamoto’s life and the transformative power of art, while the Society’s outreach brings the English translation to a wider New York audience.
This focus on Sakamoto encourages viewers to listen as closely as they watch. His score establishes mood, sustains tension, and gives the film its deliberate rhythm. Moving in step with the action, the music supplies both emotional force and narrative structure.
For more than a century, the Japan Society has built cultural bridges through art, and this tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto advances that mission. Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise expands the possibilities of animation, while the series’ emphasis on its score reveals how profoundly music shapes cinematic experience. The result is more than an enjoyable two hours: it is an illuminating encounter with film, music, and art’s enduring power.
