More than halfway through the documentary “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda,” the Japanese pianist and composer offers an insight that captures the tension at the heart of his art. Discussing the components of a piano, he explains how, since the industrial revolution, pianos have been made possible by imposition of civilization on nature. Machinery presses wood and strings into shape.

“We humans say it falls out of tune, but that’s not exactly accurate,” Mr. Sakamoto says. When the instrument’s tuning goes awry, it means “matter is struggling to return to a natural state.”

The conflict between industrial and natural elements, and Mr. Sakamoto’s embrace of both, runs throughout “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda,” an uncommonly engaging artist portrait from Stephen Nomura Schible. The creative process is notoriously difficult to capture on camera, but by the end of this documentary, you will feel as if you not only understand Mr. Sakamoto intellectually, but also share a sense of the excitement he feels when discovering just the right match of sounds.