Micro Interviews with 12 Japanese Animators
It’s been a great year for SECONDS UNDER THE SUN, a touring programme of short Japanese art animation I put together in order to get unknown or under-appreciated work in front of eager audiences. It has screened in Toronto and Winnipeg, and will be featured this Saturday in Montreal’s newest micro-cinema Blue Sunshine. SECONDS features 12 established and emerging animators that employ techniques from sand to hand-drawn, stop motion puppet to digital. It highlights artists from a variety of generations and the subject matter covers a range of emotional landscapes: quiet contemplation of the miniscule, death in the family, grotesque humour, and the ineffable space within relationships.
Here are the bios of the participating artists and some bite-sized interviews for your reading enjoyment!
2010 New Year’s Greeting, 30sec (2010)
Komoko-chan’s Coffee, 4min 17sec (2008)
Born in 1978, Naomi Nagata makes music videos and her own works in stop- motion animation using sand and paper cut outs. Since 2002 she has been involved in event planning and operation as a member of the animation screening group “animation soup”.
Favourite childhood toy: When I was child, I liked playing outside more than playing with toys. But, when I play inside, my favorite toy was Family Computer.
Do you like coffee? Yes.
How long it takes you to brush your teeth: Hmm….about 5 to 10 minutes.
The Demon, 8min (1970)
Born in 1925, from an early age Kihachiro Kawamoto was captivated by the art of doll and puppet making. After seeing the works of maestro Czech animator Jiri Trnka, he first became interested in stop motion puppet animation and during the 50s began working alongside Japan’s first stop motion animator, the legendary Tadahito Mochinaga.
In 1958, he co-founded Shiba Productions to make commercial animation for television, but it was not until 1963, when he traveled to Prague to study puppet animation under Jiri Trnka for a year, that his puppets truly began to take on a life of their own. Trnka encouraged Kawamoto to draw on his own country’s rich cultural heritage in his work, and so Kawamoto returned from Czechoslovakia to make a series of highly individual, independently-produced artistic short works, beginning with Breaking of Branches is Forbidden (Hana-Ori) in 1968.
Heavily influence by the traditional aesthetics of Noh, Bunraku doll theatre and Kabuki, since the 70s his haunting puppet animations such as The Demon (Oni, 1972), Dojoji Temple (Dojoji, 1976) and House of Flame (Kataku, 1979) have won numerous prizes internationally. He has also produced cut out (kirigami) animations such as The Trip (Tabi, 1973) and A Poet’s Life (Shijin no Shogai, 1974). In 1990 he returned to Trnka’s studios in Prague to make Briar Rose, or The Sleeping Beauty.
UMO (Music video for OOIOO), 3min 39sec (2007)
SOL (Music video for OOIOO), 2min 40sec (2009)
Born in 1973. Shoji Goto is a graphic designer, motion graphic creator and musician. Foucsing mainly on album covers, music videos, flyers, and t-shirts of various bands, he works on his own music as well.
The age you learned to swim: I think I was six, but I could have been younger.
First album purchased: The Police, Ghost in the Machine.
The most frightening thing: Geography Cone (a species of cone snail that lives in the ocean known for its poisonous venom).
Summer for you is: Cicada songs, the sound when you’re under water, and the rays of sun while diving.
Yuki-chan, 5min 15sec (2006)
Born 1978 in Tokyo. Kei Oyama graduated from the Image Forum’s affiliated school in 2001 and the Tokyo Zokei University in 2005. His graduation production “The Doctor’s Office” screened at the Cannes International Film Festival. Oyama participated in the 2006 omnibus Tokyo Loop and completed graduate school at the Tokyo Zokei University in 2007. He recently completed a work titled “Hand Soap” at the Aichi Arts Centre, which will be featured at the Ottawa International Animation Festival this fall.
The most frightening thing: Death.
Your birthday: September 11th, 1978.
Your usual breakfast: Rice, miso soup, natto and an egg. The classic Japanese breakfast. If I don’t have time, sometimes I’ll stop in at a 7-Eleven and get a sandwich or onigiri (rice ball).
Summer for you is: Scalding asphalt, oyster water, grimaces on people’s faces, the smell of sweat. When I was a kid it used to be the sound of cicadas, but I feel like I hear them less these days.
Weirdos, 2min 23sec (2008)
K+ (previously K+Me) was founded in 2005 by Kaoru Sato. Her work is based on the concept of using materials close at hand. Aside from motion graphics, she is also involved in illustration, graphic design and editorial design.
Favourite childhood toy: Sylvanian Family.
Your first part-time job: A waitress at an Italian restaurant.
What type of meal inspires you: Hmmm, my grandmother’s nimono (stews)… nikujaga! (stewed meat and potatoes)
Animation for Les Religions Sauvages by Le Dernier Cri, 2min 34sec (2006) 
Daisuke Ichiba started painting seriously in the eighties and in 1990 self-published his first book entitled 37 Year Old Bastard. Since then he has continued to release a book a year, and was noticed by the great manga artist Takashi Nemoto, as well as Pakito from the outsider art gallery Le Dernier Cri in Marseille, France. Since 2006, Ichiba has held solo shows in such places as Paris, Marseille, and Switzerland, and in recent years has been pursuing photography.
Favourite smell: The scent of a woman.
Favourite sushi: Mackerel.
What are you reading right now? “What is Zen Buddhism?”
Summer for you is: Watermelon.
Terror of Golf Course, 1min 35sec (2008)
Mermaid, 33sec (2009)
Born 1969 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a Japanese manga artist.
First part-time job: Manga artist’s assistant.
The most terrifying thing: Nuclear missile.
Favourite smell: Inside of a bookstore.
Summer is: Mosquitoes.
Kurosaka Keita
Worm Story, 15min (1989)
Kurosaka Keita (b. 1956) is an independent experimental short animation filmmaker. In 1985 he debuted with his abstract motion graphics that used walls and the surfaces of stones as material. He has created numerous short animation works using diverse techniques such as drawing, photography and 3D objects.
First part-time job: I taught an arts and crafts class to toddlers.
Artists/animation that inspired you in your youth: I started drawing comics influenced by Disney and Tezuka Osamu when I was in elementary school.
First visual memory: One night when I was little, I woke up in the middle of the night because had to go pee. Opening my eyes, I saw a 45 cm cube dancing down the hall and became so terrified that I couldn’t bring myself to go to the bathroom.
Ladybirds’ Requiem, 5min 38sec (2006)
Akino Kondoh was born in Chiba in 1980 and graduated from Tama University Department of Graphic Design in 2003. In 2000, Kondoh won 2nd AX Manga Newcomer’s Award / Encouragement Award (Seirin Kogeisha) with manga “Kayoko Kobayashi”, and in 2002 her animation “The Evening Traveling”, on which girls dance rhythmically to the music by Toshiaki Chiku (former member of music group, Tama), brought her Grand Prix for DIGISTA AWARDS 2002 / Animation Division. Her drawing is known for a fine and delicate touch with a mechanical pencil. She recently made approach to oil painting and the second manga book “Itsumo no hanashi”(Seirin Kogeisha) has been published in 2008.
First visual memory: For some reason I see the scene from behind: I remember riding in an orange baby carriage when my family, the four of us, were leaving to go somewhere on a snowy day. It could have been a memory from my first dream.
The most frightening thing: Irrational occurrences.
The person who taught you how to sew a button: My mother.
Summer is: Cicadas.
Naoyuki Tsuji
The Place Where We Were, 6min (2008)
Born in 1972, Shizuoka, Japan. Naoyuki Tsuji lives and works in Yokohama. He graduated in 1995 with a B.F.A. from Tokyo Zokei University.
What type of meal inspires you: A delicious meal is best!
Summer for you is: Sweat, sun, asphalt.
Mika Seike
Face to Face, 8min 42sec (2007)
Born and raised in Osaka Japan, Mika Seike began creating animation in 2001.
First visual memory: The scenery around the place where I lived since childhood until about 12 years ago. In my memory it is an alluring three-dimensional image. The scenery still appears in my dreams sometimes.
An artist you admire right now: I admire the animation artist Georges Schwizgebel and have been watching his DVD of collected works a lot recently. I really like the DVD.
Favourite smell: I like the smell of the air before and after raining, and the smell of the forest.
Summer for you is: The heat, and Japanese festivals. The summer in Osaka is damp and hot!
Day of Nose, 9min 31sec（2005）
Born in 1980, Hyogo prefecture. Atsushi Wada started making animations on his own while studying at Osaka Kyoiku University. After graduating, he studied film and experimental video at the Image Forum school and created “Day of Nose” as his final project. It won the Best Short Film prize at the Norwich Animation Festival among other awards at screenings both home and abroad. He then went on to contribute to the omnibus Tokyo Loop and is now majoring in animation at graduate school at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
Favourite smell: A towel that’s been in the sun.
Favourite childhood toy: I can’t remember any toy in particular, but I remember enjoying playing with my younger brother.
First visual memory: I either imagined it or dreamt about a large room at daycare. We were having nap time when all of a sudden a criminal or psycho came into the daycare and everyone started crying. I had already checked for an escape route in case of a situation like this and escaped through that very window without anyone noticing. I was the only one who ran away.
Summer for you is: Watermelon (I don’t really like it) and fireworks (I don’t really like them either).
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