February 14
At around 10 a.m. I enter the J-WAVE studio at Roppongi Hills. "Sotokoto" editor Oguro Kazumi invited me to be a guest in the "Lohas Talk" program he moderates. Following my interview with him for my book "The Edit of Tokyo" that appeared at the end of last year, this time it’s him who asks the questions. The conversation starts off from talk about the book. Oguro comments, "I'd never thought that anybody would be interested in stuff about editors. I didn't believe this book would sell, but obviously I was wrong. The books that I'm writing off seem to be selling best these days." He adds, "While Kenjo Toru (President of Gentosha), a fellow student at Keio University, created assets, I created debts. It’s like with the grasshopper and the ant…" And that’s not all. He continues to talk about some fishy Chinese business, criticizes wannabe eco- entertainers… Asking myself whether talk like that is appropriate for a radio program, I look over to director Sakurai-san, and notice that he can't stop laughing.
After everything is recorded ask Sakurai worriedly if it was okay like that, and he explains smiling that they're already used to situations like these, and that they always use just about half of the conversation anyway when the program is aired. I hope that, some day, a courageous director will give Oguro a live program so that this monster of an editor can poison the airwaves with his sharp tongue.
February 16
We finally complete "The Method of Costume", a photo book collecting Japanese top stylist Kitamura Michiko’s movie costumes (published by Little More). In commemoration of this publication, we do an event that includes screenings of four movies in which Kitamura’s costumes are especially notable, as well as a talk show with related actors and actresses. The event is titled "Kitamura Michiko: The Method of Costume Special Screening", and takes place at Cinemart Shinjuku. In an all-night program we show "Sukiyaki Western Django", "Akarui Mirai (Bright Future)", "Gemini" and "Sorekara (And Then)" - indeed four standout titles of Japanese cinema. Guests in the talk show are Kitamura-san, Asano Tadanobu, Iseya Yusuke and Kikuchi Rinko, while yours truly assumed the role of the host.
Before the talk show, I hear how Kitamura, who absolutely hates to talk in front of people, asks Asano and Iseya, "I'm not going to say anything, so please go ahead and talk." Before I can say something, Kikuchi Rinko, who basically came as a visitor to see the event, offers to jump in, and Kitamura happily announces, "She’s going to take my place!"
The event starts with the talk session. The ticket sold like hot cakes, and I feel the excitement and tension in the audience when he climb the stage. The three actors/actresses first share their memories of their respective, individual experiences working with Kitamura. Asano reports, "When I got to work with Kitamura-san, that was the first time I got costumes other than those from the film company to wear. She still has my undivided trust. Even the weirdest outfits are OK with me as long as they come from Kitamura Michiko." "But it’s also a fact that they're so hilarious sometimes that I have a hard time convincing the rest of the team that it’s just perfect like that!" Iseya then remarks laughing. Kikuchi remembers, "It was actually Kitamura-san who came up with the name 'Rinko' for me. I can always count on her advice."
Finally, Kitamura joins the conversation. "These guys stand out even when they're mixing with people - or should I say especially when they're in a crowd?" Unfortunately, her comment comes just seconds before the end…
After the event we have a little party at a nearby bar. Iseya, who interrupted his shooting and came all the way from Canada to participate; Asano, who'll leave next week in order to attend the Academy Award presentation ceremony; and finally, Kikuchi, who is getting more and more offers from overseas recently. If this isn't an illustrious lineup of internationally working actors!
After he party I return to the movie theatre to catch the rest of "Django" and the films that follow, ending with "Sorekara". It took us five years from the planning stage to complete "The method of Costume", and Kitamura has in fact been making costumes for films for more than 20 years, starting with "Sorekara". Watching these movies that evidence her extraordinary brilliance makes me feel like leaping back in time and revisiting her magnificent achievements. The final screening ends at 6:50 in the morning. I guess that was my first movie night since highschool days, and at once an occasion to look back on 20 years of my own humble life.
Sugatsuke Office website: http://www.sugatsuke.com