Check out Takumi’s NEW English youtube channel🎵
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https://www.youtube.com/@takuway
Takaichi as Prime Minister—
Japan’s first female top leader in 800 years?!
Truly, it’s hard not to feel hopeful.
Congratulations on the huge success of KomaFes! 🎉
5,000 people gathered right in front of Nakano Station!
At TakuSando Kyoto,
I’ll be there today from 11:30 a.m. for one hour!
Having a strategy meeting with friends from New York!
Thank you for dropping by!
Late night gatherings here
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NPO法人 OHANA — led by Miku Itakura — has been supporting children facing challenges such as school refusal, social withdrawal, and abuse, operating 24/7, 365 days a year.
Now, OHANA’s House, a safe haven for these children, celebrates its 8th anniversary! 🎉
To mark this milestone, an event will be held to reflect on OHANA’s journey and explore how we can support the children of the future together.
📅 Date & Time
October 29 (Wed)
Doors open: 18:30
Start: 19:00
End: 21:00
📍 Venue
イベント託児マザーズ
〒104-0061 東京都中央区銀座4-13-11
松竹倶楽部ビル4F（歌舞伎座の横）
💴 Participation Fee
Adults: ¥3,000
High school students: ¥1,000
Junior high and below: Free
🎤 Event Highlights
✨ Talk by Miku Itakura and Takumi Yamazaki
🎶 Musical performance by Mei & Yuta, connecting the world through music
🎤 Heartfelt singing by Akiko Ueda, known for her role as Nala in The Lion King
🎨 Live painting by LiSA, uniting hearts through her art
Let’s gather and take a step toward a brighter future for children together 🌈
🔗 Sign up here:
https://ssl.form-mailer.jp/fms/03f73a3c866416
With Ogurin from the AI School
and Fukui-san from Dubai.
Thank you to my task managers!
Joined Kousai Sekine’s workshop —
four hours a day, two days of pure inspiration.
🎬 Film: “FRONTLINE”
When I met Yosuke Kubozuka,
he handed me a ticket to this film —
and it all came back to me.
Kousai Sekine
Tokyo-born visual artist and film director,
graduate of Sophia University’s Department of Philosophy.
His father, Nobuo Sekine, was a leading figure in the Mono-ha movement of contemporary art.
Sekine has directed and produced across genres — feature and short films, commercials, music videos, and art installations.
His debut short film RIGHT PLACE received international recognition, earning him a global reputation.
He has since won top honors in three categories at the Young Directors Award, and prestigious accolades including Cannes Lions Grand Prix, D&AD Black Pencil, and One Show Gold, also serving as a D&AD judge.
He’s directed music videos for Namie Amuro, Mr. Children, Tamio Okuda, and AKB48, among others.
🎥 The workshop was rich in insight.
In short, what I took away was:
“As creators, we must take responsibility —
to make things that genuinely benefit society.”
(…more to come soon!)
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Actors.
They express because there are things they struggle with.
They want to save someone —
so their drive isn’t just about themselves.
Even as we age,
the courage to jump in deserves admiration.
Today’s theme:
“Why do we create film?”
An actor, by nature, reacts to what exists.
But in acting, they live out the script for something that doesn’t yet exist.
That’s the art.
For creators, filmmaking is a shared act of bringing life together.
In that process, we feel truly alive.
〜〜〜
🎬 Director vs. Acting Coach
The director creates the output — the visible world.
The acting coach works on the inner half — the unseen emotions and presence behind it.
Why do we make films? Why do they matter?
Director Kōsai Sekine began with commercials and music videos,
then moved into documentaries and film — something he’d always wanted to do.
commercials were seen as “inappropriate.”
He faced the times — society, the world, and himself —
and turned to documentary and narrative film.
Some called his work “leftist,” but in meeting people with extreme views,
he learned how film can question reality itself.
Today, images saturate our world —
algorithms flood us with endless video.
Are these hours of watching truly meaningful for our lives?
People have begun to ask.
Screens are everywhere — games, PCs, tablets, cityscapes.
Why?
For what purpose?
Why do we create?
For fun?
For fame?
For money?
To entertain?
To bring happiness?
To face society?
Film itself evolved alongside propaganda —
it was born as a tool to shape thought.
🎞️ The Power of Film.
✂️ The Power of Editing.
As seen in the famous Kuleshov Effect,
even the same image can change meaning
depending on the emotion we attach through editing.
That’s the power —
and the responsibility —
of those who create.
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Show a man’s face — then a bowl of soup —
and viewers say, “He looks hungry.”
Show the same face, followed by a coffin —
and they say, “He looks sad.”
👉 The mind understands images through context.
That’s the essence of the Kuleshov effect.
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s right-hand man,
and the 1925 Soviet film “Battleship Potemkin” by Sergei Eisenstein —
its legendary “Odessa Steps” scene,
a baby carriage tumbling down under gunfire —
united a nation through emotion.
It revealed the political power of film.
Then came Leni Riefenstahl —
a stunningly talented filmmaker.
Her works “Triumph of the Will” and “Olympia”
won international awards,
yet became powerful propaganda tools for Hitler.
Art or documentary?
Beauty or manipulation?
What is the true purpose — and responsibility — of imagery?
Are we still human in how we create and consume?
“Design is anesthesia.”
It mesmerizes, while concealing what lies behind.
Greenwashing —
when companies pretend to be “eco-friendly” or “sustainable,”
but in truth, are not.
We now need films that provoke dialogue —
that make us think, connect, and respond.
A form of anti-propaganda.
“What do you think?”
That question — the courage to feel and answer —
is what’s missing in Japan.
Why can’t we answer?
Because we haven’t thought about it.
Film Anarchism
Neither ruled, nor ruling.
Actors —they carry words,
embody lives,
and stand between story and audience.
Yet, no matter how they perform,
their work can be transformed — even rewritten — by editing.
That’s why they strive to give performances
that influence the edit itself.
Between documentary and fiction lies a fragile boundary —
human reality is simply too powerful to contain.
🎬 Documentary Focus: Designer Yuima Nakazato
Director Kōsai Sekine follows fashion designer Yuima Nakazato as he confronts the global waste crisis. After witnessing the vast clothing dumps in Kenya,
Nakazato begins creating new garments from discarded fabrics —a process that leads to his Paris Collection show.
From “Ikiteru Dake de, Ai” (“Just Being Alive, Love”) to this film,
Sekine explores one timeless question:
What does it mean to create — freely, responsibly, and humanly — in today’s world?
In the final interview, the entire story turns upside down.
Something that blurs the line —
you can’t tell if it’s documentary or fiction.
Know the world in its entirety.
Engage in dialogue with it.
1. Core Message (What It Asserts)
Film is a powerful apparatus where meaning is generated through editing and context, capable of emotional manipulation.
Therefore, both directors and actors must recognize their inner process and social responsibility, designing a dialogical space free from domination and submission.
The goal is to create living reality—a presence within film that is not subordinate to editing.
2. Background & Contemporary Relevance
In Japan, film roles still divide unnaturally—directors control the “output,” while acting coaches (the inner process) are undervalued.
After the 2011 disaster and the rise of algorithm-driven, low-budget production, the question “What does film bring to society?” has become urgent.
Stock footage, AI, and political ads accelerate context manipulation, proving how easily audience perception can be manufactured.
3. Theoretical Foundations
Context effect: the same face changes meaning depending on surrounding shots—editing defines emotion.
Montage history: editing does not record reality; it constructs it—the line between documentation and creation constantly blurs.
Design critique: like greenwashing, aesthetics can conceal intent; film functions the same way.
4. Ethics & Responsibility
The mixture of record, reenactment, and direction risks fixing false “truths.”
Psychological safety for actors: the deeper they dig into the self, the greater the need for post-shoot care and editorial transparency.
Public accountability: as with civic films that inspire voting, the goal is not persuasion but dialogue—inviting audiences to think for themselves.
5. Creative Ethos (How to Act)
Adopt an anarchic posture—create without ruling or being ruled.
Directors accompany the actor’s inner process rather than commanding results, filming the living self.
On set: encourage actor input, embrace dialogue, and allow the script or edit to break and rebuild if needed.
6. Methods (How to Make It Real)
6-1. Actor Practice
Self-dialogue: weave personal history and values into the role—don’t say the line, live it.
Inject reality: use improvisation and authentic communities to anchor presence.
Safety protocols: set emotional boundaries, ensure after-care, and share editorial agreements.
6-2. Director & Editing Practice
Respect sustained time—avoid excessive cutting that over-constructs meaning.
Editorial restraint: don’t fabricate causality; destroy and rebuild the script if necessary.
Transparency: clarify where record and staging merge; share editing intentions with participants.
6-3. Research & Connection
Engage with the full cycle of life and decay in the chosen theme (e.g., seeing the endpoint of fashion waste).
Portray both light and shadow anchored in dignity—never exploit the subject.
7. Contemporary Risks & Responses
AI / stock footage saturation: anonymous imagery shapes politics—counter with metadata sharing and open production notes.
Algorithmic dependence: go beyond recommendation loops; create works that spark conversation outside preference bubbles.
Low-cost structures: compressed timelines erode ethics—embed safety and review clauses contractually.
8. Production Checklist (Actionable)
Purpose: not “What will this change?” but “What conversation will this start?”
Actor prep: personal-history memos, improvisation space, emotional boundaries.
Filming plan: favor long takes, preserve interaction, pre-agree on observation vs. intervention balance.
Editing ethics: avoid forced causality and fixed representation; hold participant review sessions.
Pre-release: disclose credits, context, and editorial stance via pamphlet or website.
After-care: host Q&A sessions, provide participant support, secure secondary-use consent.
9. Short Reflections for Each Role
Actors: Recreate lines through your own words and stories. Negotiate safety and claim awareness of your editorial rights.
Directors: Don’t rush outcomes—wait until the actor’s existence stands on its own. Recognize the temptation to control, and let it go.
10. Conclusion (Three Lines)
Film, shaped by the dynamics of editing, can tilt toward either truth or illusion.
Creation must center on dialogue, dignity, safety, and transparency—not control.
Our task is to raise an image that lives, not one ruled by editing, and return to the audience the freedom to think.
Link to Takumi Yamazaki’s
ENGLISH Book “SHIFT”