In “Princess,” a little girl with a sly expression and a red background imprint a lasting image on the mind. This piece of art is a good example of the fun style of Marty Ito, one that never bores an audience.
Instead of the commercial design world, Marty creates and sells original artwork, which has gained him many admiring fans around the globe.

Originally from Sapporo, he worked for an advertising agency as a production director after graduating from design school. When a client decided to use a design that he created, he in turn decided to become an artist. He was 27.

Illustration, computer graphics, animation, toys; his medium of art knows no bounds, yet everything he creates can easily be identified as his.

For 20 years he has continued to go abroad for art shows. “My first experience with art galleries was in Canada. I spoke no English and knew nothing about the art business. I just took my work and knocked on the doors of galleries,” he says.

He has a strong network with artists and galleries in Los Angeles, where his style and active career have gained him his nickname, “Paint Monster.”
When he began to be recognized in the art community, the Hello Kitty 35th anniversary show, “Three Apples” contacted him to create works of Hello Kitty art. A sculpture and painting were both displayed at a gallery in Los Angeles.

The short film, “Salad Bread” features a real-life bakery in Sapporo. The short film of 20 minutes begins with a simple phrase spoken by daughter Shoko to her parents. Unlike feature films that can run two hours or more, short films must be shorter than 30 minutes. It can be a difficult genre, as Directors have a short amount of time to capture an audience.

Born in Kushiro of Hokkaido and living in Sapporo, Eiji Shimada studied film production in Southern California. His film “Hands” features two characters. He expressed the movements of hands that can both bring people closer together or push each other away, granting himself selection in the Short Shorts Film Festival held in 2000. This became the beginning of Shimada’s journey down the path of filmmaking.

“Salad Bread” is Shimada’s 20th short film since he started filmmaking when he was 24. He shies away from over-the-top acting, focusing more on subtle moments, which has brought him much praise.

Shimada first felt the meaning of the phrase, “from Hokkaido to the world” in 2003. His short film, “6pm,” won an award for best short film in the California Independent Film Festival. Following his success, the film was screened in England, Germany, Italy, and Iran. “You might swing and miss, but everything begins when you come up to bat and give it your best swing,” he says.

In 2008 Shimada became an associate professor at the Hokkaido Information University Information Media Department. As he stands up to the podium, he also embarks on a new journey to “shoot a feature film in Hokkaido.”

“Salad Bread” will screen during the Sapporo International Short Film Festival, beginning on October 14th. It will screen at the Sapporo Toho plaza on October 16th at 2pm and 17th at 6pm. For more details please take a look at the festival website: http://www.sapporoshortfest.jp/

Free Writer Yuko Sato
Translation: David Neptune
 

A birthday bouquet can in fact elicit sighs. This particular arrangement is the popular “Round Style”. Different shades of pink are framed perfectly by the arch created by a green Miscanthus. The resulting product is a perfectly balanced bouquet created by “the master of space and lines.”

It was in 1935 that Wakabayashi’s grandfather and flower farmer from Niigata started a shop in front of the JR Sapporo station. It was a store that sold flowers for Ikebana, called the “Wakabayashi Ikebana Store”. With the changing times, tokonoma that once harbored space for ikebana was replaced by mansions with no such traditional spaces. A new era was beginning in which flowers became “gifts.”

 
 
Hydrangea, the rose Noblesse, and Carnations. The skinny leaves are the Miscanthus. This example is ¥3,500

1993 marked a new beginning for the shop. The third-generation “Fleur Wakabayashi” polished his flower arranging skills. He won countless contests and was chosen as the representative of Hokkaido three times for the Japan Cup hosted by JFTD. He still continues to improve his work as a creator of flower arrangements.

On September 2nd and 3rd, the Hana Hokkaido group will host an event for their 50th anniversary called, “Happy Life Happy Flower”. Wakabayashi, who is a on the board of directors for Hana Hokkaido, says, “Hokkaido is full of nature but few people buy flowers. I’d like to bring flowers into people’s lives.” The venue for the event will be the West Concourse of the JR Sapporo Station. Wakabayashi will no doubt continue to suggest new ways of enjoying flowers, an important part of celebrating everything from birth to the end of a life.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
‘Fleur Wakabayashi’     http://www.fleurwaka.com/
Mitsui Seimei Sapporo Kyodo Building 1F, Kita 4-jo Nishi 5-chome, Chuoku, Sapporo City
Tel:0120-206-878


Free Writer: Yuko Sato
Translation: David Neptune

The sound of Mayumi Ohira’s cheerful violin and her warm smile enthrall the audience. Last year Ohira released two albums and has recently been providing music to various institutions, performing at hospitals and welfare organizations. She has been selected as an International Jury Member for the Sapporo International Short Film Festival 2009, which will take place this October.


- First off, could you tell us a little about the function of a concertmaster?

In an orchestra concert, the concertmaster is the violinist who sits closest to the conductor on the left side. This person leads the tuning for the orchestra before a concert begins, and becomes the connection between the conductor and orchestra during a performance.
They also stand up and shake the conductor’s hand as he/she enters. This is my eleventh year as concertmaster.


- How did you find yourself living in Sapporo?
 
When I returned from the US, I was living in Tokyo. It all began when I was invited as a guest to play with the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra.
During my Tokyo days, I played for the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, had solo performances with ballerina Yoko Morishita, and was invited as a guest to the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. I feel very lucky to have had all of these experiences.
When I visited Sapporo, the view from the sky reminded me of Chicago and the Midwest. I felt an immediate affection toward Hokkaido. I think its spirit and history is similar to the US’s. People gather there from all over Japan, and it always feels like something new is happening. I plan on staying here for a very long time.
Music has an amazing energy. I’d like to always challenge my self to find new ways of playing music.
Actually, I just thought of this, but there are people who play Mozart to their cows or sheep, or grow grapes and strawberries by playing them classical music, so I’d like to play my violin in front of a cow sometime.


- I hear you’ve been playing music for hospitals and welfare organizations?

Music heals a person’s heart, making them healthier, so I play because I want to spread that message.
When I go to hospitals, I always play songs that everyone knows.
I play some school songs selected by the Ministry of Education, but the melody of Japanese music is beautiful, so I always play some of those songs, too. Most people think the violin has a very high-pitched sound, but when I play the low strings, I can tell the audience loves the sound. Live music is beautiful, including the sound of the bow rubbing against the strings. I’d like to create more opportunities for people to enjoy my music.
Please come and see some of my concerts in Sapporo.


- Can we look forward to collaboration with other genres as well?

I recently played a Chaconne by Bach with a modern dancer from Hamburg, Germany. Actually, I was also dancing. Playing while dancing or while running is a unique skill I have.
In concert, I always walk back and forth in front of the audience as I play. When someone plays the violin, you can feel the vibration of the air. I want everyone to feel that. It might be absurd considering the classic style, but I’d like to do more things like that.


Profile: Sapporo Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Mayumi Ohira

Born in Sendai, she attended Tokyo University of the Arts, studying music. She was invited to the San Francisco Conservatory of Musicthree months into her schooling and traveled to America. While attending, she received first place in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition. In the Tanglewood Music Festival of Berkshire Hills, Massachusetts, she received the Silverstein award for best violinist. After graduating, she became a professor of music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Stanford, while continuing performances with orchestras of the West. After returning to Japan, she played for the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, and many others. She has been concertmaster of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra since 1998.
In March of 2008 she released her first album, “All My Love”, and second album, “From My Heart” in October, to warm reception.
She currently produces music projects in and outside of Japan. She also plays for hospitals and welfare organizations to share the joy that is music with people from all walks of life.

The cracks of a cobble stone road could be a maze, and the joints between bricks could be an amida lottery. Taking such ideas from commonplace scenery is exactly what Masaki Kagajo does in his textbook called “Notore! Putt Book”, published in April of 2008.

Born and raised in Sapporo, Kagajo focused solely on soccer during high school. He also loved to make people laugh, and made an appearance on the TV show, “Kasou Taishou”. After graduating high school he decided to become a pro soccer player, traveling to England. He saw an insurmountable difference in skill level, and decided to concentrate on making people laugh.

“I want to find a new way of making people laugh that no one has ever used before.” After returning to Japan, Kagajo worked at a radio station while honing his own comedy skills. He finally found his own style, called “Mitate”, in which he showed scenery from daily life but added narration and music to give a different impression.

From the Italian word for humor, he called his performance “Scherzo”. He began performing in 1999 and continues to this day. A children’s book publisher saw a performance in 2005 and asked him to write a book. Thus, the “Putt Book” was created.

In February of 2009, he held a workshop about “Mitate” in a Japanese school in Prague, Czech Republic. “I use local photographs. As long as there are cracks in the road and sockets on the walls, I realized I could do this workshop anywhere in the world,” he said.

His next workshop will take place whenever and wherever he finds good materials. What will be next? I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

Article by Eichi Sato
Translation by David Neptune

Starting at an early age, Oguro always felt a passion for creating music. He formed his first band when he started junior high school, performing original songs and taking on not only the synthesizer, but producing for the band as well.
After graduating college, he began working for a sound and vibration measuring instrument manufacturer. In 1998, he formed the techno label “aerostich” focused on creating “total techno”. In 2002 he began his residency at ICC and now balances his position as creator and employee.

Oguro received the semi-grandprix award at the “Roland Groove Competition Japan 2000” and the grandprix in 2001, demonstrating his talent as a sound artist. Two events presented further opportunities for him to spread his musical wings: The tomato workshop” and “onedotzero”.

The International digital movie festival “onedotzero” was held jointly in Sapporo and many other countries around the world. This gave Oguro the opportunity to communicate with British directors and break out of Japan and onto the world stage. An audio visual piece he submitted in 2003 received acclaim and was screened in over ten countries around the world.

In 2006, he decided to become an independent creator and began his journey to Berlin. The same year, he was contacted by someone he met while visiting Paris. This person offered a sound designer position to Oguro on a commercial for the release of Playstation3 in Paris.
In 2007, Oguro again found himself designing sound for an Adidas art project featured in the Beijing Olympics. This piece was displayed in the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art and was later auctioned off on England’s famous online auction house, Sotheby’s.

Last year, Oguro gained the chance to produce more sound art when he was invited to Northern Ireland to become a resident at Digital Art Studio. It was there that he realized the importance of designing audio environments, focusing on a new genre he calls “Sound Media”, which can be “sound and space” or “sound and visuals”.

Now, Oguro calls him self a Sound Media Artist.
Electronic music, dance music, and environmental music are all part of a wide range of sounds he produces. He produces for the web, live events, commercials, and other mediums. With his artist name “GROK”, he also releases dance music and DJs live events. “I use GROK as a way to add an edge to what I do,” he says. His unique music can also be purchased on the iTunes music store.

His new project “43d” features sound, visuals, art, and text inspired by the land of Sapporo. All of these elements combine to create not only a new kind of music but a new way of listening.

Oguro created many opportunities for himself by building an extensive network while staying in Berlin.
http://www.junichioguro.com/archive.html

Oguro features a unique Sapporo sound for his new project, “43d”
http://www.43d.jp/

Article by Eichi Sato
Translation by David Neptune

On June 10th, 2009 in his seventh year of living in Sapporo, Richard Hopkins created the bilingual magazine, “Sapporo Source”.

In Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya there are international magazines published by foreigners, but in Sapporo, with its population of 1.9 million, there is no such magazine. Finding a business opportunity in this opening, Hopkins gained himself residency at ICC.

His target market became English speakers, people traveling through Sapporo, and Japanese. “Modern day life in Japan is full of English. I want to publish articles that appeal to Japanese readers interested in International culture,” says Hopkins.

Born in a rural town in England, Hopkins majored in computer systems. As digital media became mainstream, he appeared in London and worked for advertising giant M&C Saatchi. He took on a project that received the prestigious Gold Lion Award at Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival while working there.

He visited Sapporo as a tourist and was taken by the beauty of nature there. He met his future wife Masako and has lived there to this day.

Featured on the first issue of his magazine was an article about the subway IC card “SAPICA”. “Helpful information from the city or public organizations should be available in other languages. I’d like my magazine to become a place for information transmission as well,” says Hopkins.

The magazine is just getting off its feet and he’s looking for sponsors and staff. To contact please email: editor@sapporosource.com

“Sapporo Source” is all color and size A4. Issue 2 is on racks for free at Sapporo tourist information centers, hotels, and bookstores.

Article by Yuko Sato
Translation by David Neptune

A rascal fox flings a dorky ghost around in a five-minute black and white brush animation called “Nanja Monja Ghost”.
The characters don’t speak but the simple black and white paint a picture of happy and sad with a vibrant touch. It’s Yokosuka’s debut piece that won her an award in an International Anime Festival.
Her philosophy is “not to draw,” but to “cherish what’s created in the parts you don’t draw.” It’s more important than to fill every empty space with details.
Yokosuka is from Hitachinaka City in Ibaraki Prefecture. She grew up reading manga by Ryoko Yamagishi and Omoto Hagi.
She attended a specialty school and felt attracted to ink animation, in which she could blur or smear lines. “I knew that was it” she says, and walked a straight path toward becoming a professional. She worked during the day and started drawing when she got home, often continuing late into the night.
One thousand five hundred paintings are needed to create an average five-minute ink animation. Her exhausted hand shuddered as she created a video every six months.
Eventually a production company asked her to work for them just as she completed “Nanja Monja Ghost”. It was the beginning of animation creator Reiko Yokosuka.
Trees, mermaids, and mischievous spirits are often the centerpiece of her stories. She participated in the production of “Kitaro and the Millennium Curse” in 2007.
Her upbringing surrounded by nature nurtured a love for things unseen. Her husband’s job brought her to Sapporo, where she enjoys watching the changing seasons.
She is now interested in an original story. Images from a short novel she’d like to draw circle her mind until they are satisfied by the touch of her brush

NHK Educational TV Puchi Puchi Anime
Nanja Monja Ghost
Mon – Fri 8:30am to 8:35am and 4:15pm to 4:20pm
© Reiko Yokosuka - NHK, NEP

This is Chibi Nacs, an animation featuring Yo Oizumi and other famous talents from TEAM NACS. This popular piece was not only aired on TV, but released as a picture book.

Baku headed the character design portion of the project, which helped him widen his scope of creativity.
“I was involved for three years in a project as part of a large team. It was a first for me to participate in a project that involved a TV station, advertising agency, editing team, and animators. Thanks to this experience, I saw how businesses run and how products are sold in society today.”

Baku not only creates countless characters and illustrations, he continues to evolve by recreating his own unique style.

His first wish was to become a comic book artist, but he became interested in computer graphics in college. During his senior year, he designed a piece for Town Magazine, a network of publications featuring local attractions in Japan. That was his first paid job. “I was overjoyed with the knowledge that I could get paid to do something fun. I thought I could do it forever.”
After a period of working for a website production company, he became independent. Some of his recent designs have been for magazine covers, web pages, and tickets for Consadole Sapporo.

His first solo exhibit, “No Concept” took place in April of this year. He says he looks forward to working in a team again, as he did for Chibi Nacs. What sort of artwork will come out of his “drawer” of creativity next? We all look forward to his future works.

The Ferris wheel seen from the Wine Castle in Ikeda Town. A photographer begins fervently snapping photos. This is the scenery you would have seen if you could see the first time photographer Tsubasa Fujikura laid eyes on the Ferris wheel. It was here he took a photo that won an award in the Art of Still Life section in Japanese Esquire magazine and changed his focus from black and white to color photography.

His father was a photographer, so it was natural for Fujikura to harbor an interest for photography. When he was in elementary school, his friends used to love having their pictures taken outside school.

Fujikura thinks of photographs as a medium that “slices through complicated human emotions”. He loves taking portraits because of this very belief. “I don’t use the word “portrait” just for people. I think this photograph of a Ferris wheel is also a portrait. I want to continue taking portraits that may not fit the conventional meaning of the word,” he says.

His favorite camera is an 8 x 10 large format.
“It’s a simple camera. I want to photograph things that aren’t decorated, and people that I can open my heart to.”

He also drives 70’s Celica, but his unique personality doesn’t end there. He also roasts his own coffee.
Using his overflowing energy and unique eye, we hope to see a continued evolution in his creation of a “Tsubasa World”.

Osaka’s popular theater company Gekidan Shinkansen produced a period action piece called “Yajuro Kenzan”, set in the Oninki period starting in 1467.

Hideki Uramoto chose this play as his acting unit BeeHive’s debut performance because, “action is the best kind of entertainment”. He brought in actors he knew from working together in the past who have talent. He even hand-made all of the props like swords. He never showed the original “Yajuro Kenzan” video to any of the cast so he could get original performances. With his own passion for action, actors and crew deepened their trust to make their first showing in April of 2007 a huge success.

Uramoto first began acting when he worked part time in a hero show. “I always looked up to heroes growing up,” he says. Gradually, he began making his own productions on a stage that once only had a few old props. “Props make stories easier to understand. That’s one of BeeHive’s core beliefs.”
He has a talent for creating props, making everything for his own shows such as swords and animal suits.

Uramoto has the vitality to take on everything from project development to prop creation and acting. He plans on opening another show in October this year, but his interests don’t stop there. “Theater isn’t the only thing that interests me. I’d like to try composite art forms. There are many visual creators in Sapporo I’d like to collaborate with. For example, I want to make a stop motion animation of a robot I created from a local illustrator’s work.”

Freelance write and editor, Yuko Sato

- Experiencing multitudes of interviews while working at an employment magazine

Sato always had the urge to become a reporter, so she started working at a publishing company after graduating from college. She began developing her skills there in the editing room of a weekly employment magazine.
“I was lucky to have experienced all aspects of editing. I had the opportunity to interview a lot of people; probably thousands.”
After building her foundation as an editor, Sato quit her job after working there for 13 years. The challenge of making it on her own began when she was 35 years old.

- A slow start as a freelance writer

Sato says the transition was not an easy one. Still, as she completed each project with care, she learned how to communicate with people, improve her writing, and work professionally.

She wrote “Hikaru Onna” and “Kitano Takumi” for a monthly publication.

- Using “rapport” is the Sato way

There is a word Sato cherishes when interacting with people.
It’s a French word, “rapport”. She learned the word from writer Takashi Tachibana, and it means, “to interact with open hearts”.
“My subjects are giving me their valuable time, so I do my homework, and make sure to look professional. Above all, I show them that I want to hear their story more than anything. If they truly feel that, the interview succeeds.”

“I just felt like talking.” – Words expressed by Sato’s many interviewees.

Her attitude of trying to understand her subject’s views make them relax, creating an environment easy to talk in.

- The creation of a new world, “Hokkaido Hyakunen Monogatari”

It was no small matter for Sato to participate in the creation of radio drama, “Hokkaido Hyakunen Monogatari” (Hokkaido 100-year Story). The show highlights people who have a special history with Hokkaido.
There is a challenge in making people “listen” to the story, but she says the results are worth it. Family members of people interviewed call to express their appreciation, which is very encouraging for Sato.

Work on the radio drama has opened Sato to new possibilities.

 - A love for print and challenge of new genres

“Rather than delving deep into one theme and becoming attached to that, I tend to touch on many different themes lightly,” laughs Sato. This attitude comes from her wish not to leave readers behind by riddling her writing with technical jargon or esoteric terms. She recently began creating work on the web, as well.
“Website designs are mostly the same, the text goes left to right, and it scrolls up and down. I always create content that is accurate. I try to avoid being vague.”
Her many experiences will surely entertain her readers on the web, too.

- The fifth year

Sato recently started her own blog.
“It’s kind of embarrassing because I open up my personal feelings to the world, but I’ve been updating it every day since I started it three months ago,” she says. It will be exciting to see 365 updates a year via her blog.

You can see what Sato’s like through her blog.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Freelance writer and editor, Yuko Sato
Blog –http://mimibana.exblog.jp/

Article by Eiichi Sato
Translation by David Neptune

 

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- Harebare Shashin

Still Cameraman
Director of Harebare Shashin, Inc.

- The Beginnings Of A Cameraman

Yamamoto traveled to London when he was 20 years old to learn "tourism".
It had always been his dream to become a tour conductor. Little did he know that fate would bring him together with a different plan. It was here that he found a used Russian SLR camera for about 5000 yen.
Yamamoto loved it. At first it was a hobby for him, but by the end of his 4th year in London, he had already graduated from a photography school.。

Yamamoto's camera collection

- Still Photography As A Career

He returned to Japan when he was 25. He became the assistant to a cameraman in Sapporo, but he didn't blend well with his overly perfectionist attitude. He quit after one month.
He moved back home, thinking he might not be cut out to be a photographer.
It was then that an opportunity finally presented itself to Yamamoto. He found an ad for "Easy editing - work with simple pictures". His life turned back toward photography once again.
As he built experience, a fellow photographer asked if he would like to join him. "I decided to start a photography studio. Do you want to start a company with me?" he said.
It was the moment a door opened for his professional career.

The serious eye of a photographer.

- His Work

"I took this one at ICC," says Yamamoto, showing me a photo of a Sapporo band that made a major debut. "I enjoy talking to people. That must be why I take more photos of people than anything else," he said with a smile.

He then showed me a free magazine.
Photos of a local shop several days before it opened and photos that document Sapporo City overall filled the pages.
"It was strenuous work, but definitely worth it," he said, his passion for photography visible in his work.

A portrait of Yamamoto drawn by an S-AIR artist

- Personality

"ICC has a lot of talented digital artists, but I love analog, too," says Yamamoto. He believes film does a better job of telling a story than digital.
"A digital camera tends to create photos independent from one another, but film photos can create a sense of time and continuity."
It may be Yamamoto's style to express him self through analog prints.

- Collaboration

Yamamoto has been collaborating with a variety of artists.
He has formed a team with BLOCKHEAD FILMS, in residency next to his office, to be a cameraman on their music video productions.

Though it is the same "photography", he realized film and video are a completely different challenge.

"God of Rock'n'Roll", produced with BLOCKHEAD FILMS

- The Future

"I'd like to focus more on other collaborative projects with members of ICC. I'm preparing for more photography exhibits, but I'd like to do a new project. I live in Hokkaido, so I'd like to use the snow's characteristics to my advantage."
It is exciting to see his analog personality capture the nature of Hokkaido.
I can't wait to see his future work.

At Harabare Shashin Studio

Written by Kohei Kuramoto
Translated by David Neptune