K A ZU O N A K A M U R A

Ta l k W i t hYUS U K E A K A M AT S UYour Vitality Is Your Most Important Asset.
Use Your Energy and Experienceto Move Forward
Yusuke Akamatsu
Digital Finger Painter

Kazuo Nakamura
Chairman and CEO, CMIC HOLDINGS, Co., Ltd.

Your Vitality Is Your Most Important Asset.
Use Your Energy and Experience to Move Forward

KAZUO NAKAMURA

The COVID-19 pandemic has stalled economic
and human activity, making it even harder than
before to engage in international exchange.
Considering the difficulties in maintaining
connections with people nowadays, what kindof mindset do we need and what sort of action
should we take? Yusuke Akamatsu has been
unhindered by these circumstances—heleverages interpersonal connections as hecontinues to make great strides as an artist on
the global stage, creating highly original
artworks and videos using just a smartphone.
CEO Nakamura invited him as a guest to share
his story.

Nakamura When I first met you, I
was surprised to see such a unique
Japanese artist in the European art
scene. You travel worldwide andcreate artwork from what you haveseen and felt. In this way, you are likea modern Matsuo Basho.*1 Whereas
Basho created haiku poetry, you use
modern tools to create your art. I am
really interested in how yourupbringing and background madeyou who you are today.
Akamatsu I was born and raised inOsaka. My mother is very carefree. I
guess you could say she has
extensive experience in romance.

Corn in the dark

When I was in kindergarten, she
once left the house saying, “I’ll beback by 7 p.m.,” but she did not
return for two years. (laughs)
Nakamura Two years? I would
imagine that the sort of loneliness of
being unable to spend your earlyyears with your mother would havesome lasting trauma. I’m amazedthat you can speak about it socheerfully.
Akamatsu After such a long time
away, my mother suddenly asked
me if I would like to become a childactor, so I started acting when I was
6 or 7.
Nakamura I’m sure you never saw
that coming.
Akamatsu My performance fees all
disappeared as lunch money for mymother though. (laughs) I was just achild, so the other actors and stafftreated me kindly. I preferred being
on set to being at home, because
they were all so friendly to me. Injunior high school I began doing
manzai comedy with a friend, and as
I was set to graduate and enter highschool, I thought it might be fun tocontinue working in comedy. By theway, my manzai partner from backthen is now a professor in physics at
the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Nakamura That’s amazing.
Akamatsu Despite my aspirations

for comedy, the plan was tocontinue studying at high schooland university. But my mother left
home and took my high school
entrance fees with her. (laughs) I wasat a loss, but someone at a talentagency in Tokyo offered me fundingon the condition that I either go to ahigh school in Osaka or move toTokyo and start an apprenticeship inentertainment. I did think it would
be interesting just to go to highschool with that offer, but I decided
to move to Tokyo in 1985 as I did
not want to keep relying on mygrandparents who were taking careof me at the time.

Using the experience
gained in his 20s to enter
the world of cinema
Nakamura What kinds of dramasdid you experience in Tokyo?
Akamatsu I stayed at the house of aduo called the AB Brothers that
Hideyuki Nakayama was part of atthe time, and got involved in various
jobs related to comedy. Apart frombeing a comedian, I also served
behind the scenes. I went on to doother work too, such writing anddirecting at a broadcasting station,*1 Matsuo Basho (1644–1694) was a haiku poet from the first half of the Edo Period, famed for his work The Narrow Road to the Deep North. He developed a form of
poetry called haikai that served as the foundation for haiku, thereby establishing this short-form poetry as a mode of art.

writing novels, and making
appearances at events. I evenworked with Kenji Otsuki, Unicorn,and Go-Bang’s in my early 20s when
Japan was going through a bandcraze. Theater was also populararound then, so I worked with Kohei
Tsuka, Hideki Noda, and Shoji
Kokami—modern-day legends. They
all have highly distinctive
personalities and I learned a lot fromthem. I’m confident that I gainedmuch more experience in my 20s
than others of the same age. Butthen one day, one of my seniors in
the entertainment industry
recommended going abroad toaccomplish something on my own.
So I opted to try my hand at cinema,a field in which I was a raw beginner.
Nakamura And so that was when
you first left our shores.
Akamatsu If I was going to take ona new challenge abroad, I wanted tobecome instantly recognizable as
the Japanese guy who went
overseas and made a film on hisown. Someone gave me thefollowing advice: “It won’t be any
much fun if you learn their language.
Your unique character will serve youwell abroad.” So I marched onward
with a firm belief in my own
individuality.
Nakamura I’m surprised that you
have such a wealth of achievement
abroad despite not speaking much
English. What is the key element
driving communication enabling you
to survive abroad?
Akamatsu You need to keep talking
until the other person understands.
Use hand gestures and move yourbody to communicate until they tell
you they know what you mean. You
need to work really hard to makesure the message gets through onthe spot. Eventually, the barber, thesupermarket checkout lady, therestaurant staff, and everyone else in
the local area became familiar withmy way of speaking, and they werekind to me. The power to convey

meaning starts with a desire to get
the message across.
Nakamura The late Dr. Yuichiro
Goto*2 was a teacher I respected,
and he taught me my favorite
saying, “live with vigor like a weed.”
I have lived my life under theprinciple that I will not encounterany new opportunities if I give up.
One needs passion and the resolve
to keep on living. I’m sure everyone
could sense your passion and that’s
why they opened up to you. I think
the secret to building trust is more
about having a strong desire forothers to understand you, as
opposed to linguistic ability.

Experiencing the wonderof art
Akamatsu After leaving Japan I
traveled across Asia, staying inVietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia,
Singapore, Hong Kong, and South
Korea. I started shooting a film with
my iPhone while in Singapore. WhenSteve Jobs said that the iPhone wasa box and that different people
should be able to put different
things into it, that really resonatedwith me. I live my life as a single
individual, but I observe and absorb
a lot of different things as I connect
with all sorts of people, and I
thought I’d put it all into this box(my iPhone). On showing the film I
made on my iPhone to a movie
director in Taiwan, the reply was,“This isn’t entertainment; it’s art.” I
had only ever known the world ofentertainment, so I was unsure ofwhat to do. But I was advised to go
to France and so headed there thefollowing week.
Nakamura You certainly are quickon your feet. You are constantly on ajourney of self-discovery, in a goodway, and you always take action inpursuit of a better place. I can sensethat you are filled with more vitality

Talk WithYUSUKE AKAMATSU

Masked confession

and curiosity than the average
person, and that you are living life
free of doubts and excessive
attachments.
Akamatsu In Paris, I visited theproduction company of movie
director Éric Rohmer and asked him
to look at my work. I was thinking ofreturning to Japan if he said I had
no talent; instead, he told me: “Youare a man of art. Paris is the placefor you to be.” The situation wasn’t
looking too good for me at thatpoint. (laughs)
The producer at the company (shewas Éric’s last assistant) told me this:“Your energy and vividness areunlike other people’s, so keep doing
what you are doing now. But you
should focus your output into media
other than film. Keep on mixing withlots of other people and continue
making things.”
I continued to produce films, butalso took photos on my iPhone tokeep my skills sharp. A journalist
looked at these photos andsuggested exhibiting my work, andthat led me to hold my very firstshow. That was about two and a halfyears ago now.
Nakamura Only two anda half years after you made afull-scale start? You reached*2 Yuichiro Goto (1922–2003), MD. Professor Emeritus at Tokai University, and Honorary Director at The Tokai University Hospital.

Your Vitality Is Your Most Important Asset.
Use Your Energy and Experience to Move Forward

KAZUO NAKAMURA

groundbreaker, and you made it bigon the global stage by emittingboundless energy when a single
opportunity came your way.
Watching you achieve all this fromthe sidelines was profoundly
moving.
storyteller

TANGO

the upper echelons of the art world
in only a couple of years—though all
your previous accomplishments
must have helped to propel yourself
upward. You show an interest in andactively seek to learn about things
you didn’t know before. You get thepeople around you involved in yourwork and absorb a lot from them. All
these qualities serve as thefoundation for your great life force.

You never know what will
happen tomorrow, but
that’s what makes life fun
Nakamura How did your network ofconnections grow after that?
Akamatsu Like the Japanese tale ofthe straw millionaire, I steadily grew
bit by bit using what I had.
One day, the president of a bakery
said to me, “Tell me about the logic
behind these photos,” and I tried todescribe it in my own way. I told him
I was just trying to capture humanemotions, history, hidden feelings
and anything else that flowed out
from the walls, the earth, the roads,
the intermingling of people, and theviews from cafés. This led to his
introducing me to a producer for theCannes Film Festival. One thing led
to another and I somehow foundmyself walking on the red carpet atthe 2019 Cannes Film Festival alongwith a highly prominent individualfrom Greece. I’d left Japan with theaim of walking that red carpet as amovie producer, yet ended up there
despite not having made a film.
(laughs) That event made me truly
realize that you never know what will
happen tomorrow.
People invite me to work on their
new projects at certain locations
after checking out my work, and I
accept their offers. This process has
led to all sorts of funny thingshappening, and everything just got
bigger and bigger. This might sounda little dramatic, but I think thatpeople who act with a burning
passion tend to attract each otherand come together. I feel that you
are included in this group, too.
Nakamura With people staying
home during the COVID-19
pandemic, large companies, agents,and art galleries have lost somemomentum. Despite that, you havedevoted your life to art, and havedeveloped an incredible network by
doing so.

Now is the time torecharge
Akamatsu I think the mostimportant thing is the energy, what
we might call our life force, thatdrives us as humans. During thisbrief trip back to Japan, lack of life
force I sense in people whileobserving them on the streets ofTokyo has been shocking. Thereseems to be no passion at all. It feels
like a desert, and I can hardly bear
to see it.
Nakamura The innate energy of theJapanese people has withered,hasn’t it? They may be able to scorehigh on any assignment that they
are given, but there is stillsomething missing. They have nodesire to take on challenges withpassion and vitality. So in that case,what do Japanese people need todo? I think your story today holds
the key to breaking through thissense of helplessness in modern-day
Japan. You are energetic and a

Start walking on yourown, then pursue yourdreams
Nakamura I think there are many
young people in Japan who do wantto throw their heart into their
dreams and reach the same heights
as you. What would be your advice
to them?
Akamatsu I think many people have

PROFILE

their own dreams in mind before
they create any momentum in theirlives. It is only once you take a few
steps and become aware that you
are walking all by yourself that you
will truly have dreams. That is, I
believe that dreams appear only
once you are in motion toward
something. And once you createdmomentum, never give up.
Nakamura So you’re saying thatwhen people find something theywant to do or seek to dive into a
new world without experience, theyneed to steel themselves with theresolve to take on challenges witheverything they have at thatmoment. Interpersonal relationships
are more important than ever in thepresent day, so is there anything inparticular you focus on when

Talk WithYUSUKE AKAMATSU

building your own network?
Akamatsu Creating a network andconnecting with friends requires you
to be trustworthy and reliable. Also,
if you have something you can sharewith others from the heart, you willfind your network practicallygrowing of its own accord.
Nakamura You are by far one of themost interesting and high-caliber
people I have met to date, and yourway of life has emboldened us all. I
think the fundamental challenge isthe same whether our field is art,science, and business. People needto be able to exhibit originality. They
also need to be steadfast in infusing
their own personal twist as they put
together a project using the latest
information and by leveraging theirpersonal sensibilities. Moreover,they need the charm and life force
to motivate others around them to
get involved and cooperate withthem. I hope that you continue tosee success going forward as you
share your energy with younger
generations. Thank you for taking
the time to talk with me today.

Yusuke Akamatsu

Born in Ibaraki, Osaka on October 21, 1967, Yusuke Akamatsu entered the world of entertainment in 1985 following the death of his parents. His career
has encompassed many roles, including comedian, director, scriptwriter, and novelist, and he has made appearances at events as well. In 1995, hechanged direction to become a video creator, and went on to produce many experimental video works that fuse moving images with photos. He began
traveling the world in 1997, visiting South Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, USA, the United Kingdom, and other countries as
he creates art based on the vibrations and resonance found in human barrenness. All of Akamatsu’ s works are captured and edited with an Apple
iPhone, and his art chiefly comprises photos and short videos. He is currently a resident in Paris, France.
Website: https://www.yusukeakamatsu.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yusukeakamatsu.digitalartist/
You can view his works on his website and Instagram pages above
News & Activities Yusuke Akamatsu
The March 2022 edition of a magazine published with the authorization of the royalfamilies of Monaco, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Bahrain, and Kuwait shows photos from theRoyal Investment Summit held by H.E. Sheikh Abdulaziz in January 2022. This event
was covered in the magazine’ s lead article.
Yusuke Akamatsu was appointed as a Future For Humanity ambassador in February2022.
https://futureforhumanity.io/pages/global-goals