We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Misa Akamatsu a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Misa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

If I could go back in time, I wish I had started my creative career earlier.I used to think that, but I don’t think that anymore right now.

When I was a child, I loved touching my mother’s hair and playing with her makeup tools. My older sister loved drawing, and a friend I met in elementary school was also good at art, and her dream was to become a fashion designer. I remember always carrying the picture of a fawn on the cover of a book my mother gave me, “The Story of a Fawn.” I remember spending my childhood very attracted to anything related to art. On the other hand, I also loved to be active, and when I was little, I would play baseball, dodgeball, and other games with my friends in the neighborhood, both boys and girls, until the sun went down.

I was a member of the basketball club in elementary, junior high, and high school, and was captain all through elementary, junior high, and high school. I also liked design, but I was more of a sports-obsessed teenager. I’m the type of person who gets absorbed in something when I like it. On the other hand, on my days off, I would draw pictures of my pet cat. For me, drawing was a form of meditation to heal my body tired from sports. It was a very relaxing time. When I was in junior high school, I also dreamed of a job related to sports. The coach of the basketball club was very cool, and I wanted to be a physical education teacher too. And there were many things that made me glad that I played sports. In junior high school, at first, I mainly did tough running and muscle training. The height of the basketball goal became higher, and I couldn’t get the hang of shooting practice and it was hard to score. But it was fun. I don’t know how to express it, but I think I enjoyed the training situation where I got a sense of accomplishment when I finished the task. And I think it was around this time that I realized that I had a lot of concentration. Persistence is power. After practicing to improve my shooting form and make it soak into my body, one day I suddenly started shooting. My seniors were surprised and happy. And I was selected as a sub-member as a first-year student. This was my first experience of success in life. Even if you don’t know what to do at first, if you keep going, it will take shape. I gained both physical and mental endurance and patience, and I’m really glad that I played basketball. In a game, you need to make instant decisions, have the best timing, and work as a team. Sports are often likened to life, and that’s exactly right.I’ve realized this now as an adult. In my life, when I have been faced with a choice, I always feel like I am standing on a basketball court. I felt the same way about how to pass the ball and aim for the goal. The people I passed the ball to were my family, friends, coworkers, seniors I respected, and artists I admired. And I aimed the ball at the place where I lacked learning.
I felt like I had done my best in basketball up until high school. During my university life and job hunting, I started to want to go into design. My first job was at a local design and event planning startup. I was assigned to work as an assistant on the site of a commercial shoot, which sparked my interest in fashion stylist and makeup artist work. It was something I loved as a child. After that, I changed jobs to an advertising photography company. While working as an assistant to a photographer, I learned the workflow of advertising commercial shooting for a year. And just as I decided to become a makeup artist, which was what I was most interested in, I became pregnant. I thought my life had gone crazy. I was living in the countryside, and this happened when I decided to move to Tokyo and work as a makeup artist. In fact, I was hesitant to give birth. There was a part of me that thought ethically and a part that didn’t. When I told my boyfriend that I was pregnant, he didn’t have the choice to not give birth. Still, I was worried for a while. I felt the condition of my body as I started to prepare to become a mother, and I felt that becoming a mother of this child was my top priority. My maternal instinct worked. My child was born safely, and my life centered on raising my child began. Raising a child is really hard, and I put my own needs on the back burner. There were many times when I wished I had started my career as a makeup artist sooner when my child wouldn’t stop crying. However, I was happy to see my child’s smile and growth. By becoming a parent, I was able to understand the feelings of my parents. My child’s growth leads to my own growth. I had a lot to learn. Then, I made a plan to start working to become a makeup artist when my child started attending kindergarten. I decided that I couldn’t go to Tokyo right away, but I would try to work locally first.
My child started attending kindergarten. Then, I took a correspondence course at a beauty school and trained in hair and makeup at a hair salon (a salon owned by an independent owner from Mod’s Hair) for four years. In the general photography industry in Japan (apart from Tokyo), both hairstyling and makeup skills are essential. While raising a child, it was mentally and physically tough, but with the determination I had cultivated through sports and the support of my family, I obtained a national qualification as a hairdresser. I then returned to my previous job as a makeup artist at a photography company. After gaining experience shooting for many newspapers, magazines, and commercials, I went independent in 2015 and began working mainly in Western Japan. I has been involved in photography for major advertising agencies (Dentsu and Hakuhodo) and TV stations, and has won many awards as a photography team, including the ACC (All JAPAN CONFIDENTIAL of CREATIVITY ) Award.
In 2015, I decided to set up a base in Tokyo after I became independent. It was my encounter with makeup artist Chiaki Shimada that led me to this. Before I became independent, I regularly attended the makeup school of Chiaki Shimada (a famous Japanese makeup artist in the industry. At the time, he was in charge of makeup for Ryuichi Sakamoto and others) in Tokyo in 2011, and honed my makeup skills. At the same time, I had a vague desire to work overseas. In 2016, I re-enrolled in university to study languages ​​other than Japanese. I met Rika Matsui, a makeup artist who had experience working in New York. I could see myself heading towards a new phase. Then, in April 2021, I started working in Tokyo. I work in two locations, in Western Japan and Tokyo. After the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a time when new ways of working were emerging in society as a whole. In October 2021, I met Matsui again while working in Tokyo. Matsui gave me advice on how to work as a makeup artist in Tokyo. I learned that many artists who are active in famous fashion magazines have experience working as artists overseas. I felt that going abroad was also an option. In 2022, I consulted with Matsui again. In order to focus on my activities in Tokyo, I decided to go abroad first. she recommended LA if I wanted to work in film, and NY if I wanted to work in fashion, and I chose New York without hesitation. First, I studied abroad to learn the language. I felt that the fact that my life was reset by COVID-19 was a good opportunity for me.

I went to the United States in June-August 2022. While attending a language school for the period allowed by ESTA to see if it was the right place for me, I spoke to Japanese photographers and makeup artists active in New York about their activities in New York. Japanese artists are trusted because many of them are serious and have delicate techniques. There is also a lot of respect for artists. The city and culture of New York are stimulating. I wanted to seriously learn English and try my hand at being a makeup artist in New York. As someone who is interested in languages ​​and grew up in a monolingual country, I thought living in a multilingual country would be very interesting, which was one of the reasons. Even though I was supposed to be in an English-speaking country, as soon as I arrived at the nearest station to my first homestay, Spanish caught my ears. NY is a melting pot of cultures, with people from all over the world gathering there. The same goes for food. You can experience a culinary journey from high-end cuisine to street food from all over the world. There is no end to the excitement of entertainment. One of my goals is to participate as a makeup artist in the fashion show “New York Fashion Week,” which is one of the entertainments. During my stay at ESTA, I became convinced that my main place of activity now is not Tokyo, but NY. It has been one year and seven months since I moved to NY in November 2022 and started learning English conversation in earnest. I still have a long way to go, but I can finally enjoy conversation. Even if I can’t speak much English, the people I interact with in NY are very tolerant. They come from a variety of backgrounds, and many of them learned English as a second language. They also understand the difficulty Japanese people have in learning English. I sometimes remember the words of my university seminar professor. “Japanese and English are just different approaches. If you have a clear idea of ​​what you want to say, you can learn a language quickly.” Currently, while attending a language school, she regularly participates in test shoots with photographers she has befriended to practice her English conversation and makeup.
Even if you have no idea how to get closer to something you have vaguely thought about, if you focus on it, your senses will become sharper and you will see what you need to do. By taking action, even if it is just a little at a time, the pieces will come together and your dream will come true. It may seem like I decided to go to New York suddenly. But it took a long time, and I chose that path intuitively. I am standing in New York now because I met the people I wanted to meet and received a lot of support. I was meant to come to New York. If you have the ability to make decisions and a sense of gratitude, you will definitely move forward. Looking back, I don’t wish I had started my career earlier. Life is more fun when you accept the choices you made and move forward. I have come to realize that the time I spend imagining and regretting things that have not happened is a waste of time because I did not make a choice.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I think that good communication with clients and production teams is especially important to do quality creative work. I have been interested in words, especially as a means of communication, since I was a child.

I was good at Japanese since elementary school. When I was in the fourth grade of elementary school, I won the top prize in a haiku contest for traffic safety in Ehime Prefecture. It was an experience that suddenly increased my interest in “words”. Words are one of the communication tools in human society. I think that this experience made me always be aware of the significance of communicating something. Now I am a makeup artist with specialized skills and work in advertising, and I think about how to communicate on a daily basis. I feel a sense of fulfillment when all the production team members digest the intention of the advertisement and create an advertisement that matches the image, mainly using photo-visual expression as a medium of “sight” as a means of communication. I feel that not only my own artistic skills but also “words” play a role in fusing the individual powers. As a member of the production team, I put myself in the other person’s shoes, think seriously, understand, and continue to make an effort to turn it into an ideal form using specialized knowledge and skills, and that is how great works are created. To achieve this, I felt that understanding the language, using it appropriately, and having related knowledge were important factors for proceeding calmly and smoothly. I had many opportunities to work with people with high language skills, such as directors, and I felt that I needed to improve my own language skills through learning.
On the other hand, at that time, after the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, I began to think a lot about how people interact with each other, such as bonds and helping each other, and what it means to live in human society. Humans have the right to be happy. If they are not happy, I thought that they could be improved even a little by communicating well. I was particularly interested in language as a means of communication, so I wanted to learn more about it. I believe that we can live happily by using language to accurately convey our intentions and feelings and understanding each other. Rich knowledge is also necessary to communicate. In order to build friendly relationships across borders, it is important to gain knowledge about the differences in the origins of language and cultural differences.
So, while working, I attended university for five years from 2016 to 2020 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in linguistics. It is important for artists to hone their specialized skills. I think it is meaningful to connect it to society. To achieve a great goal, smooth and good communication between the client and the production team is essential. I want you to know that I value words in order to communicate with each other.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Before going independent, in 2011, I regularly attended the Chiaki Shimada Makeup School in Tokyo (a famous makeup artist in Japan. At the time, he was in charge of makeup for Ryuichi Sakamoto and others) to hone my makeup skills. Based on Shimada’s philosophy that “makeup has the power to affect people’s hearts,” I learned makeup that brings out hidden beauty and individuality. Shimada, who studied painting at an art university, focuses on the facial structure and is logical in his makeup. The moment he sees the model’s bare face, bone structure, and shape of the parts, the finished product comes to his mind, and he works quickly because he moves his hands without hesitation. He is truly a professional. From that time, I also wanted to move to Tokyo and work for a fashion magazine someday. And Rika Matsui, a makeup artist who works for magazines such as ELLE and Vogue, is also one of my idols. Her makeup is gentle, strong, delicate, and very cool. I also wanted to work in Tokyo someday, so I was looking for an opportunity to meet Matsui and talk to her. I sent Matsui a DM when I had been to Tokyo several times to attend Chiaki Shimada Makeup School. In 2014, after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, I was invited to participate in the “Beauty Volunteer” event in Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture, which Matsui organized as a reconstruction support project. There, I finally had the chance to meet Matsui. Matsui’s makeup, hand movements, and posture were truly beautiful, and I was happy to be able to see them up close. Our volunteer team borrowed a temporary community center and provided hair and makeup, nails, and massages to elderly women living in temporary housing in the area. The elderly woman I was in charge of seemed anxious at first, quiet, and not very energetic. Of course, the shock of the disaster was great, and it was only natural in a situation where you don’t know what your future holds. Our team’s goal is to use makeup to brighten the mood and help them regain some energy. After skin care and a face massage to relieve tension, we started applying makeup. We naturally raised the skin tone with foundation and concealer, and carefully applied eyeshadow. The expression of the woman reflected in the mirror gradually softened, and I could clearly see that she looked happy. The quiet woman slowly started to tell me about herself, saying that she lives nearby with her husband, that she used to wear makeup before the disaster but doesn’t anymore. When her makeup was done, she said with a big smile, “I can’t wait to show it to my husband.” Matsui also praised her, saying, “You look like an actress. Beautiful makeup. You’re really good at makeup!” I remember it as if it were yesterday, and it was a very happy moment. It was also the moment I realized that makeup can give confidence and courage and enrich people’s lives. Makeup can bring out the beauty and kindness hidden inside a person. I am truly grateful to Matsui for making me realize this in a tangible way.
Matsui has experience working as a makeup artist in New York. Beauty volunteering is something Matsui started doing after moving to New York. She had been thinking about what she could do for society even before going to New York, and she thought makeup was the only thing she could do. She thought that if she visited nursing homes and hospitals, put on makeup, took pictures, and gave them as gifts, they would be happy. The woman, who was a severe alcoholic, refused at first, but when Matsui put on red lipstick, it looked great on her, and she was praised by saying, “You’re beautiful!” and there was a moment when she opened up to her and said, “Really?” When Matsui gave her a photo, she never touched alcohol again. It has the power to “move the heart” as Chiaki Shimada said. The art of makeup in fashion magazines, creating a character in a movie, moving the emotions of the viewer. And the potential of makeup with the power of mental recovery is truly immeasurable.One of my goals is to do volunteer work in New York as a makeup artist.

Image Credits

Dominick Noboa