Kojima film director Koichi Kuwata — The momentum behind the film “Ishidan” carries over to his next film, “Charihen♪”

Koichi Kuwata, who lives in Kojima, Kurashiki City, is a working hairdresser, but has used his Mondays off to make four films.

I first learned about Kuwata through the crowdfunding campaign for his third film, “Ishidan,” and took part in a crowdfunding campaign for the first time.

The film I saw at the preview screening was wonderful, and I wanted to introduce it to many people.

This article focuses on an interview with film director Kuwata, and introduces his thoughts on filmmaking to date and his next film, “Charihen♪.”

Kuwata’s background

Here is a brief introduction to Kuwata’s background.

▼ Photographed from the Hienokuchi pedestrian bridge; Gallop Hair, opened by Kuwata, is on the left

What is particularly noteworthy is that he decided to make films in December 2016.

His thoughts at the time are preserved on the website for the film “Kamii-san!”

Through “Kamii-san!” I want to convey the meaning of work, the importance of life, and the wonderful nature of beauty. Also, following the film “Napping Princess,” which was set in Shimotsui, Kojima, I aim to make a film that is 100% from Kojima and revive a new sense of pride in Kojima, Kurashiki City.

From the website for the film “Kamii-san!”

Starting with the production of “Kamii-san!,” Kuwata has already screened three films.

His fourth film, “Charihen♪,” is scheduled to be released on October 16, 2022.

Interview with Kuwata

What led him to become a hairdresser and film director

You’re a working hairdresser. What made you want to make films?

Kuwata (honorific omitted)

My father was the chair of the Hieda Central Children’s Association, and also refereed local softball games every week.

When I was in fifth grade, he bought a video camera for one million yen.

He filmed me and my teammates playing softball and preserved the footage.

My mother also took charge of directing and making costumes when the children’s association put on a play of “The Byakkotai.”

My father filmed that play, too.

Perhaps I was able to make films without hesitation because a video camera—which was not yet widely available at the time—was part of my everyday life, and because I grew up around my parents putting on plays together.

Did your mother influence your decision to become a hairdresser?

Kuwata

I respected both my father and mother even back then. My father worked in construction, and my mother was a hairdresser.

I think my father wanted me to take over his construction business.

But what I remember is working on the parking lot and floor tiles at the nearby Hieda Post Office.

I laid all the tiles at the post office, and it was extremely hot under the blazing sun and physically exhausting.

My father must have been disappointed, but by the time I was in junior high school, I already knew I wouldn’t take over the construction business.

On the other hand, I decided to pursue a career in beauty while I was in junior high school. I remember my mother being delighted when I told her.

When I was a child, brides getting married would have their hair done at home before leaving for their wedding.

There was also a custom of leaving the house from the veranda and handing out wedding sweets to the neighbors.

As a child, I was mainly interested in the sweets I could get, but whenever I followed my mother and saw a bride all dressed and ready, I thought, “She’s so beautiful.”

That experience also led me into the beauty profession. I came to want to take over my mother’s hairdressing work.

So “Kamii-san!” was your first film, inspired by your passion for hairdressing?

Kuwata

No, actually, I had filmed my friends before making “Kamii-san!”

When I was in high school, my father bought me a handheld video camera for 300,000 yen at the time.

It happened to be when the film “Take Me Out to the Snowland (released November 21, 1987),” starring Tomoyo Harada, was popular.

We filmed ourselves skiing and imitating scenes from the film.

Filming has been part of your life since childhood, hasn’t it?

Kuwata

I filmed with a video camera, but perhaps my family was also interested in movies, because we appeared as extras together in many films.

Of these, I’ll never forget “Tsuribaka Nisshi 18 (released September 8, 2007),” filmed at the summit of Mt. Ojigatake.

The whole family went and appeared as extras. I was captivated by Rei Dan’s beauty, but despite the hours we spent waiting and filming, we only appeared for a few seconds.

Normally, you might feel mostly disappointed.

But I was moved by how many staff and extras worked together and spent so much time making a film for just a few seconds of footage.

I think this was one of the most significant experiences of my life.

After that, I went to Tokyo and Osaka and appeared in many productions.

I love the tense atmosphere on a film set, and perhaps my experience as an extra meant I had no hesitation about filming a movie.

My last appearance as an extra was in “Sekigahara,” starring Junichi Okada, formerly of V6. I played a foot soldier in the army of Tokugawa Ieyasu, portrayed by Koji Yakusho.

Since then, I haven’t appeared in any other films; I’ve been making them instead.

His filmmaking to date

Making a film itself sounds really difficult, doesn’t it?

Kuwata

Making a film requires at least a director, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, lighting technician, sound technician, and assistant director.

Kuwata’s current crew mainly includes five people from Tokyo.

There’s a lot to coordinate, and managing the cast’s schedules before filming is especially important.

We also have to arrange locations, a location bus, meals, parking, accommodation, and toilets.

During filming, there may be artificial noises, such as grass cutting or factory sounds.

In those cases, we need to visit in person and ask, “I’m sorry, but could you stop for a little while?”

One major difference from previous films was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since some of the cast come from Tokyo, we had to coordinate everyone’s schedules and film efficiently in as short a time as possible.

If an outbreak occurred during that time, filming the movie itself would become difficult. We took every precaution, including disinfecting with alcohol, prohibiting alcohol during the filming period, and separating people into as many accommodation rooms as possible.

Dealing with COVID was a difficult experience unlike anything we’d faced before.

I see. So filming your first film, “Kamii-san! (released October 21, 2018),” must have been difficult?

Kuwata

“Kamii-san!” was my first film as a full-fledged director.

We didn’t do a crowdfunding campaign for this film, so we filmed without a budget or any know-how to speak of.

Everything was new, and there were all kinds of mishaps. It was really difficult.

In fact, the script wasn’t ready when we announced the production, and filming was delayed by a month.

But I made the film because I wanted to express my thoughts about my work as a hairdresser: “You can become a hairdresser even if you only finished junior high school” and “There are jobs that robots can never do!”

Making this film also led to my ongoing relationships with Akitoshi Otaki and Mitsuko Hoshi, who were active in Tokyo.

Otaki played Deputy Captain Seiichi Munakata in Ultraman Tiga (broadcast September 1996–August 1997), while Mitsuko Hoshi played one of the lead characters, Officer Yuko Minami, in Ultraman Ace (broadcast April 1972–March 1973). She has also appeared in many other dramas and programs.

Next is his second film, “The Legend of Princess Momo Shimotsui (released February 24, 2020).”

Kuwata

For “The Legend of Princess Momo Shimotsui,” I thought it would be better to try doing everything myself, from writing the script to filming and editing, so I shot a short tokusatsu film on a smartphone.

As a result, it was such a difficult experience that I was still editing right up until just before the preview screening.

What I learned from making both my first and second films was that filmmaking is incredibly demanding, with no time to sleep.

But I’m truly moved by the audience’s reactions at screenings and by reading their questionnaires.

I can’t forget that feeling of being moved, and it gives me the strength to think, “Let’s make another one!”

Through these experiences, I felt that I might be suited to being a film director as a producer who brings people together, and that led to my third film, “Ishidan.”

Poster for the film “The Legend of Princess Momo Shimotsui”

About the film “Ishidan (released April 18, 2021)”

So many experiences and encounters led to your third film, “Ishidan”! What inspired you to make a film set at the Kojima Eighty-Eight Temple Pilgrimage?

Kuwata

The main purpose of making films in the first place was to revitalize the Kojima area.

There was a time when Kojima was booming, and I think that was during the Seto-Ohashi Expo in 1988.

Many pavilions were exhibited, and I think that was when the Kojima area saw its greatest number of tourists.

I don’t remember Kojima thriving after that.

I also love history, and learned about the Kojima Eighty-Eight Temple Pilgrimage through old books and other sources.

I think people flocked to Kojima when the Yugasan and Konpira pilgrimage was thriving.

I’ve done location scouting at the Kojima pilgrimage sites about ten times for filming, and was surprised that so many small pilgrim inns remained.

At Hieda Daishido Hall, they apparently held an Eyo (a famous naked festival at Saidaiji Temple), cooking lots of mochi and serving them to visitors.

▼ Hieda Daishido Hall today

It’s sad that, despite Kojima having once flourished and the Kojima Eighty-Eight Temple Pilgrimage having been established through the hard work of Enmyo Sojo, 200 years later no one knows about it.

These days, I’ve come to think that perhaps I was chosen to make “Ishidan” and “Charihen♪” as well.

Okayama City and Mizushima were bombed and reduced to burned-out wastelands, but fortunately Kojima escaped the ravages of war, and many temples remain.

I want to preserve these stone steps, temples, and shrines for future generations, too.

I love Kojima. I think only people who live in Kojima can understand.

The calligraphy for “Ishidan,” which first catches your eye on the posters and flyers, is wonderful, isn’t it?

Kuwata

It’s not easy to just show up at a temple or shrine and ask them to cooperate as a filming location.

In that situation, it was a big deal that we were able to ask Motoyama Zuiho, head priest of Hannyain and chairman of the Okayama Prefecture Buddhist Association, to write the title calligraphy.

Having Chairman Motoyama write the title calligraphy for the “Ishidan” poster helped people trust us, and I felt that many temples and shrines began to say, “We’d be happy to cooperate.”

Master Motoyama Zuiho described the image he had in mind when writing the title calligraphy as follows.

Children are happily playing on the stone steps at a temple. The place is filled with warm spring sunshine, and dandelions are blooming here and there.

Inspired by the atmosphere of the work Kuwata-san was aiming for, although stone is naturally hard and cold, this title calligraphy expresses “stone” that is like cotton, warmly embracing you.

For the character “n,” I likened the steps to life (with its ups and downs, so to speak). I wrote it hoping that people would grow greatly through their many life experiences.

▼The calligraphy for “Ishidan,” displayed at the 55th Okayama Prefecture Calligraphy Federation Exhibition.

Next, the filming locations featured on the posters and flyers are wonderful, too.

Kuwata

At screenings and other events, the question I’m asked most often is about the filming locations featured on the posters and flyers.

I asked a professional female photographer to take the photos. I pulled my beloved car (a Jimny) right up to the bottom of the stone steps and shot from on top of its roof.

These stone steps are in front of Jigen-in, the 50th temple in Obara.

Stone steps like these are rare even among the 88 temples of the Kojima Pilgrimage, so I was particular about the framing.

Thanks to the care I took with the photography, we got some wonderful pictures.

▼Behind the scenes of the “Ishidan” poster shoot

Could you share a few final words?

Kuwata

Some time ago, I looked into whether there was any archival footage of Kojima, but I learned that very little had been filmed and none had survived.

I wanted to preserve on film the Kojima, my beloved hometown.

I began making the film because I wanted people in Kojima 100 years from now to see it.

I think that building a strong relationship with Yutaka Watanabe, the cinematographer for “Ishidan,” among the people involved with the Kuwata team today, has brought us to where we are now.

Of the 81 films screened at the Hamburg Japanese Film Festival, ours was one of five selected for both the Audience Award and the Jury Award. I’m also increasingly being invited to schools in Okayama City, Kurashiki City, and elsewhere as a guest speaker, often asked to talk about “dreams,” and the film has been screened in public middle school classes. Since “Ishidan” was released, I’ve felt a much greater response and groundswell than I ever imagined.

I’ve also heard that the number of people visiting the 88 temples of the Kojima Pilgrimage increased fivefold after “Ishidan” was screened.

The reason pilgrims on the 88 temples of the Kojima Pilgrimage wear white clothing is that it serves as burial clothing, so they are prepared to die at any time.

It also signifies undertaking the pilgrimage prepared for death, with the walking stick becoming a grave marker if they die along the way.

I’ve heard that many people actually died here in Kojima before reaching the 88 temples of Shikoku.

Against this background, the revered monk Enmyo opened the 88 temples of the Kojima Pilgrimage with a fervent wish.

Through my film, I hope people will learn about the 88 temples of the Kojima Pilgrimage, which embody the fervent wish of the revered monk Enmyo, and that many people, including visitors from overseas, will come to Kojima and make the pilgrimage.

My next film, “Charihen♪,” is also set among the 88 temples of the Kojima Pilgrimage.

The film is already complete.

I consider it the culmination of my work as a film director, so I hope as many people as possible will see it, and I want to pass this tradition on to descendants 100 years from now.

Introducing the next film, “Charihen♪”

Here is the synopsis of “Charihen♪.”

Every time I watch the film’s promotional video, I can hardly wait for the film to be screened.

The trailer and teaser for the film “Charihen♪” have also been released, so here they are.

Film “Charihen♪” trailer

Film “Charihen♪” teaser

Upcoming screenings are scheduled for Sunday, November 20, 2022, at Fukuyama Ekimae Cinema Mode, with registration starting at 1:00 p.m. and the screening at 1:30 p.m., and Sunday, December 18, at the Tamano Industrial Promotion Building.

If you can’t make it to a screening in Kojima, why not plan to see it in Fukuyama City or Tamano City?

From the Writer

During the interview, Kuwata-san came across as sincere and gentle in every word, while his passionate and powerful love for Kojima came through consistently.

His next film, “Charihen♪,” is also the culmination of his work as a film director.

Even as I listened to him, I could sense that it was a work he was confident in, and I can hardly wait for its release.

I’ve already booked a ticket for the screening in Kojima on October 16, 2022.

I hope to keep following Kuwata-san and sharing his story whenever possible.

“Charihen♪” Film Screening Information

Name	“Charihen♪” film screening
Date	・Date: Sunday, October 16, 2022 ・Time: Session 1: 10:30 a.m. 　　　　Session 2: 2:00 p.m. 　　　　Session 3: 6:00 p.m. ※Doors open 30 minutes before the screening.
Location	Kurashiki City Kojima Jeans Hall, 2-2-38 Ajino, Kojima, Kurashiki City, Hall Building, 3rd Floor
Admission (tax included)	Adults: ¥1,500 Children: ¥1,000 (junior high school students and younger)
Website	Official “Charihen♪” Film Website

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