Team behind Japan's hit film ‘Kokuho’ react to Oscar-nomination

Описание: (27 Feb 2026)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tokyo, Japan - 27 February 2026
1. Various of director Lee Sang-il (R) , make-up artist Kyoko Toyokawa (2nd R), Kabuki make-up artist Naomi Hibino and Kabuki wig master Tadashi Nishimatsu (L) pose for photo holding their certificates of Academy Award Nomination
2. Lee posing for photo
3. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Lee Sang-il, director:
“Kabuki— as many of you probably already know —is a traditional performing art with a 400-year history. In making this film, all of us approached Kabuki with a deep respect for its tradition, for the great weight it carries, and for the passage of time embodied in it.”
4. "Kokuho" film poster next to the panelists
5. Pan on "Kokuho" film poster
6. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Lee Sang-il, director:
“When people watch this film, I believed it was essential that they feel absolutely no sense of awkwardness toward Kabuki—that a completely faithful reproduction was expected.”
7. Various of Director Lee Sang-il (R), make-up artist Kyoko Toyokawa (2nd R), Kabuki make-up artist Naomi Hibino and Kabuki wig master Tadashi Nishimatsu (L) pose for photo holding their certificates of Academy Award Nomination
8. Lee posing for photo
9. Hibino (L) and Toyokawa posing for photo
10. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Lee Sang-il, director:
“One of the most important elements in transforming a film actor into a Kabuki performer is the makeup. And with that makeup we had to faithfully recreate ‘Kabuki’ as well as to depict a span of fifty years of the character’s life in the film.”
11. Hibino holding her Certificate of Academy Award Nomination
12. Tilt up of Nishimatsu holding his Certificate of Academy Award Nomination
13. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Tadashi Nishimatsu, Kabuki wig master:
“The main difficulty was, firstly, that the cast members are not Kabuki actors. The stage wigs we use for Kabuki are quite heavy to begin with. And as Ms. Hibino also mentioned, they had to wear them for long periods of time. So, the challenge was how the cast could endure having such heavy pieces placed on their heads for extended periods. During filming, in a single cut, we sometimes had to take off their wigs and put them back on again around twenty times.”
14. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Naomi Hibino, Kabuki make-up artist:
“Normally (in Kabuki), the white base makeup is put on to last for two or three hours. But in the case of filming, the shooting time is much longer. There were many days when they had to keep the same face for as long as ten hours. Making it last beautifully under those conditions was extremely difficult, and something I really struggled with it.”
15. Tilt up of Hibino holding her Certificate of Academy Award Nomination
16. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Naomi Hibino, make-up artist:
“In theatre it’s enough if the make-up looks good on stage from the audience’s distance. But in film, there are many close-ups of the face, so it had to look good even at close range. I really gave a lot of thought to making sure the face would appear as beautiful as possible on camera.”
17. Tilt down of news conference
18. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Naomi Hibino, Kabuki make-up artist:
“I don’t feel that this was given to me personally. Rather, it was given to this Japanese traditional performing art that has continued for hundreds of years. That’s how I came to think of it.”
19. Various of director Lee Sang-il (R) ,make-up artist Kyoko Toyokawa (2nd R), Kabuki make-up artist Naomi Hibino and Kabuki wig master Tadashi Nishimatsu (L) pose for photo holding their certificates of Academy Award Nomination

STORYLINE:








The 98th Academy Awards are taking place on March 15.


Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...