Oscars: How the Hair and Makeup Team Behind ‘Kokuho’ Brought Kabuki Theater’s 400-Year-Old Aesthetics to Movie Screens
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The Oscar-nominated trio behind Japan’s box office sensation explains how bintsuke paste, copper-based wigs and centuries of tradition were adapted to 10-hour shoot days and extreme cinematic closeups.
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Oscars: How the Hair and Makeup Team Behind ‘Kokuho’ Brought Kabuki Theater’s 400-Year-Old Aesthetics to Movie Screens The Oscar-nominated trio behind Japan’s box office sensation explains how bintsuke paste, copper-based wigs and centuries of tradition were adapted to 10-hour shoot days and extreme cinematic closeups. By Patrick Brzeski Plus Icon Patrick Brzeski Asia Bureau Chief View All March 5, 2026 Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Naomi Hibino says her initial response was to “go numb” upon learning that she and her fellow hair and makeup artists had been nominated for an Oscar for their work on Kokuho , Japan’s breakthrough period drama. Hibino had spent the past 30 years working in the quiet, cloistered world of traditional Japanese dance, studying and practicing as a kaoshi , or traditional Japanese stage makeup artist. Kokuho was her very first film, and the prospect of attending the Academy Awards astonished and baffled her. “After a while, though, as I recognized that our work really had been nominated, I still felt that it was not really for me,” Hibino says. “This recognition was for a traditional performing art form that has continued for several hundred years in my country — it was recognition for the countless people who have inherited and nurtured our art, including my sensei, who taught me everything to get here. The fact that it’s been celebrated by so many people, including people abroad, is something that I can now take great happiness in.” Related Stories Lifestyle Rachel Zegler, Cate Blanchett and Bryan Cranston Land Nominations for U.K.'s Olivier Awards Movies Match Factory Racks Up Global Sales for Berlin Winners 'Rose' and 'Queen at Sea' Directed by Lee Sang-il, Kokuho tells the 50-year story of the complex friendship and rivalry of two kabuki the...
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