A Salute to Nobuyuki Yasumaru

Nobuyuki Yasumaru in September 2021. Photo by Brett Homenick.

January 24 marks what would have been Toho suitmaker Nobuyuki Yasumaru's 88th birthday. I was privileged to visit with him in late September 2021, which turned out to be mere months before he passed away on March 1, 2022. 

Safety first is the way it goes. Yasumaru-san wanted us to wear masks in this photo.

I interviewed him that day about a variety of topics I wasn't able to cover when I first interviewed him in December 2018. The second interview will hopefully be published in the next couple of months. Yasumaru-san discussed a variety of projects he worked on that usually don't get much coverage, so I think folks will enjoy it. We conducted the interview in a cafe near his home and changed locations afterward to continue the conversation. The photo above was taken in the second location.

During the time of COVID, first bumps have become more common in Japan. When Yasumaru-san met me at the train station on the day of the interview, he offered a fist bump, which I thought was extremely cool. I definitely wanted to recreate it in the photo above.

We exchanged New Year's cards a few months later. It turned out he sent his New Year's greetings to me literally just two months before he passed. I'm extremely grateful I got to spend time with Yasumaru-san, and I still miss him to this day. 

I just wanted to say a few words to celebrate his memory on what would have been his 88th birthday.