WARDROBE! An Afternoon with a Veteran of Toho's Costume Department!

Makoto Ikeda. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Thursday, March 14), I spent a wonderful afternoon in the home of Makoto Ikeda, a former member of Toho's costume department who worked on numerous classic films from the studio, including several tokusatsu productions from the era. It was a great opportunity to learn about his life and career.

Makoto Ikeda. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Although it took just about two hours (!) of commuting to reach Ikeda-san's home from mine, I must say that the experience was well worth the effort. Ikeda-san was a generous host, and he graciously signed a few items after our talk. Little did I know that Ikeda-san had a special surprise in store.

Makoto Ikeda with his painting of a volcanic eruption. Photo by Brett Homenick.

That surprise was a painting that Ikeda-san himself painted, which he presented to me as a gift. I was more than a little surprised! Actually, I had the choice between the above painting and another one (which was a much more peaceful image of a tree), so I chose the one that was more tokusatsu-ish. The painting depicts the eruption of volcano.

Interestingly, the penciled-in dates on the back of the painting suggest that it was painted between October 10, 2013, and September 27, 2014. Of course, September 27, 2014, was the date of Mount Ontake's most recent eruption, which is also noted on the back.  

All in all, it was an incredible afternoon spent in the company with a truly unsung legend of Japanese cinema. There's no better way to learn about the history of Japanese cinema than in the homes of the people who made it!