Cat People (2021) s01e03 Episode Script
Copycat
[gentle music playing]
[Sachi, in Japanese] It is often said
that the Japanese consider cats
to be special creatures.
The "Maneki-neko,"
beckoning cat, for example,
is considered a good omen.
I don't know if you can call them
the messengers of the spirits
but I think they certainly appeal
to the Japanese sensibility.
Personally,
I believe they are bearers
of "mysterious messages."
Actually, at a time
when I was truly struggling
and couldn't find any answers,
deciding to create this cat artwork
gave me the ability
to go beyond my imagination,
and opened up my life
to a new world of opportunity.
I'm amazed when I see
how things turned out.
I never dreamed I could be this happy.
[opening theme music playing]
[gentle music playing]
[Sachi] I'd always get really
absorbed in things when I was a child.
I don't think I was the cooperative type.
You would really have to stop me
if I was halfway done with something.
When I was in elementary school,
I once drew a backdrop
for a school performance,
and I got so into it
that I stayed after school.
I stayed at school after hours
just to keep on drawing.
That's how much I loved drawing.
The artist I admire most
has to be Picasso.
You can certainly say that, technically,
he was incredibly talented.
And even though
this might sound a bit cliché,
when I'm asked
what it is that I like about Picasso,
I always answer with "his passion."
[jazzy piano music playing]
[Sachi] Wakuneco comes from
the Japanese words "Waku," frame,
and "Neco," cat.
So, together, it means "cat in a frame."
I came up with many different ideas
for what it should be called,
but I thought "Wakuneco" was catchy
and easy to remember.
I discovered needle felting
when I tried to hem a skirt.
I went to a handicraft shop
to buy some materials.
That's how I came across it.
I didn't realize
how freely one could create art using it,
so it really grabbed me from the start.
[warm music playing]
I live with three cats
called Shima, Fuku-chan, and Guri,
and they are all rescued cats.
Whenever I feel exhausted,
their presence is healing to me.
When I started needle felting,
I was already in love with them.
I had been drawing pictures
this whole time,
including a lot of portraits,
and I thought, "How about I start
doing felt sculptures of them?"
This is how I came to design
these 3D cat portraits.
[light-hearted music playing]
- This is a photograph of Miyu
- [Gyueen] Ah.
a single-tone Russian Blue.
- [Gyueen] This cat is alive?
- Yeah.
So, your creative process
will be a bit different than usual.
- Yeah.
- How will you do it?
[Sachi] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I first met Sachi from Wakuneco
when I was running my own YouTube channel.
I was showing people
how to create their own video content.
That was when Sachi sent me some videos,
asking me if I would be interested
in filming some of her content.
When I saw her work, I thought,
"This is cool.
The world needs to see this."
This way?
- [Gyueen] Yes, that's good.
- Okay, here we go.
[both laughing]
The first video we did together
got over 1,000,000 views on YouTube.
That's when we realized
we were onto something.
We thought we had a good product.
[Sachi and Gyueen chuckling]
The number of viewers
steadily increased from then on,
and I got more and more requests
from people for me to frame their cats,
before getting to where I am now.
[uplifting music playing]
Until recently, I had mainly done cats
that have passed away and gone to heaven.
But on this occasion,
I am going to actually meet the cat
I will be designing.
Of course
I am looking forward to meeting the owner,
but meeting Miyu
and finding out what kind of cat she is
is even more exciting.
[peaceful music playing]
[purring]
[Chihiro] Having Miyu live with me
is like having a child and a sibling,
but also like having a friend.
At times, she gets all affectionate,
a bit like a lover would.
It's a funny relationship we have.
To tell the truth,
my family was not good with animals,
and we were not allowed to have pets.
When I moved out
of my parents' house for college,
I decided to welcome Miyu.
We have been inseparable ever since.
[speaking indistinctly]
[chuckles softly]
- [doorbell rings]
- [woman gasps]
- I'm from Wakuneco.
- [Chihiro] Hello. Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, too.
[all greeting]
[Chihiro] This is such a happy day.
Thank you for coming.
Miyu is so cute.
[Chihiro] We saw on YouTube
and social networking services
that Sachi was creating
this amazing artwork.
In the video we watched,
she was applying the whiskers,
and apparently, in that scene,
those are that cat's real whiskers.
You can really tell how much she loves
the cats that she uses as models,
so we thought we'd really like
to have Wakuneco make one of Miyu.
She said you're cute, Miyu.
Isn't that nice?
I'm getting all emotional.
[Sachi laughing emotionally]
She's so cute.
[all speaking indistinctly]
[Chihiro] Miyu is ten years old now,
and she'll be 11 soon.
She's not getting any younger,
so who knows when she'll be leaving us.
Thinking about that makes us sad.
- [camera shutter clicking]
- [woman laughing]
[Chihiro] Are you a model now, Miyu?
So cute.
[Chihiro] Since the piece will be with us
while Miyu is still here,
the idea that Miyu's spirit might go
into the art piece after she's gone
somehow eases my anxiety
about her leaving us.
[Miyu purring]
[Sachi] Could I just check the color,
please?
[Chihiro] I just collected the fur
that came off while I brushed her.
I've got a ball of it.
[Sachi] Amazing.
Ahh.
- This is really useful, thanks.
- [Chihiro] Is it really? That's great.
[Sachi] Is she always so calm?
[Chihiro] She's always been
a pretty calm cat, yes.
[camera beeping, shutter clicking]
If you had to choose a color for her eyes,
what color would you say
her eyes are?
I think yellowish-green.
- [Sachi] Yellowish-green.
- [Chihiro and Yoko] Yes.
[Sachi] I think that the owner's thoughts
are really important for this work.
So, I ask the owner or owners
lots of questions about the cat.
I then combine what I've heard
with my own direct impressions
from the meeting
to create the final piece.
[gentle music playing]
[Sachi] This is a picture
that I took today.
I smooth out the color
to a more neutral tone
and then print that image.
It's easy to make a mistake
with the color while doing this work.
There are grays that are reddish,
and grays that are kind of blue,
so it is important
that I refer to these pictures,
to get a clear idea
of which color fits best.
Actually, I really admire artists
who can express themselves
in an abstract way.
So, Picasso, for example, was very adept
at creating a whole universe from nothing.
Unfortunately, I'm not good at that.
Anything that I might create
will always be concrete.
To be honest, I used to have a big complex
about my art being concrete.
- [giggling]
- [cat meows]
Yes, thank you.
I know.
I can't see.
- [meows]
- Okay.
[uplifting music playing]
[Sachi] Miyu, who will model
for this piece,
has single-color fur
that has no real gradations.
As you can imagine,
fur with complicated color gradations
is much harder to replicate.
In fact, fur of any single shade
is pretty hard to replicate.
If you only use one shade of gray,
it will look a bit like a stuffed toy.
So, you have to be careful
not to overuse a single shade.
Then, there is gauging any gradations,
which is an important point.
- I think this one.
- [clerk] Okay.
- It's amazing.
- [Sachi] Thank you.
- [clerk] I've seen your videos online.
- [Sachi] Oh! Have you really?
[clerk] I saw the one where you made
the eyes, and I was blown away.
[Sachi] Really? You knew who I was, then?
That's amazing!
[both speaking indistinctly]
[clerk] I look forward to seeing
your next YouTube video.
- [Sachi] Thank you.
- [clerk] Thank you.
[Tada] I met Sachi from Wakuneco
at a fine-arts prep school
where we both worked.
I was asked
to make the frames for her artwork.
At that time, I didn't know much
about her making 3D art.
She was mainly into working with drawings.
But it sounded interesting,
so I thought I'd take it on.
[Sachi] Hi, Tada.
- Oh, hey.
- Hello.
- It's been a while. [chuckling]
- It has.
- [Sachi] Making it this big was tough.
- [Tada] Mm.
- [Sachi chuckles]
- [Tada] Ahh, I see.
[Sachi] I thought it might be better
not to make the frames as large.
- The width of the frame
- [Tada] Mm.
- you last made me was spot-on
- [Tada] Mm.
- but it was maybe a little thick.
- [Tada] Yeah. Ohh. Mm.
- I was thinking maybe that the thickness
- [Tada] Yeah.
- could be the same as the width.
- [Tada] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Somewhere between this one
and that one, maybe?
[Tada] Mm-hmm.
[Sachi] Without compromising
on the idea I have in mind,
but complementing it.
Sachi doesn't hesitate
to tell me what she likes,
and she has a very clear vision,
which makes my job a lot easier.
[peaceful music playing]
[Sachi] My artwork always starts off
as a stencil
of the cat who is the subject.
I will carefully draw the cat's face
to fit my vision at the beginning.
If your vision isn't clear from the get-go
and you get midway through the process
only to realize you've made a mistake,
correcting that mistake
will be extremely complicated.
So, it's very important
to do this work carefully.
Of course, the most important outcome
is that the piece
looks like the cat model.
I also like to add
my personal touch of cuteness as I see it
to a beloved cat,
who is already the cutest in the world
to the owner.
Gu-chan.
[cat purrs]
Gu-chan, Gu-chan.
Gu-chan.
- [meows]
- Gu-chan.
- [chuckling]
- [purring]
You are so cute.
What has been on your mind lately?
Hm?
Are you sunbathing now?
Mmm.
[cell phone ringing]
[Sachi] Hello?
Do you see the park in front of you?
Thanks for coming.
[both speaking indistinctly, chuckling]
[indistinct conversation]
EXCLUSIVE USE
KIYOSUMI GARDEN
- [Aya] This is amazing.
- [Sachi] Isn't it?
- [Aya] Shall we take a picture?
- [Sachi] Okay.
[Aya] Hang on.
- [Sachi laughs]
- That's great.
At the university,
I think it was during an art class,
the lecturer asked us
if there was anything we wanted.
And everyone said stuff like holidays
and meeting celebrities.
But Sachi said, "I want talent."
And then I also thought,
"She's a bit different."
In a good sense, of course.
She's aiming high.
I thought that when we were students.
- [Sachi] My followers are 80% women.
- [Aya] Hmm.
[Sachi] I'm very happy to have them,
of course,
but I think women like my work
because it falls into the doll category.
I think guys don't really know
how to feel about it.
I often think that if I could go beyond
the idea that I'm making dolls
and take it more in the direction
of sculpture or art,
- then that would be good.
- Hmm.
[Aya] I think that once you're satisfied
with what you've achieved with Wakuneco
you'll find a new direction for yourself.
It won't be just cats forever.
- I think you might even go back to 2D art.
- [Sachi] Mm.
[Aya] You're so good at drawing,
after all.
[Sachi] Yeah, but to be honest with you,
I don't really think
that being good at drawing
means much these days.
[thoughtful music playing]
[Sachi] I threw away
almost all of my drawings.
When I used to draw,
I would think
my drawings were really boring.
I felt like I was in a dark tunnel
and that I'd be stuck there forever.
I couldn't see an exit anywhere.
But still, I had passion.
I just didn't know
how to face my feelings back then.
[Sachi] It's so beautiful.
Amazing.
[ethereal music playing]
Before starting Wakuneco,
I had wanted to become a pro photographer.
- So, I took pictures of landscapes.
- [camera beeps, shutter clicks]
It is so difficult
to shoot something with real character.
In landscape photography, for instance,
you might have ten different subjects
standing in the same shot,
but unless each of those shots
shows individuality,
none of them can be said
to have character.
I have traveled all over Japan,
carrying my camera, taking photos.
I took a six-hour, one-way trip
to photograph a mountain torrent once.
As always, I was conflicted
with how to best approach the shot.
[camera beeping, shutter clicking]
[peaceful music playing]
A single piece typically takes me
a few months to complete.
When I started felt needling,
I concluded that the hardest part
of the cat to get right was the ears.
Making them look thin is incredibly hard.
But that thinness is also part
of what makes them so cute.
So, I think it's important
that I don't gloss over them,
and I get them right.
The difficulty in building the base
comes in ensuring
that the shape doesn't deteriorate
as the years go by.
When I think that the owner
will want to keep it for many years,
it makes me do my utmost
to provide them with my best work.
The trouble with the eyes
is that even if they're the same color
as the subject's,
they still somehow fail
to convey the personality.
It's quite a strange point to remember,
but also quite an interesting one.
I always try to give the impression
you're looking into the eyes
of a loved one.
So, it's not always about creating
a faithful reproduction of the color,
but conveying my own impression
of what the eye looks like.
When creating the color of the fur,
if you look closely,
the base of the hair is light,
and the tips are dark.
An animal's coat
can have all this variety.
So, in order to express
the glossiness of Miyu's coat,
the edges have been made to look lighter,
and as you go into the center,
you will see a slightly darker color
that naturally comes through.
[cat meowing]
There were lots of points to consider
when doing this work,
but the one which I spent lots of time on
really was her eyes.
I got it to look like
a Russian Blue relatively quickly,
but I definitely struggled
with figuring out how to get her
to not look like any old Russian Blue,
and bring out Miyu's personality.
That really was
the most challenging element
of this project.
I really had to think hard
about that part.
[Skype call ringing]
- Hello.
- [both] Hello.
- Thanks for your time today.
- Same to you.
You sent me the whiskers the other day.
There were nine in total, right?
If there were ten of them,
it would look nicely balanced.
I think, maybe,
we just use the nine you sent me
and wait
for another one of her whiskers to fall
before adding it to the others.
That might look better.
I'm so happy that we get to keep
Miyu's real whiskers forever.
In fact
I have Miyu right here with me.
[both laughing]
[Chihiro] I haven't seen her face yet,
but I get the feeling
that Miyu is actually staying with you.
I'll give it my all to create Miyu,
and I'm looking forward
to delivering it to you.
We are also looking forward to it.
Thank you so much for your time.
- Thank you.
- See you both soon.
[Sachi] I feel like
I've finally been discovered.
After all
Mm
The thing I'm most careful about
when I create each Wakuneco piece
is that, even if this were to be
my last creation,
I have no regrets.
[voice breaking]
Because, up to this point
whenever, uh [clears throat]
I've tried to make something of myself,
I've put my heart and soul into it.
I've had many setbacks
in following through
with what I've wanted to do.
I really wanted
to become a painter at one point,
and then I really wanted
to become a photographer.
No matter how hard I tried back then,
no one saw me.
Now, with Wakuneco,
so many people can see my work
and ask me to make them these portraits.
It's nothing short of a miracle, I think.
My portrait of Miyu
may not be perfect,
but it is work that came from my heart.
Mm.
And I hope it will bring a lot of joy
to Miyu's owners.
[uplifting music playing]
I had a lot of trouble
sleeping last night.
I was making final preparations.
I also asked myself
if this piece was as good as it could be.
And then, it was suddenly light out,
and I headed out.
[doorbell ringing]
[Chihiro and Sushi speaking indistinctly]
Hello!
- Hello.
- Nice to see you again.
- Thank you for having me.
- Thank you for coming.
Thank you for coming.
This is your Wakuneco piece.
Oh!
Please, go ahead and have a look.
May I?
[chuckling]
[Chihiro] What should I do?
I'm a bit nervous.
- [Yoko] Chihiro is Miyu's mom.
- [Chihiro laughs emotionally]
Here it goes.
[Chihiro] Miyu is here.
Miyu, do you want to look?
[all speaking indistinctly]
I'm happy to see her.
Here we go. Three, two, one.
[all laughing happily]
[Chihiro] Oh!
[Chihiro and Yoko squealing excitedly]
That's amazing!
The eyes are perfect.
How wonderful.
[Chihiro laughs]
[Sachi] I'm so glad.
[Yoko] It's great! [laughing]
- I'm stunned. [laughing emotionally]
- [laughing] Oh, Chihro is crying.
[Sachi] I'm glad!
I'm so happy.
- The whiskers are really cute, too.
- Yeah, they are.
Don't struggle, Miyu
Say thank you to the nice lady.
Miyu, you're so cute.
I'm so shocked. It looks alive.
The eyes are amazing.
[Sachi] I'm so happy you think that.
I really think that Wakuneco saved me.
That part of me
which I once thought of as a complex,
turned out to be my greatest asset.
I just hadn't realized it yet.
It wasn't until I made this my reality,
and that I accepted those parts of me
that I saw as negative points,
decided to use them to my fullest,
and became passionate about what I do,
that all of those doubts began to fade.
[Yoko reading] "Yoko, Chihiro,
thank you for giving me
this wonderful opportunity."
"I expect I will only be able to create
a few of these Wakuneco in my lifetime,
but I am very glad
that I was able to meet the both of you."
"I hope that my Wakuneco portrait of Miyu
will bring you joy,
and that you will be able to enjoy
Miyu's company for many years to come."
"Love from Sachi of Wakuneco."
If I were asked whether I like myself,
I'd now be able to say,
unreservedly, "Yes, I do!"
[closing theme music playing]
[Sachi, in Japanese] It is often said
that the Japanese consider cats
to be special creatures.
The "Maneki-neko,"
beckoning cat, for example,
is considered a good omen.
I don't know if you can call them
the messengers of the spirits
but I think they certainly appeal
to the Japanese sensibility.
Personally,
I believe they are bearers
of "mysterious messages."
Actually, at a time
when I was truly struggling
and couldn't find any answers,
deciding to create this cat artwork
gave me the ability
to go beyond my imagination,
and opened up my life
to a new world of opportunity.
I'm amazed when I see
how things turned out.
I never dreamed I could be this happy.
[opening theme music playing]
[gentle music playing]
[Sachi] I'd always get really
absorbed in things when I was a child.
I don't think I was the cooperative type.
You would really have to stop me
if I was halfway done with something.
When I was in elementary school,
I once drew a backdrop
for a school performance,
and I got so into it
that I stayed after school.
I stayed at school after hours
just to keep on drawing.
That's how much I loved drawing.
The artist I admire most
has to be Picasso.
You can certainly say that, technically,
he was incredibly talented.
And even though
this might sound a bit cliché,
when I'm asked
what it is that I like about Picasso,
I always answer with "his passion."
[jazzy piano music playing]
[Sachi] Wakuneco comes from
the Japanese words "Waku," frame,
and "Neco," cat.
So, together, it means "cat in a frame."
I came up with many different ideas
for what it should be called,
but I thought "Wakuneco" was catchy
and easy to remember.
I discovered needle felting
when I tried to hem a skirt.
I went to a handicraft shop
to buy some materials.
That's how I came across it.
I didn't realize
how freely one could create art using it,
so it really grabbed me from the start.
[warm music playing]
I live with three cats
called Shima, Fuku-chan, and Guri,
and they are all rescued cats.
Whenever I feel exhausted,
their presence is healing to me.
When I started needle felting,
I was already in love with them.
I had been drawing pictures
this whole time,
including a lot of portraits,
and I thought, "How about I start
doing felt sculptures of them?"
This is how I came to design
these 3D cat portraits.
[light-hearted music playing]
- This is a photograph of Miyu
- [Gyueen] Ah.
a single-tone Russian Blue.
- [Gyueen] This cat is alive?
- Yeah.
So, your creative process
will be a bit different than usual.
- Yeah.
- How will you do it?
[Sachi] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I first met Sachi from Wakuneco
when I was running my own YouTube channel.
I was showing people
how to create their own video content.
That was when Sachi sent me some videos,
asking me if I would be interested
in filming some of her content.
When I saw her work, I thought,
"This is cool.
The world needs to see this."
This way?
- [Gyueen] Yes, that's good.
- Okay, here we go.
[both laughing]
The first video we did together
got over 1,000,000 views on YouTube.
That's when we realized
we were onto something.
We thought we had a good product.
[Sachi and Gyueen chuckling]
The number of viewers
steadily increased from then on,
and I got more and more requests
from people for me to frame their cats,
before getting to where I am now.
[uplifting music playing]
Until recently, I had mainly done cats
that have passed away and gone to heaven.
But on this occasion,
I am going to actually meet the cat
I will be designing.
Of course
I am looking forward to meeting the owner,
but meeting Miyu
and finding out what kind of cat she is
is even more exciting.
[peaceful music playing]
[purring]
[Chihiro] Having Miyu live with me
is like having a child and a sibling,
but also like having a friend.
At times, she gets all affectionate,
a bit like a lover would.
It's a funny relationship we have.
To tell the truth,
my family was not good with animals,
and we were not allowed to have pets.
When I moved out
of my parents' house for college,
I decided to welcome Miyu.
We have been inseparable ever since.
[speaking indistinctly]
[chuckles softly]
- [doorbell rings]
- [woman gasps]
- I'm from Wakuneco.
- [Chihiro] Hello. Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, too.
[all greeting]
[Chihiro] This is such a happy day.
Thank you for coming.
Miyu is so cute.
[Chihiro] We saw on YouTube
and social networking services
that Sachi was creating
this amazing artwork.
In the video we watched,
she was applying the whiskers,
and apparently, in that scene,
those are that cat's real whiskers.
You can really tell how much she loves
the cats that she uses as models,
so we thought we'd really like
to have Wakuneco make one of Miyu.
She said you're cute, Miyu.
Isn't that nice?
I'm getting all emotional.
[Sachi laughing emotionally]
She's so cute.
[all speaking indistinctly]
[Chihiro] Miyu is ten years old now,
and she'll be 11 soon.
She's not getting any younger,
so who knows when she'll be leaving us.
Thinking about that makes us sad.
- [camera shutter clicking]
- [woman laughing]
[Chihiro] Are you a model now, Miyu?
So cute.
[Chihiro] Since the piece will be with us
while Miyu is still here,
the idea that Miyu's spirit might go
into the art piece after she's gone
somehow eases my anxiety
about her leaving us.
[Miyu purring]
[Sachi] Could I just check the color,
please?
[Chihiro] I just collected the fur
that came off while I brushed her.
I've got a ball of it.
[Sachi] Amazing.
Ahh.
- This is really useful, thanks.
- [Chihiro] Is it really? That's great.
[Sachi] Is she always so calm?
[Chihiro] She's always been
a pretty calm cat, yes.
[camera beeping, shutter clicking]
If you had to choose a color for her eyes,
what color would you say
her eyes are?
I think yellowish-green.
- [Sachi] Yellowish-green.
- [Chihiro and Yoko] Yes.
[Sachi] I think that the owner's thoughts
are really important for this work.
So, I ask the owner or owners
lots of questions about the cat.
I then combine what I've heard
with my own direct impressions
from the meeting
to create the final piece.
[gentle music playing]
[Sachi] This is a picture
that I took today.
I smooth out the color
to a more neutral tone
and then print that image.
It's easy to make a mistake
with the color while doing this work.
There are grays that are reddish,
and grays that are kind of blue,
so it is important
that I refer to these pictures,
to get a clear idea
of which color fits best.
Actually, I really admire artists
who can express themselves
in an abstract way.
So, Picasso, for example, was very adept
at creating a whole universe from nothing.
Unfortunately, I'm not good at that.
Anything that I might create
will always be concrete.
To be honest, I used to have a big complex
about my art being concrete.
- [giggling]
- [cat meows]
Yes, thank you.
I know.
I can't see.
- [meows]
- Okay.
[uplifting music playing]
[Sachi] Miyu, who will model
for this piece,
has single-color fur
that has no real gradations.
As you can imagine,
fur with complicated color gradations
is much harder to replicate.
In fact, fur of any single shade
is pretty hard to replicate.
If you only use one shade of gray,
it will look a bit like a stuffed toy.
So, you have to be careful
not to overuse a single shade.
Then, there is gauging any gradations,
which is an important point.
- I think this one.
- [clerk] Okay.
- It's amazing.
- [Sachi] Thank you.
- [clerk] I've seen your videos online.
- [Sachi] Oh! Have you really?
[clerk] I saw the one where you made
the eyes, and I was blown away.
[Sachi] Really? You knew who I was, then?
That's amazing!
[both speaking indistinctly]
[clerk] I look forward to seeing
your next YouTube video.
- [Sachi] Thank you.
- [clerk] Thank you.
[Tada] I met Sachi from Wakuneco
at a fine-arts prep school
where we both worked.
I was asked
to make the frames for her artwork.
At that time, I didn't know much
about her making 3D art.
She was mainly into working with drawings.
But it sounded interesting,
so I thought I'd take it on.
[Sachi] Hi, Tada.
- Oh, hey.
- Hello.
- It's been a while. [chuckling]
- It has.
- [Sachi] Making it this big was tough.
- [Tada] Mm.
- [Sachi chuckles]
- [Tada] Ahh, I see.
[Sachi] I thought it might be better
not to make the frames as large.
- The width of the frame
- [Tada] Mm.
- you last made me was spot-on
- [Tada] Mm.
- but it was maybe a little thick.
- [Tada] Yeah. Ohh. Mm.
- I was thinking maybe that the thickness
- [Tada] Yeah.
- could be the same as the width.
- [Tada] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Somewhere between this one
and that one, maybe?
[Tada] Mm-hmm.
[Sachi] Without compromising
on the idea I have in mind,
but complementing it.
Sachi doesn't hesitate
to tell me what she likes,
and she has a very clear vision,
which makes my job a lot easier.
[peaceful music playing]
[Sachi] My artwork always starts off
as a stencil
of the cat who is the subject.
I will carefully draw the cat's face
to fit my vision at the beginning.
If your vision isn't clear from the get-go
and you get midway through the process
only to realize you've made a mistake,
correcting that mistake
will be extremely complicated.
So, it's very important
to do this work carefully.
Of course, the most important outcome
is that the piece
looks like the cat model.
I also like to add
my personal touch of cuteness as I see it
to a beloved cat,
who is already the cutest in the world
to the owner.
Gu-chan.
[cat purrs]
Gu-chan, Gu-chan.
Gu-chan.
- [meows]
- Gu-chan.
- [chuckling]
- [purring]
You are so cute.
What has been on your mind lately?
Hm?
Are you sunbathing now?
Mmm.
[cell phone ringing]
[Sachi] Hello?
Do you see the park in front of you?
Thanks for coming.
[both speaking indistinctly, chuckling]
[indistinct conversation]
EXCLUSIVE USE
KIYOSUMI GARDEN
- [Aya] This is amazing.
- [Sachi] Isn't it?
- [Aya] Shall we take a picture?
- [Sachi] Okay.
[Aya] Hang on.
- [Sachi laughs]
- That's great.
At the university,
I think it was during an art class,
the lecturer asked us
if there was anything we wanted.
And everyone said stuff like holidays
and meeting celebrities.
But Sachi said, "I want talent."
And then I also thought,
"She's a bit different."
In a good sense, of course.
She's aiming high.
I thought that when we were students.
- [Sachi] My followers are 80% women.
- [Aya] Hmm.
[Sachi] I'm very happy to have them,
of course,
but I think women like my work
because it falls into the doll category.
I think guys don't really know
how to feel about it.
I often think that if I could go beyond
the idea that I'm making dolls
and take it more in the direction
of sculpture or art,
- then that would be good.
- Hmm.
[Aya] I think that once you're satisfied
with what you've achieved with Wakuneco
you'll find a new direction for yourself.
It won't be just cats forever.
- I think you might even go back to 2D art.
- [Sachi] Mm.
[Aya] You're so good at drawing,
after all.
[Sachi] Yeah, but to be honest with you,
I don't really think
that being good at drawing
means much these days.
[thoughtful music playing]
[Sachi] I threw away
almost all of my drawings.
When I used to draw,
I would think
my drawings were really boring.
I felt like I was in a dark tunnel
and that I'd be stuck there forever.
I couldn't see an exit anywhere.
But still, I had passion.
I just didn't know
how to face my feelings back then.
[Sachi] It's so beautiful.
Amazing.
[ethereal music playing]
Before starting Wakuneco,
I had wanted to become a pro photographer.
- So, I took pictures of landscapes.
- [camera beeps, shutter clicks]
It is so difficult
to shoot something with real character.
In landscape photography, for instance,
you might have ten different subjects
standing in the same shot,
but unless each of those shots
shows individuality,
none of them can be said
to have character.
I have traveled all over Japan,
carrying my camera, taking photos.
I took a six-hour, one-way trip
to photograph a mountain torrent once.
As always, I was conflicted
with how to best approach the shot.
[camera beeping, shutter clicking]
[peaceful music playing]
A single piece typically takes me
a few months to complete.
When I started felt needling,
I concluded that the hardest part
of the cat to get right was the ears.
Making them look thin is incredibly hard.
But that thinness is also part
of what makes them so cute.
So, I think it's important
that I don't gloss over them,
and I get them right.
The difficulty in building the base
comes in ensuring
that the shape doesn't deteriorate
as the years go by.
When I think that the owner
will want to keep it for many years,
it makes me do my utmost
to provide them with my best work.
The trouble with the eyes
is that even if they're the same color
as the subject's,
they still somehow fail
to convey the personality.
It's quite a strange point to remember,
but also quite an interesting one.
I always try to give the impression
you're looking into the eyes
of a loved one.
So, it's not always about creating
a faithful reproduction of the color,
but conveying my own impression
of what the eye looks like.
When creating the color of the fur,
if you look closely,
the base of the hair is light,
and the tips are dark.
An animal's coat
can have all this variety.
So, in order to express
the glossiness of Miyu's coat,
the edges have been made to look lighter,
and as you go into the center,
you will see a slightly darker color
that naturally comes through.
[cat meowing]
There were lots of points to consider
when doing this work,
but the one which I spent lots of time on
really was her eyes.
I got it to look like
a Russian Blue relatively quickly,
but I definitely struggled
with figuring out how to get her
to not look like any old Russian Blue,
and bring out Miyu's personality.
That really was
the most challenging element
of this project.
I really had to think hard
about that part.
[Skype call ringing]
- Hello.
- [both] Hello.
- Thanks for your time today.
- Same to you.
You sent me the whiskers the other day.
There were nine in total, right?
If there were ten of them,
it would look nicely balanced.
I think, maybe,
we just use the nine you sent me
and wait
for another one of her whiskers to fall
before adding it to the others.
That might look better.
I'm so happy that we get to keep
Miyu's real whiskers forever.
In fact
I have Miyu right here with me.
[both laughing]
[Chihiro] I haven't seen her face yet,
but I get the feeling
that Miyu is actually staying with you.
I'll give it my all to create Miyu,
and I'm looking forward
to delivering it to you.
We are also looking forward to it.
Thank you so much for your time.
- Thank you.
- See you both soon.
[Sachi] I feel like
I've finally been discovered.
After all
Mm
The thing I'm most careful about
when I create each Wakuneco piece
is that, even if this were to be
my last creation,
I have no regrets.
[voice breaking]
Because, up to this point
whenever, uh [clears throat]
I've tried to make something of myself,
I've put my heart and soul into it.
I've had many setbacks
in following through
with what I've wanted to do.
I really wanted
to become a painter at one point,
and then I really wanted
to become a photographer.
No matter how hard I tried back then,
no one saw me.
Now, with Wakuneco,
so many people can see my work
and ask me to make them these portraits.
It's nothing short of a miracle, I think.
My portrait of Miyu
may not be perfect,
but it is work that came from my heart.
Mm.
And I hope it will bring a lot of joy
to Miyu's owners.
[uplifting music playing]
I had a lot of trouble
sleeping last night.
I was making final preparations.
I also asked myself
if this piece was as good as it could be.
And then, it was suddenly light out,
and I headed out.
[doorbell ringing]
[Chihiro and Sushi speaking indistinctly]
Hello!
- Hello.
- Nice to see you again.
- Thank you for having me.
- Thank you for coming.
Thank you for coming.
This is your Wakuneco piece.
Oh!
Please, go ahead and have a look.
May I?
[chuckling]
[Chihiro] What should I do?
I'm a bit nervous.
- [Yoko] Chihiro is Miyu's mom.
- [Chihiro laughs emotionally]
Here it goes.
[Chihiro] Miyu is here.
Miyu, do you want to look?
[all speaking indistinctly]
I'm happy to see her.
Here we go. Three, two, one.
[all laughing happily]
[Chihiro] Oh!
[Chihiro and Yoko squealing excitedly]
That's amazing!
The eyes are perfect.
How wonderful.
[Chihiro laughs]
[Sachi] I'm so glad.
[Yoko] It's great! [laughing]
- I'm stunned. [laughing emotionally]
- [laughing] Oh, Chihro is crying.
[Sachi] I'm glad!
I'm so happy.
- The whiskers are really cute, too.
- Yeah, they are.
Don't struggle, Miyu
Say thank you to the nice lady.
Miyu, you're so cute.
I'm so shocked. It looks alive.
The eyes are amazing.
[Sachi] I'm so happy you think that.
I really think that Wakuneco saved me.
That part of me
which I once thought of as a complex,
turned out to be my greatest asset.
I just hadn't realized it yet.
It wasn't until I made this my reality,
and that I accepted those parts of me
that I saw as negative points,
decided to use them to my fullest,
and became passionate about what I do,
that all of those doubts began to fade.
[Yoko reading] "Yoko, Chihiro,
thank you for giving me
this wonderful opportunity."
"I expect I will only be able to create
a few of these Wakuneco in my lifetime,
but I am very glad
that I was able to meet the both of you."
"I hope that my Wakuneco portrait of Miyu
will bring you joy,
and that you will be able to enjoy
Miyu's company for many years to come."
"Love from Sachi of Wakuneco."
If I were asked whether I like myself,
I'd now be able to say,
unreservedly, "Yes, I do!"
[closing theme music playing]