The works of filmmaker Katsushika Shussin speak for what cannot be put into words in everyday life.

Katsushika Shussin’s video works that tickle your heart

Celeina (MC): We start off the week with a recommendation from the program, a filmmaker Katsushika Shussin. thank you.

Takano (MC): Just to confirm, where are you from?

Katsushika: I am from Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture.

Celeina: Wait a minute. I thought you said you were from Katsushika!

Takano: I thought you were from Katsushika (haha). Actually, when I visited the “Modes and Characters: Poetics of Graphic Design” exhibition the other day, I came across a work by Mr.Katsushika Shussin. I thought it was a great idea, and the program staff immediately contacted Mr. Katsushika.

At the “Modes and Characters: Poetics of Graphic Design” Mr. Katsushika was showing video works that are usually shown on X. I felt that he was really tapping into the side of my heart. I felt nostalgia with the atmosphere of short jingle videos used in music and educational programs, but also felt a cohabitation of newness and oldness because of the considerable use of computer graphics. And the choice of words is also super interesting. Is this description correct?　It’s hard to describe.

Katsushika: I think it is correct. I don’t really understand it either (haha).

Takano: The “Modes and Characters: Poetics of Graphic Design” exhibition was held in a quiet venue, but I was impressed by the fact that all the visitors were bursting into laughter. Also, you have made video works like a diary, right?

Katsushika: Yes. I am working on a piece called “Today’s Diary,” which I hope to post every two days or so.

Here is today’s diary (959) pic.twitter.com/IQKZl84o0W

– From Katsushika (@ahtamaraneze) March 8, 2024

Takano: “Today’s Diary” is a work that combines images and a message, for example, the message is “After taking a bath, I have nothing to wear. I skipped laundry too much”.

Celeina：The message is irresistible. My favorite was the one that said, “No evening meals after 9:00 p.m.”. When I saw this on social media, that was tickle my heart.

Takano: I understand. It’s like a pinch on the side of your heart. What I liked was, “There are days when it’s noon, but even if you open the window, it’s still not bright”. I get it. Is the message a real experience for you?

Katsushika: Basically, I made it based on my actual experience.

Takano: It’s like you speak for things that humanity feels in their daily lives but has not been able to verbalize very well.

Celeina: Indeed, you have made such video works.

Windows 98 given to me by my parents and listening to The Drifters in my father’s car were my original experiences.

Takano: I heard that you also belong to a production company as a filmmaker. How did you come to make films in the first place?

Katsushika: Since I was a child, my parents gave me a computer that I could use freely, and I really liked making GIF animations in the manner of a flip book. As an extension of that, I found myself making proper video works.

Takano: So you were already a teenager?

Katsushika: I was using Windows 98 at the time, so it might have been before that.

Takano: When it comes to Windows 98, it was a long time ago. You are still young, aren’t you?

Katsushika: Yes, I am 25 years old.

Takano: So you started when you were in elementary school. There is a lot of nostalgia in the images, so I feel the Windows feeling of the 1990s.

Celeina: Yes, I understand.

Katsushika: It’s like something I was in contact with for a long time is my original experience, and it’s stuck in my head.

Celeina: Not only the images, but also the choice of words is sophisticated.

Katsushika: Basically, I write based on my own experiences, but I also try to open up the words to make them as easy to understand as possible. I try to write in a way that is easy to understand, but not so negative that it makes the viewer feel cheerful. It is better for my mental health if I use such words myself.

Takano: Your works remind me of the retro culture of the 1970s and 1980s.

Katsushika: It is the influence of my father. My father was of the Drifter generation and had a lot of CDs of the Drifters and Crazy Cats. When I was a passenger in my father’s car, those CDs were always playing in the car.

Takano: Family might be a big influence. Hiromi Iwasaki often appears on your SNS, doesn’t she?

Katsushika: Yes, I do. After I moved to Tokyo, all my friends around me liked the music culture from the 1970s to the beginning of the 1980s. Influenced by them, I also started listening to music, and I began to listen to Hiromi Iwasaki as well.

Outputting music and video as a single work of art

Takano: I heard that you brought your bass guitar today.

Katsushika: I brought it.

Celeina: Do you also play bass?

Kuzushika: I write songs, support the band at gigs, and do other things.

Celeina：Supporting a band means you are good at playing the bass guitar. By the way, is your name when you are on stage with your music, Mr. Katsushika Shussin?

Katsushika：Yes. I use the name Katsushika Shussin for all of my performances.

Celeina：You started video production before music, didn’t you?　Do you find any similarities or influences between your music and filmmaking?

Katsushika: A lot of the background music for “Today’s Diary” is also played and created by myself.

Celeina: Did you make the music yourself?

Takano: I like the background music a lot. It is your strength to be able to be creative in a comprehensive way.

Katsushika: there are each fields in my creation, but in the end, I think I am outputting these works as a single entity.

Takano: Can we check your activities in the music field on SNS?

Katsushika: Yes, you should be able to. We also sell cassette tapes by mail order.

Takano: Let’s check out your SNS and enjoy watching and listening to your creativity, including music as well as videos.

Celeina: Now, here is a song. We asked Mr. Katsushika Shussin to choose a song that we would all like to listen to together on the radio at this time. Please tell us why you chose this song.

Katsushika: I was in charge of the animation section of the music video for this song, and that is my latest work. It is Keiichi Sokabe and it is “Metamorphose Love.”