Nagi Noda (野田 凪, Noda Nagi; November 18, 1973 – September 7, 2008) was a Japanese pop artist and art director born in…
Nagi Noda (野田 凪, Noda Nagi; November 18, 1973 – September 7, 2008) was a Japanese pop artist and art director born in Tokyo. Noda spent much of her career working as a freelance art director. She directed multiple campaigns for brands such as Nike, Laforet, and Panasonic. In addition to her commercial works, she also was a prolific artist, taking on various solo projects. Such projects include: her half-panda sculptures, Hanpanda; a collaboration clothing brand with American artist Mark Ryden, Broken Label; and her unique hair hats. She held multiple solo exhibits throughout her career, and a post-humous exhibit was held to commemorate her work in 2011, a testament to her legacy and reputation as a designer. Noda's works are defined by artificiality and surreality, balancing between visual art and commercial relations with a high degree of creativity and non-conformity in their aesthetic and narration. She founded the design firm "Uchuu Country," where Japanese art director Yuni Yoshida also worked until starting her own agency in 2007. Noda began her career directing advertising campaigns for Harajuku's Laforet shopping mall. Among her most well-known advertising works are the short film Mariko Takahashi's Fitness Video for Being Appraised as an "Ex-fat Girl", the half-panda-half-something-else Hanpanda life-sized figures, and the video for Japanese singer Yuki's song "Sentimental Journey". She paired up with Yuki again in 2005 to direct the opening song for the anime Honey & Clover, which was her only participation in a standard narrative work. Other works include a television advertisement for Coca-Cola (with music by Jack White), a collaboration with Medicom Toy to produce original Nagi Noda Be@rbricks, a video for the Scissor Sisters song "She's My Man", and the video for "Hearts On Fire" by Cut Copy, which was the last music video she made. Per her biography in Women in Graphic Design, "The Works of Nagi Noda often make a disconcerting impression, with an aesthetic ranging from surreal to bizarre to poetic." Noda cited her unusual upbringing as having a large influence on her work. In a 2003 interview, she recalled how her parents would take her to look for UFOs or make her watch TV in black and white so she could learn to imagine color. Noda died on September 7, 2008, at age 34, after surgical complications from injuries sustained in a traffic accident the previous year.
Famous Alumni of Joshibi High School of Art and Design
Joshibi High School of Art and Design: 9 people
Aya Ishizu (石津 彩, Ishizu Aya; born February 22, 1972 in Tokyo) is a Japanese voice actress who works for Theater Echo.
Mariko Kawana (Japanese: 川奈まり子, Hepburn: Kawana Mariko) (born November 9, 1967) began the most notable phase of her…
Mariko Kawana (Japanese: 川奈まり子, Hepburn: Kawana Mariko) (born November 9, 1967) began the most notable phase of her life as a Japanese model and actress who has appeared in softcore pink film and V-Cinema, and who has also been a hardcore adult video (AV) performer and director. She was one of the earliest AV actresses in the "mature woman" or "madame" (jukujo) category of performers. She is now retired as an actress and has returned to her pre-acting career as a writer.
Narumi Yasuda (安田 成美, Yasuda Narumi; born 28 November 1966) is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress…
Narumi Yasuda (安田 成美, Yasuda Narumi; born 28 November 1966) is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 8th Yokohama Film Festival for Inujini seshi mono, Minami e Hashire, Umi no Michi o! and Sorobanzuku. She also won the award for best actress at the 13th Hochi Film Award for Bakayaro! I'm Plenty Mad. Yasuda was born in Tokyo. She was the winner of a competition to find a singer to sing the theme song and promote Hayao Miyazaki's anime film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, "Kaze no Tani no Naushika", written by Takashi Matsumoto and composed by Haruomi Hosono.
Naoko Kume (久米 直子, Kume Naoko; born 29 April 1963) is a Japanese swimmer. She competed in two events at the 1984 Summer…
Naoko Kume (久米 直子, Kume Naoko; born 29 April 1963) is a Japanese swimmer. She competed in two events at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Kaori Momoi (桃井 かおり, Momoi Kaori; born 8 April 1951) is a Japanese actress.
Jitsuko Yoshimura (吉村実子, Yoshimura Jitsuko; born 18 April 1943) is a Japanese film and television actress. She was…
Jitsuko Yoshimura (吉村実子, Yoshimura Jitsuko; born 18 April 1943) is a Japanese film and television actress. She was discovered by Shōhei Imamura as a newcomer and cast in the film Pigs and Battleships. She went on to appear in films like Imamura's The Insect Woman, Kaneto Shindō's Onibaba, for which she received the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Akira Kurosawa's Dodes'ka-den. She retired from acting in 1970, but returned in 1980 and continues to work to this day. Yoshimura was married to actor Tetsuo Ishidate from 1968 to 1999. Her sister is actress Mari Yoshimura (1935–).
Yoshiko Mita (三田佳子, Mita Yoshiko) (born October 8, 1941) is a Japanese actress. Born in the city of Osaka, she…
Yoshiko Mita (三田佳子, Mita Yoshiko) (born October 8, 1941) is a Japanese actress. Born in the city of Osaka, she graduated from Joshibi High School of Art and Design in Suginami, Tokyo. In 1960, she was hired by Toei and made her acting debut. She remained with Toei until 1967, then became free to appear in films, on television, and on the stage. Her performance in the film W's Tragedy (1984) earned the Japan Academy Prize for Best Supporting Actress in 1986. From 1991 to 1994, she topped Japan's official list of taxpayers in the Actors and Celebrities category. Yoshiko appears in both contemporary and jidaigeki roles. She won the award for best actress at the 30th and at the 35th Blue Ribbon Awards. With husband Yasuo Takahashi she has two sons, both actors.
Umeka Shōji (庄司 宇芽香, Shōji Umeka) is a Japanese voice actress from Kanagawa Prefecture. She is affiliated with Aoni…
Umeka Shōji (庄司 宇芽香, Shōji Umeka) is a Japanese voice actress from Kanagawa Prefecture. She is affiliated with Aoni Production and has voiced for various anime, video games, and television shows since beginning her career in 2005. Her major roles in video games include Coyori in Battle Fantasia, Caelea in Deception IV: Blood Ties, Aki Koriyama in Tokimeki Memorial 4. Starting with Samurai Warriors 3, she voices characters Hanbei Takenaka and Ayagozen as well in Warriors Orochi 3 and Amane Sumeragi in Waccha PriMagi!.