A blend of moe (love for anime and manga) and kawaii (transl: cute) is quite abundant in Japan nowadays but we’re pretty sure this creative is the only one that has added fetish to the mix. As a photographer and a designer, she’s known for her vividly-colored creations such as her rubber duck gag as well as the beachside headturner, the sailor-style school uniform swimsuit. We were lucky to peek inside the brain of this idiosyncratic creative (read part 1 if you haven’t done so yet) and speak about her latest interests in part two of our interview, because aren’t we all just curious as to what a unique individual like her finds interesting about this country?
I saw how you were tweeting about a dream you saw the other day.
Yeah, I see a lot of dreams. They’re all in color and I remember a lot of them too.
I’m sure your dreams are quite imaginative knowing how creative you are — tell me a recent one that’s stuck with you.
Hmm, let me think (laughs). I write most of my weirdest dreams on Twitter. I know a lot of people forget their dreams when they wake up, but the first thing I do in the morning is open Twitter and leave a memo so I don’t forget. When I look back on them, they seem so unreal, as if I’ve made it all up. I also see a lot of scary dreams when it’s hot.
The other day I saw a dream about catching a very neat beetle. It was large (spreads her hands out to outline a shape of a slightly large make up case). It was a jewel beetle with rainbow colors, and it was patterned in Rococo style, like the Palace of Versailles. I was in a traditional Japanese house when I found it; I slid open a door and found a stack of under-kimonos and it was hiding in there. I was completely blown away by how beautiful it was (laughs).
Photo: William Galopin
I heard you’re a bibliophile — are there any Japanese novels/manga you’d like to recommend to the foreign fans of Japan?
The best thing right now is Golden Kamuy. It’s a story about the Ainus in Hokkaido who go on a search for gold. The series now has seven volumes, I think the 8th one is coming out soon, but it’s currently at a really exciting point. They’ve got bear attacks, it’s great. They hunt and eat the animals on the spot. You know how gourmet manga was a thing back in the day? This one’s kind of like that, except it’s hunting gourmet (laughs), so you’re introduced to how you eat deers and otters while the story proceeds.
Other than that, there’s my all-time favorite novel, it’s actually where I take my name from. It’s a novel by Mari Mori, Ōgai Mori’s daughter, and it’s called The Room Filled with Sweet Honey. It’s quite long, but I absolutely cherish this novel.
So Moira is…
She’s the main character. The Kanji for her name is actually quite complicated so I got my name in Katakana (laughs). She lives with her father and there are a lot of men who appear in the story, but she manages to tantalizes them all. The story doesn’t have a dramatic climax, but it’s very aesthetically pleasing throughout.
She must be a very attractive woman.
She really is. It’s strange, she doesn’t do anything in particular but she comes off as being really attractive. I think foreigners would enjoy reading the Showa/Taisho landscapes that appear throughout the novel.
What is the hottest thing in Tokyo for you right now?
Everyone around me seems to really be into freestyle rap. I don’t rap, but there’s this show called “Freestyle Dungeon” that all of us watch, and you can tell how the scene’s heating up. I’m a big fan of DOTAMA, who’s a rapper on the show. He was the reason I started watching it. I also love airsoft.
Another scene that’s hot right now is the doller scene. My favorite is Lulu Hashimoto. Dollers are people who wear masks on their faces and tights to cover up their bodies to literally become a doll of a certain anime character. It used to be popular amongst men, but it’s becoming increasingly popular with women now too. Lulu-chan is also a doller, I guess it’s an idea that we weren’t so familiar with in the past. You can head over to a figure event called Wonder Festival hosted by Kaiyodo if you’d like to see them yourself. I saw a lot of them when I went last Sunday as well. They’ve also got a booth out by Nukopan, which is where Lulu-chan gets her doll mask. Nukopan has also been picked up by famous TV talent, Matsuko Deluxe, so it seems like the trend is picking up (laughs).
Interesting new trend.
Yeah, the doller culture existed from a while back, but what’s new is that women are getting involved in the scene too. For example, Minami Momochi is a famous female doller. I’ve met her at a couple of events, but I still don’t know what she looks like under her mask (laughs). It’s an interesting culture that I’d assume only exists within Japan. I’m not sure whether this trend will pick up any further, but they’ve clearly taken on an interesting perspective by becoming literally dolling themselves up into their favorite anime characters.
So freestyle rap, airsoft and dollers?
Yeah, it’s a bizarre concoction of things (laughs). I just feel it’s extremely important to pick and choose things that interest you in this day and age where information is constantly in flux. Lately what’s been worrying though is how elements that were previously known to be essential to underground culture and subculture are slowly dissipating. I think subculture and underground culture translate to things that are not commercialised, but now it seems they’re slowly being integrated into a larger commercial body that runs under the “Cool Japan” title. Now, you can walk into Don Quijote and find a wide assortment of cosplay costumes. Cosplay culture has lost its freshness they had when it first rolled out. I guess that’s what draws me to the doller culture, it’s almost like an evolved version of the cosplay culture.
What are your hopes for the near future?
I’ve got loads of project ideas stacked up on my desk, so I want to work on them one by one and turn them into a reality. Being in 10 events a year up until now, I was busy making photo books and other items for all my upcoming events. But now I’m trying to appear less at these and focus on creating more — they don’t even have to be fetish-related, generally though I’d like to keep to accessories, illustrations and making more books. I also want to promote the mucchiri (the toned and curvaceous) body type. (laughs)
What’s next in line for your newly-booted MOIRA DESIGN?
Just until last year, I used to produce work under my name “Moira Kuchikaseya,” but my ideas simply kept growing in multiple directions and it seemed like they were too dispersed to be under one label. This was the driving force to establish MOIRA DESIGN in 2015. Now I create items under individual genres and stack them into MOIRA DESIGN as a sub-brand. But since I do all the work on my own, it’s very difficult to release something new every season, but I do hope to keep creating something that’s true to me, a one-of-a-kind item that only I can create.
After the interview, we made our way to the Kanda Myojin Shrine, which also appears in the astronomical hit anime, “Love Live!” Moira is a huge fan of the place too, and visits whenever she stops by Akihabara. Now framed as an essential tourist spot for “Love Live!” fans, the shrine has been slightly remodeled to be more pop and colorful, what with “Love Live!” snacks and charms dotting the area. It only takes a seven-minute walk to find yourself away from the electronic mecca and into this peaceful, quiet shrine; take a virtual stroll with Moira who knows it best.
Photos: William Galopin
Moira Kuchikaseya (Photographer/Designer)
Moira is a photographer/designer and has been taking self portraits under the concept “Nerd&Fetish” since 2003. Though mainly showcasing her work at solo exhibits, she has also participated in Comic Markets in the past, while also releasing photo books.
She is the designer of brands “School Fiction” and “mekemonia,” major artwork includes “Ahiru-shiki Kuchikase (duck style gag) Piyoco” “Fork Ribbon Choker” “Glow Stick Holster” “Maid sukusui (Maid uniform swimsuit).”
Web：http://selfer.net/moira/ Twitter：@mekemon