Research | Face, Perception & Noh Masks

Starting from the Noh mask as a form of face,
I explore how faces are seen, felt, remembered,
and transformed.

Through research, creation, and dialogue,
I work across art, technology, and cultural inquiry.

In 2023, in collaboration with TOPPAN Holdings, we launched a project to explore the potential of Noh masks by measuring facial data using the high-precision body scanning system “Light Stage” at the Virtual Human Lab.

▶ Noh Mask × Science & Technology

3D facial data measurement of Noh masks (TOPPAN / Virtual Human Lab)

Facial perception research (IPUT / Kamijo Lab, Suzuki Lab — conference presentations)

▶ Noh Mask × Art & Narrative

Noh mask as media art (IPUT / Suzuki Lab — Interaction 2023)

Noh mask creation project with manga artist Hideshi Hino

"Noh and Amabie" research (University of Hyogo / Assoc. Prof. Tanaka)

▶ Science × Expression

Script: Science Agora — Future Studio (Miraikan / JST)

Script: Mom Is a Robot — Grand Prize, JST Science Drama Awards

Through collaborations with companies and research institutions,

I expand the cultural possibilities of the face — with the Noh mask at the centre.

　Academic Research & Lecture History

2025 — Journal of the Japan Academy of Facial Studies — "Essential Role of Real Faces in Face-to-Face Communication" (co-research with Prof. Emeritus Yoshiki Oshida, Indiana University)
2025 — Forum Kaogaku 2025 — "A Laughing, Talking 3D Noh Mask: Generating Facial Presence in a 3D Noh Mask Model through Light Source Manipulation in Virtual Space" — Audience Award / co-research with Yoshito Tanaka, TOPPAN HD
2025 — Forum Kaogaku 2025 — "How Does a Noh Mask Generate Omokage? — The Mask as Apparatus and Its Middle-Voice Generative Structure" (co-research with Prof. Emeritus Yoshiki Oshida, Indiana University)
2025 — Japan Academy of Facial Studies 30th Anniversary Symposium "Designing the Future of the Face" — presentation: "The Face of the Future"
2024 — 32nd Bijinga Research Society — "Comparing Jōmon and Yayoi Facial Types"
2024 — Japan Academy of Facial Studies Newsletter — began activities as interviewer
2023 — Forum Kaogaku 2023 — "How Do People See and Feel Noh Masks?"
2023 — 25th Conference of the Japan Society of Kansei Engineering — "Analysis of Eye Movement and Gaze Points When Viewing Noh Masks" (poster presentation)
2023 — INTERACTION 2023, Information Processing Society of Japan — "An Attempt at Media Art to Present the Appeal of Noh Masks in a New Form"
2022 — Guest lecturer, Ukiyo-e course by Mari Hatae — "A Mini Lecture on Noh Masks"
2022 — Guest lecturer, Liberal Arts Seminar, Tokyo university
2022 — 2nd Bijinga Research Society / Facial Studies collaborative event — "Facial Expression, Communication, and Bijinga"
2022 — Research collaboration, Assoc. Prof. Kathryn Tanaka, University of Hyogo — "Amabie"
2021 — Guest lecturer, AI Seminar & Liberal Arts Seminar, a university in Tokyo
2017 — Script: Citizen Empowerment Workshop (Okagami Branch, Kawasaki City Board of Education)
2014 — Script: Future Studio — Technology That Makes Dreams Come True (Miraikan / JST)
2013 — Script: Mom Is a Robot — 4th Science Drama Awards winner (BS Fuji)
2012 — Grand Prize, 4th Science Drama Awards (Japan Science and Technology Agency)