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It is often said…

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that the Japanese consider cats
to be special creatures.

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The "Maneki-neko,"
beckoning cat, for example,

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is considered a good omen.

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I don't know if you can call them
the messengers of the spirits…

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but I think they certainly appeal
to the Japanese sensibility.

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Personally,

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I believe they are bearers
of mysterious messages.

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Actually, at a time
when I was truly struggling

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and couldn't find any answers,

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deciding to create this cat artwork
gave me the ability

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to go beyond my imagination,

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and opened up my life
to a new world of opportunity.

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I'm amazed when I see
how things turned out.

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I never dreamed I could be this happy.

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I would always get really absorbed
in things when I was a child.

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I don't think I was the cooperative type.

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You would really have to stop me
if I was halfway done with something.

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When I was in elementary school,

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I once drew a backdrop
for a school performance,

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and I got so into it
that I stayed after school.

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I stayed at school after hours
just to keep on drawing.

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That's how much I loved drawing.

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The artist I admire most
has to be Picasso.

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You can certainly say that, technically,
he was incredibly talented.

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And even though
this might sound a bit cliché,

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when I'm asked
what it is that I like about Picasso,

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I always say his passion.

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Wakuneco comes from the Japanese words
"Waku," frame, and "Neco," cat.

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So, together, it means "cat in a frame."

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I came up with many different ideas
for what it should be called,

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but I thought "Wakuneco" was catchy
and easy to remember.

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I discovered needle felting
when I tried to hem a skirt.

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I went to a handicraft shop
to buy some materials.

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That's how I came across it.

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I didn't realize
how freely one could create art using it,

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so it really grabbed me from the start.

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I live with three cats
called Shima, Fuku-chan, and Guri.

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They are all rescued cats.

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Whenever I feel exhausted,

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their presence is healing for me.

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When I started needle felting,
I was already in love with them.

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I had been drawing pictures
this whole time,

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including a lot of portraits,

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and I thought, "How about I start
doing felt sculptures of them?"

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This is how I came to design
these 3D cat portraits.

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This is a photograph of Miyu,
a single-tone Russian Blue.

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This cat is alive, right?

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So, your creative process
will be a bit different than usual.

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How will you do it?

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I first met Sachi from Wakuneco
when I was running my own YouTube channel.

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I was showing people
how to create their own video content.

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That was when Sachi sent me some videos,
asking me if I would be interested

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in filming some of her content.

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When I saw her work, I thought,

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"This is cool.
The world needs to see this."

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This way?

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-Yes, that's good.
-Okay, here we go.

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The first video we did together
got over 1,000,000 views on YouTube.

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That's when we realized
we were onto something.

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We thought we had a good product.

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The number of viewers
steadily increased from then on,

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and I got more and more requests
from people for me to frame their cats,

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before getting to where I am now.

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Until recently, I had mainly done cats
that have passed away and gone to heaven.

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But on this occasion,

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I am going to actually meet the cat
I will be designing.

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Of course,
I am looking forward to meeting the owner,

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but meeting Miyu
and finding out what kind of cat she is

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is even more exciting.

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Having Miyu live with me

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is like having a child and a sibling,

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but also like having a friend.

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At times, she gets all affectionate,
a bit like a lover would.

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It's a funny relationship we have.

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To tell the truth,

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my family was not good with animals,

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and we were not allowed to have pets.

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When I moved out
of my parents' house for college,

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I decided to welcome Miyu.

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We've been inseparable ever since.

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-I'm from Wakuneco.
-Hello. Nice to meet you.

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Nice to meet you, too.

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This is such a happy day.
Thank you for coming.

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Miyu is so cute.

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We saw on YouTube and social media

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that Sachi was creating
this amazing artwork.

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In the video we watched,
she was applying the whiskers,

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and apparently, in that scene,
those are that cat's real whiskers.

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You can really tell how much she loves
the cats that she uses as models,

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so we thought we'd really like
to have Wakuneco make one of Miyu.

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She said you're cute, Miyu.
Isn't that nice?

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I'm getting all emotional.

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She's so cute.

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Miyu is ten years old now,
and she'll be 11 soon.

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She's not getting any younger,
so who knows when she'll be leaving us.

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Thinking about that makes us sad.

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Are you a model now, Miyu?

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So cute.

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Since the piece will be with us
while Miyu is still here,

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the idea that Miyu's spirit might go

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into the art piece after she's gone

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somehow eases my anxiety
about her leaving us.

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Could I just check the color, please?

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I just collected the fur
that came off while I brushed her.

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I've got a ball of it.

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Amazing.

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-This is really useful, thanks.
-Is it really? That's great.

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Is she always so calm?

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She's always been a pretty calm cat, yes.

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If you had to choose a color for her eyes,

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what color would you say

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her eyes are?

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I think yellowish-green.

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Yellowish-green.

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I think that the owner's thoughts

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are really important for this work.

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So, I ask the owner or owners

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lots of questions about the cat.

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I then combine what I've heard
with my own direct impressions

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from the meeting
to create the final piece.

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This is a picture that I took today.

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I smooth out the color
to a more neutral tone

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and then print that image.

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It's easy to make a mistake
with the color while doing this work.

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There are grays that are reddish,
and grays that are kind of blue,

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so it is important
that I refer to these pictures,

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to get a clear idea
of which color fits best.

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Actually, I really admire artists

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who can express themselves
in an abstract way.

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So, Picasso, for example, was very adept

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at creating a whole universe from nothing.

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Unfortunately, I'm not good at that.

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Anything that I might create
will always be concrete.

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To be honest, I used to have a big complex
about my art being concrete.

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Yes, thank you.

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I know.

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I can't see.

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Okay.

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Miyu, who will model for this piece,

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has single-color fur
that has no real gradations.

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As you can imagine,
fur with complicated color gradations

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is much harder to replicate.

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In fact, fur of any single shade
is pretty hard to replicate.

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If you only use one shade of gray,
it will look a bit like a stuffed toy.

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So, you have to be careful
not to overuse a single shade.

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Then, there's gauging any gradations,

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which is an important point.

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-I think this one.
-Okay.

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-I've seen your videos online.
-Have you really?

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I saw the one where you made the eyes,
and I was blown away.

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Really? You knew who I was, then?
That's amazing!

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I look forward to seeing
your next YouTube video.

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-Thank you.
-Thank you.

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I met Sachi from Wakuneco

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at a fine-arts prep school
where we both worked.

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I was asked
to make the frames for her artwork.

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At that time, I didn't know much
about her making 3D art.

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She was mainly into working with drawings.

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But it sounded interesting,
so I thought I'd take it on.

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Hi, Tada.

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-Oh, hey.
-Hello.

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-It's been a while.
-It has.

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Making it this big was quite tough.

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I thought it might be better
not to make the frames as large.

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The width of the frame

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you last made me was spot-on,

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but it was maybe a little thick.

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I was thinking maybe that the thickness

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could be the same as the width.

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Somewhere between this one
and that one, maybe?

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Without compromising
on the idea I have in mind,

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but complementing it.

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Sachi doesn't hesitate
to tell me what she likes,

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and she has a very clear vision,

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which makes my job a lot easier.

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My artwork always starts off as a stencil

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of the cat who is the subject.

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I will carefully draw the cat's face

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to fit my vision at the beginning.

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If your vision isn't clear
from the get-go,

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and you get midway through the process

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only to realize you've made a mistake,

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correcting that mistake
will be extremely complicated.

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So, it's very important
to do this work carefully.

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Of course, the most important outcome

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is that the piece
looks like the cat model.

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I also like to add
my personal touch of cuteness as I see it

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to a beloved cat,

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who is already the cutest in the world
to the owner.

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Gu-chan.

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Gu-chan.

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Gu-chan.

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You are so cute.

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What has been on your mind lately?

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Are you sunbathing now?

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Hello?

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Do you see the park in front of you?

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Thanks for coming.

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-This is amazing.
-Isn't it?

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-Shall we take a picture?
-Okay.

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00:18:10,068 --> 00:18:10,985
Hang on.

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00:18:12,278 --> 00:18:13,738
That's great.

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At the university,
I think it was during an art class,

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the lecturer asked us
if there was anything we wanted.

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And everyone said stuff like holidays
and meeting celebrities.

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00:18:28,795 --> 00:18:33,216
But Sachi said, "I want talent."

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And then I also thought,
"She's a bit different."

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In a good sense, of course.

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She's aiming high.

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I thought that when we were students.

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My followers are 80% women.

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I'm very happy to have them, of course,

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but I think women like my work
because it falls into the doll category.

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00:19:04,789 --> 00:19:11,588
I think guys don't really know
how to feel about it.

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I often think that if I could go beyond
the idea that I'm making dolls

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and take it more in the direction
of sculpture or art,

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then that would be good.

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I think that once you're satisfied
with what you've achieved with Wakuneco…

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you'll find a new direction for yourself.

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It won't be just cats forever.

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I think you might even go back to 2D art.

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You're so good at drawing, after all.

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Yeah, but to be honest with you,

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I don't really think
that being good at drawing

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means much these days.

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I threw away almost all of my drawings.

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When I used to draw,

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I would think
my drawings were really boring.

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I felt like I was in a dark tunnel
and that I'd be stuck there forever.

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I couldn't see a way out anywhere.

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But still, I had passion.

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I just didn't know

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how to face my feelings back then.

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It's so beautiful.

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Amazing.

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Before starting Wakuneco,
I had wanted to become a pro photographer.

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00:21:07,745 --> 00:21:09,789
So, I took pictures of landscapes.

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It is so difficult
to shoot something with real character.

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In landscape photography, for instance,

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you might have ten different subjects
standing in the same shot,

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but unless each of those shots
shows individuality,

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none of them can be said
to have character.

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I have traveled all over Japan,

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carrying my camera, taking photos.

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I took a six-hour, one-way trip

247
00:21:43,489 --> 00:21:49,704
to photograph a mountain torrent once.

248
00:21:49,787 --> 00:21:55,251
As always, I was conflicted
with how to best approach the shot.

249
00:22:16,481 --> 00:22:21,944
A single piece typically takes me
a few months to complete.

250
00:22:22,820 --> 00:22:25,615
When I started felt needling,

251
00:22:26,115 --> 00:22:31,579
I concluded that the hardest part
of the cat to get right was the ears.

252
00:22:33,289 --> 00:22:37,251
Making them look thin is incredibly hard.

253
00:22:38,836 --> 00:22:45,802
But that thinness is also part
of what makes them so cute.

254
00:22:46,302 --> 00:22:50,264
So, I think it's important
that I don't gloss over them,

255
00:22:50,348 --> 00:22:52,767
and I get them right.

256
00:22:58,231 --> 00:23:03,778
The difficulty in building the base
comes in ensuring

257
00:23:03,861 --> 00:23:08,282
that the shape doesn't deteriorate

258
00:23:08,366 --> 00:23:13,121
as the years go by.

259
00:23:14,330 --> 00:23:19,585
When I think that the owner
will want to keep it for many years,

260
00:23:19,669 --> 00:23:24,340
it makes me do my utmost
to give them my best work.

261
00:23:29,095 --> 00:23:31,139
The trouble with the eyes

262
00:23:31,222 --> 00:23:34,767
is that even if they're the same color
as the subject's,

263
00:23:34,851 --> 00:23:37,520
they still somehow fail
to convey the personality.

264
00:23:38,020 --> 00:23:44,694
It's quite a strange point to remember,
but also quite an interesting one.

265
00:23:45,653 --> 00:23:48,197
I always try to give the impression

266
00:23:48,281 --> 00:23:50,825
you're looking into the eyes
of a loved one.

267
00:23:50,908 --> 00:23:55,121
So, it's not always about creating
a faithful reproduction of the color,

268
00:23:55,204 --> 00:24:01,461
but conveying my own impression
of what the eye looks like.

269
00:24:10,887 --> 00:24:16,267
When creating the color of the fur,

270
00:24:16,350 --> 00:24:18,644
if you look closely,

271
00:24:18,728 --> 00:24:22,815
the base of the hair is light,
and the tips are dark.

272
00:24:22,899 --> 00:24:27,361
An animal's coat
can have all this variety.

273
00:24:27,445 --> 00:24:34,118
So, in order to express
the glossiness of Miyu's coat,

274
00:24:34,202 --> 00:24:40,041
the edges have been made to look lighter,
and as you go into the center,

275
00:24:40,124 --> 00:24:45,171
you will see a slightly darker color
that naturally comes through.

276
00:24:49,383 --> 00:24:56,265
There were lots of points to consider
when doing this work,

277
00:24:56,349 --> 00:25:03,064
but the one which I spent lots of time on
really was her eyes

278
00:25:05,107 --> 00:25:09,320
I got it to look like
a Russian Blue relatively quickly,

279
00:25:09,862 --> 00:25:12,949
but I definitely struggled
with figuring out how to get her

280
00:25:13,032 --> 00:25:16,744
to not look like any old Russian Blue,
and bring out Miyu's personality.

281
00:25:16,827 --> 00:25:19,288
That really was
the most challenging element

282
00:25:19,372 --> 00:25:20,665
of this project.

283
00:25:20,748 --> 00:25:22,917
I really had to think hard
about that part.

284
00:25:38,849 --> 00:25:41,602
-Hello.
-Hello.

285
00:25:41,686 --> 00:25:45,481
-Thanks for your time today.
-Same to you.

286
00:25:45,565 --> 00:25:49,902
You sent me the whiskers the other day.

287
00:25:49,986 --> 00:25:51,654
There were nine in total, right?

288
00:25:52,572 --> 00:25:58,327
If there were ten of them,
it would look nicely balanced.

289
00:25:58,411 --> 00:26:01,205
I think, maybe,
we just use the nine you sent me

290
00:26:01,289 --> 00:26:03,874
and wait
for another one of her whiskers to fall.

291
00:26:03,958 --> 00:26:05,543
before adding it to the others.

292
00:26:05,626 --> 00:26:08,045
That might look better.

293
00:26:08,129 --> 00:26:13,593
I'm so happy that we get to keep
Miyu's real whiskers forever.

294
00:26:13,676 --> 00:26:14,885
In fact…

295
00:26:16,804 --> 00:26:18,639
I have Miyu right here with me.

296
00:26:21,267 --> 00:26:23,185
I haven't seen her face yet,

297
00:26:23,269 --> 00:26:26,480
but I get the feeling
that Miyu is actually staying with you.

298
00:26:26,564 --> 00:26:32,445
I'll give it my all to create Miyu,

299
00:26:32,528 --> 00:26:35,489
and I'm looking forward
to delivering it to you.

300
00:26:35,573 --> 00:26:39,869
We are also looking forward to it.

301
00:26:39,952 --> 00:26:44,665
Thank you so much for your time.

302
00:26:45,499 --> 00:26:48,836
-Thank you.
-See you both soon.

303
00:26:50,504 --> 00:26:51,839
I feel like…

304
00:26:53,841 --> 00:26:58,012
I've finally been discovered.

305
00:27:10,691 --> 00:27:16,072
The thing I'm most careful about
when I create each Wakuneco piece…

306
00:27:17,657 --> 00:27:22,953
is that, even if this were to be
my last creation,

307
00:27:23,579 --> 00:27:26,415
I have no regrets.

308
00:27:29,377 --> 00:27:30,961
Because, up to this point…

309
00:27:36,717 --> 00:27:39,929
whenever I've tried
to make something of myself,

310
00:27:40,930 --> 00:27:44,934
I've put my heart and soul into it.

311
00:27:48,437 --> 00:27:52,191
I've had many setbacks…

312
00:27:53,943 --> 00:27:57,238
in following through
with what I've wanted to do.

313
00:27:58,823 --> 00:28:02,535
I really wanted
to become a painter at one point,

314
00:28:03,411 --> 00:28:06,664
and then I really wanted
to become a photographer.

315
00:28:10,251 --> 00:28:15,756
No matter how hard I tried back then,
no one saw me.

316
00:28:22,012 --> 00:28:26,058
Now, with Wakuneco,

317
00:28:26,142 --> 00:28:32,940
so many people can see my work
and ask me to make them these portraits.

318
00:28:33,023 --> 00:28:35,735
It's nothing short of a miracle, I think.

319
00:28:41,407 --> 00:28:43,284
My portrait of Miyu…

320
00:28:44,368 --> 00:28:47,496
may not be perfect,

321
00:28:47,580 --> 00:28:51,584
but it is work that came from my heart.

322
00:28:53,377 --> 00:28:58,799
And I hope it will bring a lot of joy
to Miyu's owners.

323
00:29:23,866 --> 00:29:27,244
I had a lot of trouble
sleeping last night.

324
00:29:27,912 --> 00:29:30,873
I was making final preparations.

325
00:29:30,956 --> 00:29:35,377
I also asked myself
if this piece was as good as it could be.

326
00:29:35,461 --> 00:29:40,090
And then, it was suddenly light out,
and I headed out.

327
00:29:53,938 --> 00:29:55,689
Hello!

328
00:29:56,398 --> 00:29:59,443
-Hello.
-Nice to see you again.

329
00:29:59,527 --> 00:30:02,738
-Thank you for having me.
-Thank you for coming.

330
00:30:02,822 --> 00:30:05,741
Thank you for coming.

331
00:30:07,701 --> 00:30:12,873
This is your Wakuneco piece.

332
00:30:16,502 --> 00:30:18,504
Please, go ahead and have a look.

333
00:30:19,797 --> 00:30:21,423
May I?

334
00:30:28,389 --> 00:30:30,099
I'm a bit nervous.

335
00:30:34,270 --> 00:30:35,104
Here it goes.

336
00:30:36,313 --> 00:30:38,649
Miyu is here.

337
00:30:38,732 --> 00:30:40,609
Miyu, do you want to look?

338
00:30:48,826 --> 00:30:50,619
I'm happy to see her.

339
00:30:52,079 --> 00:30:55,791
Here we go. Three, two, one.

340
00:31:09,430 --> 00:31:11,432
That's amazing!

341
00:31:14,351 --> 00:31:15,895
The eyes are perfect.

342
00:31:15,978 --> 00:31:18,230
How wonderful.

343
00:31:19,732 --> 00:31:21,567
I'm so glad.

344
00:31:25,029 --> 00:31:25,863
I'm stunned.

345
00:31:35,331 --> 00:31:37,082
I'm so happy.

346
00:31:37,583 --> 00:31:41,003
-The whiskers are really cute, too.
-Yeah, they are.

347
00:31:41,086 --> 00:31:43,297
Don't struggle, Miyu…

348
00:31:43,380 --> 00:31:45,215
Say thank you to the nice lady.

349
00:31:48,177 --> 00:31:50,638
Miyu, you're so cute.

350
00:31:54,350 --> 00:31:57,478
I'm so shocked. It looks alive.
The eyes are amazing.

351
00:31:58,062 --> 00:31:59,521
I'm so happy you think that.

352
00:32:02,191 --> 00:32:08,113
I really think that Wakuneco saved me.

353
00:32:11,325 --> 00:32:15,412
That part of me
which I once thought of as a complex,

354
00:32:15,496 --> 00:32:18,374
turned out to be my greatest asset.

355
00:32:18,457 --> 00:32:20,626
I just hadn't realized it yet.

356
00:32:20,709 --> 00:32:24,546
It wasn't until I made this my reality,

357
00:32:24,630 --> 00:32:30,260
and that I accepted those parts of me

358
00:32:30,344 --> 00:32:33,973
that I saw as negative points,

359
00:32:34,515 --> 00:32:38,644
decided to use them to my fullest

360
00:32:38,727 --> 00:32:41,897
and became passionate about what I do,

361
00:32:41,981 --> 00:32:46,068
that all of those doubts began to fade.

362
00:32:52,324 --> 00:32:54,493
"Yoko, Chihiro,

363
00:32:54,576 --> 00:32:58,372
thank you for giving me
this wonderful opportunity."

364
00:32:59,456 --> 00:33:04,503
"I expect I will only be able to create
a few of these Wakuneco in my lifetime,

365
00:33:05,212 --> 00:33:10,300
but I am very glad
that I was able to meet the both of you."

366
00:33:11,677 --> 00:33:18,183
"I hope that my Wakuneco portrait of Miyu
will bring you joy,

367
00:33:19,184 --> 00:33:22,855
and that you will be able to enjoy
Miyu's company for many years to come."

368
00:33:23,022 --> 00:33:25,733
"Love from Sachi of Wakuneco."

369
00:33:29,111 --> 00:33:34,283
If I were asked whether I like myself,
I'd now be able to say,

370
00:33:34,366 --> 00:33:37,119
unreservedly, "Yes, I do!"

371
00:34:19,828 --> 00:34:24,833
Subtitle translation by: Harry Darkins