NON participated in the presentation ceremony of the 16th Juzo Itami Award.

 

On September 6, NON participated in the presentation ceremony of the 16th Juzo Itami Award in Tokyo.

The Juzo Itami Award was established to commemorate the legacy of Juzo Itami, a designer, illustrator, actor, essayist, television personality, magazine editor-in-chief, and film director who demonstrated his talent in a variety of fields and played a role in pioneering the times with his always innovative and authentic work.

The award was established in 2008 as part of the Itami Jyuzo Award Program by the ITM Itami Foundation, and has been presented to Shigesato Itoi, Tamori, Tatsuru Uchida, Chie Morimoto, Akira Ikegami, Lily Franky, Toshinori Arai, Hirokazu Koreeda, Gen Hoshino, Michifumi Isoda, Nanafuku Tamagawa, Kankuro Kudo, Michiko Shimizu, Kazuko Koike,

At the presentation ceremony, there were congratulatory remarks from the selection committee member, writer and essayist Yoko Hiramatsu, a plaque from film director Masayuki Suo, a supplementary award from architect Yoshifumi Nakamura, and a heartwarming video message from the director of the Juzo Itami Memorial Museum and actor Nobuko Miyamoto.

 

 

 

In her acceptance speech, NON said, "I am filled with heartfelt joy. I have been selflessly carrying out my activities with the determination to follow through with my thoughts and feelings. No matter how confident I was or how much praise I received, I always had doubts about my own expression. There were times when I was distressed and depressed to the depths of my being, but I feel that I have received a special award that has given me the support and push to know that this is okay and that I can go on with what I want to do.

I am very happy to hear that I share similarities with Juzo Itami.

I would like to pursue my own expression as much as Juzo Itami did.
If my wish could come true, I sincerely wish I could have experienced Juzo Itami in real time.

I will continue to devote myself to my work so that I can live up to this award.”

 

With members of the selection committee. From left: film director Masayuki Suo, writer/essayist Yoko Hiramatsu, NON, architect Yoshifumi Nakamura, illustrator Shinbo Minami

 

 

Commemorative photo with attendees