Hanako Akiyama Talks about the World of Miniatures, which Influenced Her Storytelling

Miniatures have an irresistible appeal that defies logic. The moment I saw them, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Wow! …… !” It makes me want to scream and run to them. The emotion you feel when you see a miniature is what we call in comedy “ empathetic laugh “ I think it is similar to I think it’s almost like ‘That thing I’m always looking at is this small! I’m not sure what to say. As is the case with my comedy material, my sense of discomfort often makes me laugh or feel moved. Maybe that’s why I am attracted to miniatures.

So says Hiroki Akiyama, 30, of the comedy trio Hanako. He has enjoyed viewing arts and crafts since he was a student and draws illustrations himself. Akiyama says he is interested in making things in general, but he is especially a fan of miniature works of art.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about miniature versions of Yoshinoya’s beef bowls,” he says. You can easily buy them as Gashapon or something, but the quality is high. To tell the truth, Yoshinoya doesn’t really need to make them smaller. ( LOL. ). That is why I think it is an interesting piece. I feel the creator’s playful mind that it would be interesting if it were made smaller.

I specialize in watching, but if I had the chance to make one, I would like to make a miniature of the theater where I usually perform my material. I think it would be a lot of fun to show the finished product to my partner and the other people doing material in the same theater. ( LOL! ) “

Among miniature works, Akiyama is particularly fond of the works of miniature artist Tatsuya Tanaka. Tanaka is known for his miniature works using everyday items and diorama dolls, and is a popular artist with over 3.5 million followers on Instagram.

One of Mr. Tanaka’s works that struck me was a pair of white slip-ons. There are white stitches on the shoes, but just by placing miniatures of deer, trees, or people on them, the stitches become nothing more than deer footprints. I wonder how he came up with that. …… I’m not sure what you mean by that. I am amazed at how he continues to create works full of such inspiration on a daily basis.

I see it almost every day. SNS I am very proud of the fact that I have been able to update my work on my website. I am always impressed that you can see things that we usually see from such a perspective. I am always impressed to see things I see in my daily life from such a different perspective. I like things that make me think, “What is this? Even if it is a well-designed product, I like things that make me think, “That’s right, it was hard to use,” or “That’s right, it was tacky. It’s that sense of empathy. I like things that are highly conceptual, such as ‘I used to use it somehow, but it would be better if you did it that way.

Let Akiyama tell us about the appeal of each of Tanaka’s works.

This piece is just a sweater with miniature people on it, but it looks like a golden field, doesn’t it? I think Mr. Tanaka’s imagination shines through. Also, the way you show the work in two stages, from a close-up (top) to a pull-out (bottom), is wonderful in that it was created with the viewer’s surprise in mind.”

The walls of the sauna are represented by wafers. Wafers are not supposed to be warm or cold. However, the miniature human figure makes the wafers look like a hot sauna, expressing the sense of temperature. I thought it was amazing that such a simple combination could be presented in such a way.

This is a mask that expresses the world of swimming competitions. Mr. Tanaka also creates works that incorporate current events like this. He must have his antennae on a lot of different places every day. He also thinks about how to express them, and he puts his own twist on them. I feel that he has a strong spirit of service.

I think the word “herbivore” and “decoration” are used in this work. Even a simple comb, which we usually see, looks like a tree when it is placed among animals decorated with hairpins and other ornaments. I think this work was created as a play on the word “decorative animal,” and I like the playfulness of it.

This one is a particular favorite of mine. The buttons placed in the hamburger store are so well calculated that you can tell that each button is meat, bun, or lettuce. I don’t know how you came up with the idea that the threads look like juice. …… I was impressed by the cleverness of this piece, from the title to everything else.

Akiyama values the ideas he gets from his daily observations even when creating contrasts. Even when he is looking at miniatures, which is a hobby of his, he says that he always has the idea of making a skit in the back of his mind.

I, too. When we make a comedy, we think of ourselves from a bird’s-eye view of what we are actually doing on stage. Mr. Tanaka’s work is completed by being photographed and becoming a photograph. In other words, the point of view is fixed. When we perform our material on stage, the audience’s point of view is fixed, so it is similar to that.

In one of our skits, we had a story about ‘Shinkenzemi,’ and two guys who had done Shinkenzemi and scored high on a test were suddenly confronted by another classmate who said, ‘You should study Shinkenzemi, too. …… ⁉ But he is a genius from the beginning. I repeatedly show the scene that no matter what you do, you can’t win against a genius. During the story, how and where should each of us stand to make it interesting? Where should the props be placed? The three of us When two people stand on stage, I wonder if it would be easier to understand if only this person stands at this distance from the audience, giving them a sense of alienation. I always think about how it would look from the audience’s point of view. When I think about it, the ideas I have when creating a story may have been influenced by Mr. Tanaka’s work.

I am very much looking forward to seeing your esprit-de-corps work, but at the same time, I feel frustrated. I wish I had come up with it myself! I was like, “What’s wrong with that? Since our stories often take shape from the slightest discomfort in our daily lives, I can relate to the way they are conceived.

Also, I am SNS When I draw illustrations to be posted on websites, I always think that it would be nice if I could make them look a little smoldering, and I am sure that Tanaka-san thinks the same way. I also think that your works can be enjoyed by people who speak different languages. I would like our comedy to be like that, so I admire it.

Hanako” has a highly empathetic style that can be enjoyed by both men and women alike. The fact that they are able to consistently produce high-level material is probably due to their playful spirit of enjoying their hobbies.