Kodo Nishimura is a high profile LGBTQ+ activist in Japan, and also a Buddhist monk, but of course a very different monk to the model we are normally presented.
This film recounts his life story, and how he came to understand his sexual orientation while in the USA, and come out, both to himself, his parents and the wider world, especially in his conservative home of Japan.
The film is made by NHK in 2022, and, despite its title focuses on Kodo’s extra-curricular work as an internationally recognised make-up artist and model, rather than on his work as a monk specifically.
The film does though draw very interesting parallels between his sense of dress and the costumes that Bodhisattvas traditionally present in, and one feels he has a flare for empathy which allows him to draw the best out of other people.
All in all it is an interesting film-portrait about a subject we do not see a lot about in Buddhism, and he is very good representative for his community, which who would give people the confidence to live their own lives.
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to see an album of stills click here