Kodo Nishimura

Kodo Nishimura (西村 宏堂, Nishimura Kōdō, born February 13, 1989 in Tokyo) is a Japanese Buddhist monk and makeup artist. He is active in both Japan and the United States. He is an advocate for LGBTQ people.

He graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York. After graduating, he started to thrive as a makeup artist, working behind the scenes of events including Miss Universe and NY Fashion Week. In 2015, Kodo trained to be a monk and was certified by the Pure Land school. He rose to fame following his appearance in Queer Eye: We're in Japan. He spoke at the United Nations Population Fund, Yale University, and Stanford University as an LGBTQ activist, which attracted wide coverage on the likes of CNN and the BBC. He has been chosen as one of Time Magazine's "Next Generation Leaders" in 2021. His book “This Monk Wears Heels” was released in February 2022. His mission is to empower all people sharing Buddhist wisdom with a touch of makeup.

Early life and education

Nishimura was born in 1989 and grew up in Tokyo.[1] His father was a Jodo shu Buddhist priest, and Nishimura was raised in his temple. He studied ikebana for eight years.[2]

After watching The Princess Diaries in junior high school, Nishimura became interested in visiting the United States.[3]

Nishimura briefly struggled with his perception of his own beauty as an Asian man before discovering makeup, which he did not use in Japan because of social stigmas.[4] After graduating from high school, Nishimura moved to the United States and studied at Dean College, where he asked drag queens working at makeup stores questions about what to buy. He then purchased makeup and learned how to use it.[5] He graduated from the Parsons School of Design.

Career

Nishimura began working as a makeup artist when he was 22. He got an internship with a makeup artist that later led to a job.[3] His work was featured in Nylon and Life & Style. He also does makeup for beauty queens in Miss Universe contests.[2] In addition, Nishimura spends time teaching transgender women how to apply makeup.[5]

Nishimura came out as gay when he participated in a photo shoot for Out in Japan.[6]

When he returned to Japan, Nishimura began to train as a priest.[7] At first, he was hesitant to do so because of his career as a makeup artist. He thought that being a makeup artist might not conform with Buddhist beliefs.[3] After consulting with a mentor, he realized that he could be both a Buddhist priest and a makeup artist as long as his goal was to spread Buddhist beliefs about living in happiness and harmony with others. He was fully ordained in 2015 and serves in his father's temple.[2]

Nishimura splits his time equally between his work as a makeup artist and his work as a priest.

He made an appearance on an episode of Queer Eye in its Queer Eye: We’re in Japan! season.[8]

In March 2022, Nishimura was the subject of an NHK World-Japan documentary, "A Monk Who Wears Heels".

Media appearances

Television

  • "Queer Eye" We’re In Japan! Crazy in Love (2019) Netflix
  • "Weltbilder" Japan: Homosexueller Mönch und Make-Up-Artist (2020) Germany / ARD
  • "ABC News" Meet Kodo - the Japanese Buddhist monk bucking tradition (2021) Australia / ABC
  • "Direct Talk" (2021) Japan / NHK WORLD
  • "Dohiru" (2021) Thai / PBS
  • "A Monk Who Wear Heels" (2022) Japan / NHK WORLD

Magazine

  • "Accent Magazine" Kodo: Cover girl (2018) U.K.
  • "VOGUE Italia" (2019) Italy
  • "1883 Magazine Rebel Issue" (2020)
  • "Peacock magazine" Kodo Nishimura is a global makeup artist and a certificated Buddhist monk（2021) India
  • "TIME" Next Generation Leaders (2021)

Web

  • "BuzzFeed USA" This Buddhist Monk Is A Celebrity Makeup Artist And His Instagram Is Fierce As Hell (2017) U.S.
  • "New Now Next" This Buddhist Monk Moonlights As A Drag Queen And Celebrity Makeup Artist (2017)
  • "The Times" Heard the one about Miss Universe and the Buddhist monk? (2017) U.K
  • "BBC World" The Japanese monk moonlighting as a makeup artist (2017) U.K.
  • "The New York Times Style Magazine: Singapore" Buddhist Monk By Day, Makeup Artist By Night (2017) Singapore
  • "VOGUE Korea" Male Make Up Artists (2017) Korea
  • "Accent Magazine" Kodo: Cover girl (2018) U.K.
  • "Yahoo! News" Buddha and bronzer: The Japanese monk who loves cosmetics（2018) U.S.
  • "BBC News" The man who finds Buddhism in mascara (2019) U.K.
  • "Yale University, Yale MACMILLAN CENTER" The Buddhist makeup artist: A personal story about sexuality and transformation（2019) U.S.
  • "Pink News" Meet the Buddhist monk leading a double life as a makeup artist (2019) U.K.
  • "Hive Life" Kodo Nishimura: The Monk in Mascara (2019) Hong Kong
  • "60 Second Docs" Makeup Classes By A Japanese Buddhist Monk (2019) U.S.
  • "COSME HUNT" Interview with a Japanese Makeup Artist: Kodo Nishimura (2019) U.S.
  • "Great Big Story" This Buddhist Monk Doubles as a Celebrity Makeup Artist (2020) U.S.
  • "Time Out Tokyo" Kodo Nishimura: Buddhist monk, Makeup artist, LGBTQ + advocate (2020)
  • "UNILAD" This Buddhist Monk Is A Make Up Artist To The Stars (2020) U.K.
  • "El nuevo dia"Kodo Nishimura: el monje budista que se expresa a través del maquillaje（2020) Puerto Rico
  • "El PAIS" El monje gay que maquilla a las misses (2020) Spain
  • "NHK WORLD JAPAN" Makeup artist monk teaches tolerance of sexual diversity (2020) Japan
  • "Thomson Reuters Foundation News" The Buddhist monk and make-up artist seeking LGBT+ equality in Japan (2020) U.K.
  • "Japan Times" Buddhist monk and makeup artist seeks LGBTQ equality in Japan (2020) Japan
  • "Have a Blessed Gay" Buddhist Monk and Global Makeup Artist: Kodo Nishimura（2020) U.S.
  • 『ABC News』Kodo's a make-up artist and a Buddhist monk speaking up for LGBTQ rights and defying stereotypes in conservative Japan (2021) Australia
  • "Japan Times Alpha" Makeup artist monk finds identity and faith in US (2021) Japan
  • "TIME" NEXT GENERATION LEADERS ‘I Am Both Ancient and Trendy.’ He’s a Buddhist Monk, a Makeup Artist and an LGBTQ Activist (2021) U.S.
  • "LION’S ROAR" (2022) U.S.
  • "VOGUE.com" Dublet FALL 2022 MENSWEAR (2022)
  • "Watkins Mind Body Spirit" 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in the World (2022) U.K.
  • "METROPOLIS" This Monk Wears Heels / Kodo Nishimura shares his fairy godmother spirit in new book (2022) Japan
  • "TRICYCLE" ‘This Monk Wears Heels’: An Interview with Kodo Nishimura (2022) U.S
  • "attitude" 'THIS MONK WEARS HEELS' AUTHOR KODO NISHIMURA WANTS TO 'GIVE PERSPECTIVES FROM ANOTHER PART OF THE WORLD' (2022) U.K.
  • "RED SHOE MOVEMENT" Hall of Fame 2022 Honorees (2022）
  • "Luxury London" Kodo Nishimura: In conversation with the monk in makeup (2022) U.K.
  • The Asahi Shimbun Asia & Japan Watch』Monk’s book supports LGBT people through a Buddhist’s eyes (2022) Japan

References
  1. "About | Kodo Nishimura Official Site – 西村宏堂 オフィシャルホームページ". www.kodonishimura.com. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  2. Goh, Joie (6 April 2017). "Buddhist Monk By Day, Makeup Artist By Night". T Singapore. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  3. Kunishige, Haruki (22 April 2016). "Advice on Studying Abroad: Makeup Artist Kodo Nishimura". American View. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  4. Ding, Julia (18 April 2019). "The Buddhist makeup artist: A personal story about sexuality and transformation". The MacMillan Center. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  5. "Openly gay Japanese make-up artist lives dual life as Buddhist monk". South China Morning Post. Agence France-Presse. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  6. Broderick, Ryan; Ryan, Kyla (19 January 2017). "This Buddhist Monk Is A Celebrity Makeup Artist And His Instagram Is Fierce As Hell". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  7. "Make-up monk finds Buddhism in his art". BBC News. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  8. Green, Lillian (5 June 2020). "The Monk In Mascara: The Gender Fluid Monk Who Divides His Time Between Makeup Artistry and a Tokyo Monastery". Tokyo Weekender.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.