Shaping Beauty
A creative collective that brings human figures into being.
That is KOOGEN.
Its concept is:“Shaping Beauty”
Centered on Isao Tsuge’s method of Jinbutsu Design, KOOGEN integrally designs the characters who appear in film and stage works.
The elements that form a person include
the foundation of that character’s inner life and physicality,
the visual form created through costume and hair and makeup,
and the story accumulated through the passage of time.
When these elements are brought together,
a single presence comes into being,
and beauty resides in that sense of unity.
But such unity does not arise naturally.
The method established for this purpose is
Jinbutsu Design.
2025
10DANCE, directed by Keishi Otomo
Character Visual Director / Costume Designer
Jinbutsu Design
— Designing a person’s presence within the world of a work in an integrated way —
In the production process, many specialized fields are involved, making it easy for subtle discrepancies to arise in interpretation and execution.
If left unresolved, these discrepancies become a sense of incongruity and affect the precision of the work as a whole.
Jinbutsu Design integrates differentiated elements, defines the axis of the character, and maintains the consistency of the work.
We provide integrated design, supervision, and execution across every stage required to bring a work into being — from concept development and shared vision-setting to design launch, departmental coordination, quality control throughout long-term production, and adaptation to directorial changes.
2026
NHK Drama Izumi Kyoka wa Damaranai
Character Visual Director / Costume Designer
Four Solutions
Jinbutsu Design offers solutions in four areas, based on the perspective of designing a person’s presence.
1. Production Support
— Bringing Stories into Reality —
For films, television dramas, stage productions, and other works, we design how characters exist within the world of the story.
By integrating costume, hair and makeup, physicality, period context, and narrative, we create the axis through which actors can fully emerge as their roles.
From concept development at the early planning stage to coordination across departments and quality control during long-term productions, we support the consistency and reality of each character.
2. Personal and Brand Support
— Translating Presence into Impression —
We design how actors, artists, executives, companies, and organizations are seen and remembered within society.
Rather than merely refining appearance, we integrate clothing, behavior, language, photography, video, and communication direction to create an appropriate axis of impression for each person or organization.
We translate individual character and corporate philosophy into forms that can be clearly perceived and communicated.
3. Education and Succession
— Carrying Experience into the Future —
We share the knowledge cultivated through the practice of Jinbutsu Design through lectures, dialogues, workshops, and other educational programs.
Across costume, hair and makeup, physicality, narrative, and social context, we explore how a person comes into being and becomes a presence that remains in memory.
We open personal experience into knowledge that can be passed on to the next generation.
4. Publishing and Thought Development
— Transforming Expression into Thought —
Through books, essays, interviews, and archival projects, we record the philosophy of Jinbutsu Design in words.
The expressions born on site are deepened not merely as production achievements, but as ideas concerning human existence, narrative, society, and memory.
Through publishing and writing, we develop Jinbutsu Design into a broader cultural value
2026
Human Vapor
Character Visual Director
/ Costume Designer
2025
NHK Culture Center Aoyama Course
Bijin Hyakuyō:
One Hundred Forms of Beauty
2025
Published Bijin
Isao Tsuge’s Jinbutsu Design is a practice that integrally designs how a person exists within the world of a work, from concept development through actual production.
Consultation is available from the earliest planning stages, including character concept design, design drawings, direction for costume, hair and makeup, coordination between departments, external cues that help actors enter their roles, and quality control of character presence throughout long-term productions.
We can provide support from the initial planning stage for film, television drama, stage productions, advertising, publishing, lectures, branding, and related fields.