Nagisa Sekimizu look.1

Nagisa Sekimizu drew particular attention with her TV commercial work for Aquarius and her praiseworthy performance in the TV drama period piece “What Would You Do, Ieyasu?” She has a natural smile and a refreshing allure about her. For this photo shoot, she wears a chic and sporty look. The photos were shot in a congenial mood, and as I wanted to get to know her better as she was unfamiliar to me, I asked her about her favorite places to go.

Nagisa Sekimizu has two favorite places. The first is Kanagawa Prefecture where she grew up. Her given name Nagisa defines her as she is refreshing and she was named for the ocean of Zushi.

“I have a special attachment for Kanagawa Prefecture as it is where I come from. I would go regularly to Hakone on vacation with my family until I was a senior in high school. I would often go to Odawara and the Shonan seaside for fun. My friends and I would go to an island or spend time in the Yokohama Station area. I spent a lot of time as a child in the Minatomirai area and have many fond memories. I even shopped at the Yokohama Vivre Onitsuka Tiger Shop once (laughs).”

In between her busy schedule of shooting a TV drama and interviews, she goes to the ocean on the weekend in search of solace. She is learning how to windsurf partly under the influence of her father. While it is a difficult activity, she is taken by this marine sport as it teaches you about the calmness and severity of the sea.

“The novel coronavirus pandemic freed up some time for me and as my friend’s school was on break, we decided to try windsurfing together and were hooked immediately! The timing was right and there was a friend who was motivated. There is a technique called planing where you run along the ocean surface on the wind. I would like to be able to do that someday! It’s hard but a lot of fun and makes you forget about everything else.”

Getting away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and going into nature is tremendously refreshing for the soul. She says that is part of the allure of marine sports for her.

“When you play in the ocean your mindset changes. When you put everything into the work that you love, and then spend your days off in a completely different environment and experience the extraordinary, it is invigorating. Irrespective of the condition of the waves, going out into nature is healing.”

The other favorite place of hers is the movie theatre. This is indispensable for her, also as an actor.

“I particularly like going to independent theatres. I like taking in the particular mood of such a theatre and seeing real cinema that is playing only there. I can’t help take a look at what the gift shop is selling. When the food is something like original homemade bread, I get so happy (laughs). And together with the film being played, there may be talk shows or tourist attractions, or they may have a handmade stamp that they stamp onto your pamphlet. After being engrossed in the film, if there is something additional to enjoy, your movie-going experience will be all the more memorable. I also love experiencing film on a grand screen so I also go to large-scale theatres, but independent theatres have a different kind of allure.”

She loves film and TV dramas and has seen a wide array of domestic and foreign films. Watching film is a hobby and a means of honing her craft.

“I watch film because I love it, but there is a lot that I learn too from watching it. My film hobby connects back to my work as it has expanded the breadth of my acting. There are a lot of films that I love, but one that I saw last year that I thought was good was “Saint Frances.” It is a story about a 30 something year old woman living a sullen everyday life who gets a gig one summer as a nanny for the only daughter of a lesbian couple. The lead character is played by Kelly O’Sullivan who also wrote the script. There are numerous scenes of this 30 something year old woman and the little girl play acting together and their duet is endearing. The other characters were each engaging in their own way and heartwarming. This work moved me. I also like blockbusters like “Top Gun” and popular franchises like “Kingsman.” I don’t have a favorite genre but watch a wide array of film.”

Locations that train and heal her, as well as locations that broaden her mind and soul. In either case, they are locations that are indispensable for Nagisa Sekimizu.

→ For Look 2, I asked her about her views on work from which I glimpsed a somewhat stoic character, and about her sense of fashion.

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Direction: Shinsuke Nozaka
Photo, Movie: Yoshiaki Sekine (SIGNO)
Stylist: Kosei Matsuda (SIGNO)
Hair, MakeUp: Ai Inuki
Text: Aika Kawada