Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541592
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 53 atsuko Inoue is a sound effects editor and Foley artist. Her work on Godzilla Minus One (2023) won peer recognition in the form of Best Sound at the 17th Asian Film Awards and an MPSE Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing— Foreign Language Feature. Other recent work includes: I Want to Be Killed by a High School Girl (2022) Window Side (2022) XxxHOLIC (2022) House of Ninjas (2023/Netflix) Desire in the Rain (2024) Unknown Girlfriend (2025) A Tribute to Akihiko Okase From the very first time I met Akihiko Okase, he struck me as someone with a gentle, mysterious, and charming presence. The film Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura (2017, Dir: Takashi Yamazaki), in which I participated in the Foley work for the main characters' footsteps, became a turning point in how I think about Foley. It's a deeply meaningful project for me. I remember struggling to get the sound right when the protagonist N walked from a wooden hallway into a tatami room (a Japanese room with a floor covered in woven rush grass). No matter how I tried, it just wasn't working. Then Okase-san brought in a small glass door and a fusuma (sliding paper door) and propped them up along the wooden floor where I was walking. As I walked down the narrow hallway, the sounds of the glass door and then the fusuma reflected naturally in the space, blending beautifully into the acoustics of a traditional Japanese home. I'll never forget the moment Okase-san listened and smiled, saying, "That's it. Nice." Until then, I had approached footsteps mainly through dynamics— loud or soft. But Okase-san taught me that by incorporating resonance and crafting the acoustics, sound can become much richer and more expressive. Another unforgettable moment was when he used a block of konnyaku (a jelly-like food made from yam) to create the sound of a live fish. The way he moved it in his hand to match the motion of fresh fish was nothing short of astonishing. It surpassed the sound of an actual fish! That sound remains, to this day, the most impressive I've ever experienced in foley. The sounds Okase-san created had a distinctive tone. His whole body seemed to resonate and amplify the sound—gentle yet powerful, and entirely unique. He was a sound artist like no other. "The sounds Okase-san created had a distinctive tone. His whole body seemed to resonate and amplify the sound—gentle yet powerful, and entirely unique. Making sound with Okase-san was truly joyful. He was a sound artist like no other." Whether in a studio storeroom, down the hallway of a film lot, in a forest, or on a film set, Okase-san would record freely, unbound by the confines of a Foley room. I always admired that about him. When I was unsure about whether I should take on the project Godzilla Minus One (2023, Dir: Takashi Yamazaki), it was Okase-san who encouraged me. "Opportunities come around. When they do, you should grab them. You'll be just fine, Natsuko." I can't count how many times those words saved me. Every time we saw each other at the studio, he always made time to ask how I was doing. He would listen, and he would always answer any question— no matter how trivial—without ever showing annoyance. He was an extraordinary person, and around him was always a warm, sunlit circle of people. These days, during Foley sessions, we often talk about Okase-san. Each studio still has materials he donated, things that produce wonderful sounds. As we use them, memories naturally come up and we share them. Just as Okase-san expanded my world of sound, I hope to enrich someone else's world in the same way some day. Making sound with Okase-san was truly joyful. The sensation of being drawn into the very resonance he created, I will never forget it. That's why his absence now feels so deeply lonesome. Natsuko Inoue