Biography

 

Kayo studied Graphic Design at Musashino Art University in Tokyo, graduating in 1992. She began her career as a costume designer in 1994, working with director Satoshi Miyagi in theatre. Since then, she has created costume designs for a wide range of media including music videos, concerts, films, and large-scale events in Tokyo.

 

In 1998, she served as an assistant costume designer for the ballet performance at the opening ceremony of the Nagano Winter Olympics.

 

Her creative process is deeply rooted in the unique energy of the theatrical space, the narrative, the performers, and the director’s vision. Constantly experimenting with new materials and methods, her costume designs often incorporate elements of traditional Japanese culture such as origami, papercraft, and calligraphy, seamlessly fused with contemporary style. She also creates props and extraordinary masks inspired by indigenous tribal art from the United States.

 

Selected Works:

    •    The White Hare of Inaba–Navajo, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris

    •    Mahabharata, Tokyo, Shizuoka, Paris, Avignon

    •    Antigone, opening production at Festival d’Avignon & Park Avenue Armory, New York

    •    Mugen Noh Othello, Japan Society, New York

    •    Mahabharata Senki (Kabuki), Kabuki Theatre, Tokyo

    •    Opera Rusalka by Dvořák, Nissay Theatre, Tokyo

    •    Opera, Idomeneo, Re di Creta, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, 2022, Opera national du           Capitole 2024

    •    Opera, Mitridate, Re di Ponto, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin, 2022,2023

​    •   Opera,The Great Wave, Theatre Royal Glasgow and Festival Theatre Edinburgh,2025

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