Purple Magazine
— Purple #43 S/S 2025
The Tokyo Diary Issue
yōko yamanaka
alberto giacometti tattoo on yÅko’s neck
interview
by OLIVIER ZAHM
portraits
by CHIKASHI SUZUKI
Young Japanese filmmaker Yo–ko Yamanaka debuted with Amiko (2017). Her latest film, Desert of Namibia (2024), explores a Tokyo girl’s descent into madness. Now finishing her third film, she is a rising voice of the new generation.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Where do you come from?
YÕKO YAMANAKA — I was born in Nagano, Japan, to a Chinese mother. From ages two to four, I lived in China, so I speak a little Mandarin. Later, I moved to Tokyo to attend university.
OLIVIER ZAHM — You made your first movie at a very young age, didn’t you?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — I was 19.
OLIVIER ZAHM — How did you shoot it, and what camera did you use? I heard it was made on a very small budget.
YŌKO YAMANAKA — I used a Canon EOS Kiss DSLR. My school friends made up the entire crew, and we created it with a budget of ¥300,000, about $2,500 at the time.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Let’s talk about your second and most recent movie, Desert of Namibia. The title is intriguing, especially since it’s about a girl in Tokyo, not a desert in Namibia. What inspired that choice? Is it a metaphor for Tokyo as an emotional desert?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — Tokyo and Namibia seem worlds apart: Tokyo is overflowing with objects, products, and information, while Namibia’s desert is the complete opposite. Yet now, people can watch that desert live on their smartphones. There’s even a livestream channel with a fixed camera broadcasting this “empty” desert 24/7 on YouTube, and it’s monetized. In the local language, Namibia means “nothing.” Even in a place called “nothing,” a communication system has been created to capitalize on it. My film explores how exhausting capitalism can be, but for my main character, Kana, Namibia becomes a place of peace. That irony deeply fascinates me.
OLIVIER ZAHM — In your film, you explore a young woman’s psychology. Is this character a bit of a self-portrait?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — A little bit, yes.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Kana is a 21-year-old Japanese woman navigating a series of mundane moments in her life. She leaves her caring boyfriend, Honda, for a more eccentric man, Hayashi, while drifting between work and romantic troubles in Tokyo. Would you say she represents a new generation in Japan?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — I didn’t aim to depict Japan’s youth as a whole. I focused on Kana as an individual. Not everyone is the same, and my own mindset is reflected a bit in her, but that doesn’t mean all young Japanese people feel the same way.
I interviewed around 15 people younger than me before creating this character.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Is it more about Tokyo’s youth?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — In Tokyo, following your desires can be difficult because there’s an overwhelming amount of information and options. The younger generation often struggles to make choices, leaving them unsure of what to do.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Your main character, Kana, is fully aware of her beauty. She dresses effortlessly cool in oversized T-shirts and doesn’t seem to care much about others. She’s unfaithful, shows little interest in love, and reacts indifferently to a classmate’s suicide. Would you say she’s lost?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — You’re right — she doesn’t believe in love. She’s somewhat manipulative and narcissistic, primarily focused on herself, yet deep down, she might not even be truly interested in herself. Her attachment to her two lovers is purely superficial, as is her life, including her job at a beauty salon. She’s not mean — just lost, as you said.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Does she believe in anything at all?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — I don’t think so. She believes everyone will die.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Would you say she’s depressed?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — During the movie’s timeframe, she doesn’t realize that she is. It’s hard to acknowledge depression when you’re in the middle of it. Eventually, she sees a therapist who suggests she might be manic-depressive or have borderline personality disorder, but it doesn’t mean much to her.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Is she rejecting society’s norms, like Japan’s patriarchal rules?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — She can’t commit to anything. Maybe she once could, but now, living alone in Tokyo, she’s unable to commit to any idea.
OLIVIER ZAHM — But she’s rebellious! And antisocial.
YŌKO YAMANAKA — Maybe a bit punk, yes.
OLIVIER ZAHM — So, she doesn’t really have a psychological problem?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — I don’t think so. She doesn’t view society as something to engage with, but society views her as the problem.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Do you think her generation lacks a political agenda? Are they simply living in the moment, drifting from one relationship, job, or place to another without any clear goals?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — Not my friends and the people around me, but most young people seem detached from political issues. Many people are like that — disconnected from politics. I believe those people might not even go to see my film.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Do you have a favorite filmmaker?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — I like the Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye a lot. He’s very political, and his films are about love, always love. He’s very honest in his films. I love Summer Palace, a film about a young couple during the Tiananmen Square protests. After this film, the Chinese government banned him from making movies for five years. His new film, Spring Fever, which he made despite the ban, is also amazing.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Does he still live in China?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — He may still be there, although he may have spent time elsewhere. I truly admire the humanity in his films.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Do you like the idea that fiction in movies reveals the truth and reflects reality?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — I love truth, but not in the way a documentary presents it. For me, the soul is the truth.
OLIVIER ZAHM — Are you already thinking of your next movie?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — I actually just finished another movie.
OLIVIER ZAHM — You work fast!
YŌKO YAMANAKA — Yes, we just finished editing. I made two feature films this year, so I’m exhausted! [Laughs]
OLIVIER ZAHM — Can you tell me about your new movie?
YŌKO YAMANAKA — It’s about a complex mother-daughter relationship, but I can’t reveal any more just yet.
END
FILM STILLS FROM YŌKO YAMANAKA’S DESERT OF NAMIBIA, 2024, FEATURING YŪMI KAWAI AND DAICHI KANEKO
