Japanese candy sculptor performs for Samo students

His hands move as if in a dance, molding, flowing, and carving details with little sheers. There’s a lilt to his movements, as his eyes see the finished product and his fingers make it manifest. Steadily, a form begins to emerge as legs, ears, heads and tails sprout from the molten ball.This is Shan Ichiyanagi, and he creates candy for a living. For Ichiyanagi, candy is not just a craft — it’s a performance art.The Samohi: You work as a candy designer?Shan Ichiyanagi: Yes that’s a nice name, I like that. Normally I call myself a candy man, or candy artist, but candy designer sounds good. I like that.TS: It has a ring to it. What do you do as a candy designer?SI: This profession has two aspects. One is, it’s very visual. It’s very quickly done, so people don’t get bored. They can easily see what’s happening in a matter of minutes, so this becomes entertainment.TS: Do you travel for this job?SI: Tonight, we are taking the 4:25 flight to New York, we’re doing a couple of events in New York, then we come back on Sunday, and I’ll be doing some work for a private party for Universal Studios.TS: Do you consider yourself more of an entertainer than a candy designer then?SI: Well both, but today, for instance, I’m here to perform in front of the Japanese class at Samo, but yesterday I performed for an art class of students, and they have two different ideas of what they want. One group was trying to see the making of traditional Japanese candy, while another was trying to see a unique art presentation. Both are interested in what I do. It’s a multi-faceted performance.TS: You’ve worked at this craft for 40 years now, what do you think you’ve learned over this period of time?SI: I shouldn’t speak badly about human intelligence, but this candy appeals to two major groups. One is intelligent, artistic people. The other group is the richest people. They’ve got the money, they need an entertainer. Not rich people, the richest people. Bill Gates and whatnot, these are my clients. Donald Trump, you know? I thought they would laugh at me. They loved it. Simply because, their mind becomes so rich, they don’t have to worry about anything, like a little kid. Their mind becomes more flexible to accepting anything. So, they see this presentation, they say “You make something out of candy, that’s good, I like that.” But people who don’t get it, they say “are you playing with your food? What did your parents teach you?” They’re kidding, but they become too serious. Little kids say “I love it, can you make something for me?” I make something for them, and the next moment, they put in their mouth. They eat it. Not because they’re hungry, but because they want to consume something beautiful, and put it into their body so that they can harmonize with it. Kids are very straightforward. Adults try to ask how rare it is, they want the logical aspect. Normally, when I make the candy, I don’t have to say anything to those people. I want them to just enjoy, without questioning things.TS: This is a fairly uncommon profession, how did you get involved? How did you learn the trade?SI: It’s a dying art today. I’m 60 years old now, but when I was a little kid, this art was popular in Japan. After WWII, Japan had lost a lot of its living standards. My family was very poor, and I used to go to the market and watch these simple candies being made. I couldn’t afford the candies, even though they were very cheap, but I really enjoyed watching this, and I didn’t have to pay to watch. As Japan became more technologically-focused over the years, people stopped going out on the street. They just stay indoors on their computers. People don’t participate in the festivals in Japan anymore.TS: Do you think that this has contributed to a loss in popularity for this art in Japan?SI: Yes, unfortunately, Japan is not like this country. They love sweets, but not as much as Americans. Luckily, my business in this country is very healthy. Back in Japan, some people still do this, but they cannot make a living. They have main jobs to support their acts. In Japan, they don’t really throw big parties like Americans. I work in the capital of the party industry, here in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I fly into Manhattan a lot for celebrity parties. Including my partner, Taka, there are 4, maybe 5 candy artists in America. We’re very lucky to have a lot of generous customers who can enjoy my art, and pay for my airfare. Not many people are willing to pay this much money in Japan.TS: Are the materials for your performance very expensive?SI: No, not too expensive. The travel costs make up most of my expenses. It’s not the materials that make the performance. It’s the skill that we have.TS: Did you have a teacher, or were you self-taught?SI: I had two teachers. One was a master in Japan, another is a master in the United States. The first one was an old man who taught me in my youth who passed away a long time ago, and the other master lives in Florida. His name is Masaji Terasawa.TS: Who do you consider the client that you’ve had the most fun performing for?SI: Nicolas Cage. When I first performed for one of his parties, he was married to Patricia Arquette, and her brother David Arquette was there as well. At the time, David Arquette was associated with all the main actors in “Friends,” and they were all there, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and all of them. My wife and I didn’t know who they were, and they said they were actors. Then a few weeks later, we found out that “Friends” was a big show. I think you call that a “Hollywood Story.” I worked for Nicolas Cage for more than 10 years. I did a party for him every Easter. Out of him, I got three referrals to other stars. I worked for Jim Carrey at Paramount. He spent $2 million turning two sets into a holiday themed party for a fire department. One of the sets had an Olympic-sized ice rink built on it, and he had the Olympic skater Sasha Cohen come in to skate for the party. When I had been performing for a couple of hours, Mr. Carrey came to me and said, this man over here hasn’t gotten one, so he takes some of the hot candy, and tries to make one, but he burns himself, and starts making balloon animals for people instead. He’s very talented. A total entertainer. Also Donald Trump, a few years ago, he was in a lot of debt, and he hosted a party. Usually, these big shots will host a party, and not even stay there, because there are a lot of parties going on, and to be more sociable, they leave. He stayed the whole night. He went around to each person, and said “thank you for staying in my company tonight.” I never heard anything bad said about him in Manhattan. Everyone respects him. On the television, he sounds like a real showy idiot, but he’s not actually.TS: How much do you usually charge for a party?SI: I usually charge about $4000-5000 for a few hours. But to some people who don’t have any money, I don’t charge.TS: Are you performing for the Japanese program here at Samo pro bono?SI: Rowe-Sensei asked me through a friend if I could show my art, since it’s a dying art today. I said sure, I want to show it to kids that are interested. No charge. On the house. It’s been fun.Interview by Daniel Bottitta, Staff Writer