was an Academy Award-winning theatrical, movie and ballet

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...

from Japan.

Life and career

Wada was born in Kyoto Prefecture. At 20, she married Ben Wada, a television director. Wada had initially gone to school to become a painter, but this tie to her husband led to designing the stage effects and costumes for plays he was involved with. Wada has continued designing for the stage since. She created costumes for the

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

film ''

Ran Ran, RaN and ran may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa * "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea * '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) * ...

'', which earned her an Academy Award for costume design, the

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are the ...

film ''

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'', and the

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

films, ''

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'' and ''

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''. She designed costumes for operas, including the 2006 premiere performance of

Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and ...

's ''

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'' and for ballets, including ''The Peony Pavilion'' by Fei Bo (

National Ballet of China The National Ballet of China (NBC), known in China as the Central Ballet Troupe was founded on 31 December 1959. It is the national ballet company of the People's Republic of China. The ballet company works from the Tianqiao Theater, this was sp ...

, 2008). Her work for the 2015 production of ''The Peony Pavilion'' was described by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' as "some of the loveliest ballet creations in memory" with the newspaper further noting that: "Skirt hems flickered like flames as the dancers moved, and the leading ballerina’s sheer overdress floated around her like an afterglow." Wada also designed the costumes for the 2018 Chinese adaptation of Shakespeare's ''King Lear''. She released multiple books of her works, including ''My Costumes'', ''EMI WADA WORKS'', and ''My Life in the Making'', the latter of which was created on pieces of textiles with pictures of her work inside. Wada died on 13 November 2021, at the age of 84.

Recent works

* ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

'' (2007) * ''

Oh My General ''Oh My General'' ( Chinese: ) is a 2017 Chinese streaming television series starring Ma Sichun and Sheng Yilun. It is adapted from the novel ''General Above I Am Below'' ( Chinese: ) by Ju Hua San Li. Set against the backdrop of the Song dynasty, ...

'' (2017)

Notes

External links

Emi Wada official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wada, Emi 1937 births 2021 deaths Best Costume Design Academy Award winners Japanese costume designers People from Kyoto Prefecture Women costume designers Kyoto City University of Arts alumni