Being a Buddhist monk and a makeup artist may appear like two at the same time exclusive careers, but now not for Kodo Nishimura.
Nishimura splits his time between doing make-up for celebrities in New York and being a monk in a Buddhist temple in Tokyo.
Growing up in Japan, Nishimura felt he couldn’t be open approximately his gender identification or sexuality.
“I didn’t need humans to find out that I turned into interested in men,” he told PinkNews.
“I didn’t need to admit I liked Sailor Moon or Disney Princesses, but the truth is I couldn’t percentage this with human beings, supposed I couldn’t connect to absolutely everyone or make any friends, which isolated me.”
Nishimura fell into the make-up artist-world at the same time as reading abroad in Boston in 2007.
He became unbound by using the traditional constraints of gender and started out experimenting with make-up—something that had no longer been possible at the same time as living in his father’s temple.
He started out giving his friends makeovers, and after seeing the effective effect it had on their vanity, he became recommended to start a career within the enterprise.
He now identifies as “gender gifted” and has become a longtime celebrity makeup artist, operating behind the curtain at Miss Universe.
Becoming a Buddhist Monk
Despite locating his ardor in make-up, after 8 years within the US, he felt as though something was lacking.
“I desired to be disciplined once more as a Japanese person, and I wanted to challenge, query, and apprehend Buddhism better,” he defined.
Whilst Nishimura by no means idea it would be impossible to pursue both careers, he did reveal in a period of doubt, even encountering homophobia inside the monastery.
But, with the encouragement of his grasp and his family’s reputation, he learned that the maximum vital thing becomes now not how he dressed or appeared, however how well he carried the message of Buddhism.
“Before, I changed into residing to satisfy the expectations of different people, but there is not anything incorrect being who I am; my identity is nothing inferior.
