My debut, so to speak, in the Japanese dinosaur world came about through a Jurassic diorama I built on top of a record cabinet, which was featured in the submission section of Hobby Japan magazine's July 1984 issue. It was a major undertaking that took a year and a half to complete, and I was thrilled to receive praise for it. In fact, Mr. Araki and the members of the Dinosaur Club, whom I would later meet a few years later, also remembered this work, and I was immediately recognized as a fellow dinosaur enthusiast. After that, this diorama continued to be useful in various ways and appeared on TV several times. The ultimate was a scene in "Nandemo Kanteidan" where a female reporter virtually walked around inside the diorama. I am so grateful to the production company for going to such lengths. If I had one wish, it would have been to walk around with her...

Since I was about 30 years old when I created it, it might be an exaggeration to call it a "youthful diorama." However, for my dinosaur life, it was truly the prime of my youth in the sense that it was just beginning, and as proof, even now, when I recall the days of its creation, a bittersweet feeling wells up. The background music was by Seiko Matsuda during her heyday, and by Asami Kado, who is known to those in the know. (I should make an excuse here: because of my profession, I tend to listen to jazz too intently, so it's not suitable for background music.)
Actually, before this Jurassic diorama, I had made a Cretaceous diorama, also on top of a record cabinet. That one was a simple and crude creation: a grassland made of scraps of green carpet, a river made by painting the back of a transparent plastic sheet, and miniature trees for model railroads, with many small eraser dinosaurs (I inserted wire into them to pose them because they were rubber). But it was quite enjoyable, so I decided to challenge myself to make a more serious one. For the dinosaurs, I mainly used those made by the British Museum of Natural History, which were the highest quality available at the time. For the plants, I scoured model shops for suitable items for railroad and military model scenery. In addition, to plant a large number of ferns on the ground, I bravely bought a bulk amount of inexpensive palm tree sets at a variety store frequented by young girls. I think I spent several months just collecting these materials.
With all the preparations complete, I finally began construction. First, I created the general topography with styrofoam, then applied a mixture of to-no-ko (polishing powder) and bond mixed with water, and finally sprinkled a little scenery powder to complete the ground. Next was creating the water surface, but I'll save that for the next time.

Diorama Diplodocus
"A Diplodocus emerging from a swamp: Of course, the aquatic theory for sauropods had already been debunked at the time, but it somehow made for a picturesque scene... Elephants love to bathe too, after all. Anyway, I never imagined that even the posture of a Barosaurus with its neck held high in the distance would be refuted. This is a photo I submitted to Hobby Japan."

Diorama Megalosaurus
"Centered around a standing Megalosaurus, there are Stegosaurus, Scelidosaurus, and Ornitholestes. This is a favorite photo because of its depth."