About Us

Shishido Creative is a brand created by Fil-Am PNW native, Mandy, and Taka, a Japanese immigrant recently transplanted to the US in 2019. We are both passionate creators whose intention is to share our authentic cultures through the lens of an AAPI and Japanese lens, unfettered by the Western Gaze.

Since beginning our brand in 2018, we recognized there was no end to kawaii style art inspired by Japanese culture, but Taka, being a native to Japan could always find so many ways the art was incorrect in its representation of Japanese culture, so we decided to create artwork that was very intentional in its accuracy, while still sharing it with those who are genuinely interested in our cultures. It is our honor to share and continue to study our Filipino (Mandy) & Japanese (Taka) heritage and history with those who wish to learn and appreciate it.

how we met

Through an unexpected stroke of fate, we met accidentally (twice!) in Tokyo, Japan in 2017, during one of Mandy's annual trips to Japan. Taka had just returned within the last 6 months after living for a couple years in Germany and they met at a famous Japanese festival. Although their first encounter was very brief, not even exchanging names, nearly one week later in a different part of town, Taka recognized Mandy on her walk back to her hotel. They exchanged names and LINE numbers, kept in touch over a summer, and on a trip to visit Mandy in the US, they confessed their undying love, even tattooing each other's names in each other's inner lips.

Since then, the two have gone through such a wild ride all in the name of love. After a whirlwind adventure of romance and hardships for about 15 months, going back and forth between the beautiful Pacific Northwest, Japan, and parts of southeast Asia, we finally settled down in Seattle, WA.