Kodo Nishimura grew up in Tokyo but moved to New York at age 18 to study art at Parsons. After returning to Japan to complete his training as a monk he then chose to travel again to Los Angeles where he furthered his classical training in makeup. Today, Nishimura, who identifies as non-binary, divides his time between his two passions: makeup artistry and the Buddhist monastery. He also recently published an autobiography celebrating sexual diversity and spreading the message in Japan that different is beautiful.