We’re looking forward to introducing you to Edda Yamada. Check out our conversation below.
Edda, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: When have you felt most loved—and did you believe you deserved it?
The first people who I felt loved by were my parents, and I am lucky to have grown up feeling loved from a young age. My parents are still important people in my life, but I feel that as I have gotten older, become an adult, and moved away from home, naturally, my relationship with my parents has changed. Now, I feel really loved by my partner, Miho
I met Miho 2 years ago while I was an exchange student in Japan during my 4th year of college. After graduating, I decided that I wanted to continue living in Tokyo.
Since I was about 6, and until I became really close to Miho, I had a lot of insecurity around socializing. Only recently, through conversations with Miho, have I realized how this fear of being rejected by others has caused me to not always surround myself with the best people.
Being excluded in kindergarten, not fitting in with my classmates in middle school, and other social trauma had led me to have depleted self-worth. Because of that, I would low-ball myself later in high school and college with friends who did not treat me nicely. I did not know how to set boundaries, and there were many times when people would become distant all of a sudden. I thought that it was my fault, and usually I would later find out that these people were depressed, or they would tell me directly afterwards that it had nothing to do with me.
Because I experienced this over and over again, part of me thought I was unlovable. It took me a long time to accept that the problem was unhealthy friends that I made because of my social trauma.
Miho and I talk a lot about deep stuff, and over this last year, she asked me why I kept surrounding myself with people that were not good for me. It was a huge wake-up moment, and I was like “wow, yeah, I should stop surrounding myself with toxic people.”
As a result, this past year I have left some friendships behind and gained new ones that are healthier. Because I am able to talk about this deep stuff with Miho, I feel truly loved by her, and I feel that I am loved for who I am. Even though it is not always easy to have these deep conversations, I have learned a lot and my love and trust with Miho has deepened. I think everyone “deserves” to be loved and to be loved unconditionally for who they are.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I have always understood myself to be a pretty creative person. I had hippie parents, and they only let me use screens about twice a week while growing up. That led to a lot of free time, which I normally spent drawing.
Although I have been exploring visual art for the longest time, I have recently been putting a lot of my energy into exploring a new medium: YouTube. My partner, Miho, and I started our YouTube channel Edda and Miho (@azarashiproductions) a little over a year ago in October 2024.
Before meeting each other, Miho and I both had a dream to start a YouTube channel and finally got the momentum to start one once we started going out. We feel that both of our creative talents, though different, shine best when combined, and that’s one of the reasons why we decided to start the channel together.
Our channel, Edda and Miho, focuses on my and Miho’s everyday life and our adventures. We share the crazy things we get up to, such as oyster foraging, going in hot springs, and also our deep thoughts about life. We have also talked about being an interracial LGBTQ couple in Japan. Going forward, we want to work on getting better at storytelling, taking more cinematic, beautiful videos and better capturing the fun moments of everyday life. I have a passion for acting and doing impressions, and while I have made some comedy videos, I would like to make more.
Miho and I would like to use YouTube as a way to share more of my visual art-making process and Miho’s photography with more people. We want to make a website for our channel with my art and Miho’s photography. We plan on selling art, merch and offering our video making/ illustration/ photography services to clients. Since characters are really popular in Japan, right now, we are working on growing our brand by making LINE stamps of our channel’s character Azarashi chan (seal in Japanese). LINE is a popular messaging app used in Japan, and stamps are emoji sets people can buy to use when they chat with their friends.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I have always been told by people that I am uniquely myself, but I have had periods where I have not fully embraced my unique self. Before I had social trauma, I was unapologetically myself at a young age. I was very curious, and I had no problem with being a little different from everyone. From being bullied in school, I started thinking that maybe that was a problem and that I was strange for not being interested in the same things everyone else was at school.
Recently, I have overcome this trauma and have been able to accept who I really am and be proud of it. I have learned that there is a place for me to be my true self and that there are people in the world who accept me for who I am. It has been hard to have enough confidence and bravery to fully accept this.
Now, after some self-growth, I have come back full circle in a way to my younger self, who didn’t really care about being like everyone else. I am proud to be different, and even though as an adult, it can be hard to accept being unique and standing out, I want to keep boosting my confidence and try my best to be the real me every day.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I have had a fear of rejection and a fear of being different from others for a long time. I was afraid of being unconditionally loved as being the true me.
While this social fear held me back, this fear of being different and choosing a different path has also made me have doubts about choosing a creative path. Our society praises those who chose the well beaten path of graduating, finding a 9-5 job and supporting the structure of large corporations who benefit from our labor.
Putting a lot of time into art, which is not something that always has a financial payout at the start is something that is “risky” and sometimes I doubt weather it is a good use of my time. I feel pressure to do something that is more “productive.” This fear of not being enough is something that I still feel and is something that I am trying to work on.
It takes a lot of guts to be a creative, or entrepreneur, and not to give up. Sometimes I feel like I am a little crazy. Am I crazy? Maybe. I have also heard that to be successful in a creative field you have to be a little crazy. You have to be crazy enough to keep trying and keep believing in yourself.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Over this past year, I have made a lot of YouTube videos with my partner Miho. While not yet a total pro, I have made progress in showing up as my authentic self on camera. I believe that people resonate with honesty and authenticity, and it is more fun to be myself instead of trying to be someone else.
Slowly but surely perhaps it is paying off. Me and Miho found another YouTube creator pair that that has similar hobbies to us and we went and met one of them recently! We had a really nice conversation and I felt like I learned a lot from talking with her. Because we had each been watching each other’s videos, it felt like we already knew so much about one another. If me and Miho hadn’t been making YouTube videos and showing up as our authentic selves, we might not have gotten to have such a deep conversation from the get-go in real life. I guess in this way the public me is not so different from the real me.
This YouTuber is a bit older than us and is a successful sculptor, who also makes YouTube videos. She reminded me and Miho that it takes time to be successful creatively. She also talked about the balance in the start about how to earn enough income while also having enough time to keep your creative projects going. One day, we might do a collab together!
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel the most at peace when I am around people I love, eating good food and ina beautiful place. I get a great sense of peace from being in beautiful nature. I feel like, even just for a little while, its ok to just exist instead of having to output something.
At the same time, I feel that having a creative talent is a gift that should be shared, so I also feel at peace when I am making art/ YouTube videos too!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eddayamada.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.poetic.edda/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@azarashiproductions/featured
Image Credits
Miho Yamamoto, Lisa Smith
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