Hyper-Realistic Face Masks: Inside “That Face” (Anokao)
What if you could wear the face of a real person? At Kamenya Omote, a mask shop in Tokyo, you can. Through an ongoing art project called “That Face” (Japanese: Anokao), the shop makes hyper-realistic, wearable masks moulded from the faces of real people — detailed enough that the only giveaway is that the eyes and lips don’t move.
Since it launched, the project has been featured by Reuters, VICE and Hyperallergic, among others.
The “That Face” (Anokao) project
Kamenya Omote was founded in 2014 by Shuhei Okawara, and deals in masks of every kind. In October 2020, Okawara announced That Face: a project to buy the faces of real people and reproduce them as wearable masks. When the first masks — including a scan of Okawara’s own face — went on sale in spring 2021, more than 100 people applied to have their own faces made and sold.
Every mask is produced only with the clear consent of the person whose face it reproduces. (We do not make masks of celebrities or of third parties on request.)
These masks are for sale. There are three editions, all made to order in Japan and shipped worldwide. The difference between them is the eyes:
See every face in the collection
How a hyper-realistic face mask is made
Each face begins as a 3D scan. A high-resolution photograph of the face is then printed onto a three-dimensional plastic base built from that scan data, with the model manually adjusted so the image wraps convincingly around real contours. The finer points of the process are a trade secret — but the result reproduces skin in startling detail.
The masks are made at roughly 105% of life size, so almost anyone can wear almost any face. Because the surface is printed onto a rigid material, the eyes and lips don’t move — which, as more than one journalist has noted, is the only real tell that you are looking at a mask.
Realistic enough to fool a computer
Just how convincing are they? A facial-recognition developer once tested one of the masks against an authentication system — and got in. It is a striking demonstration of the precision involved, and a reminder of how strange the line between a face and its copy has become.
Not your ideal face — a transformation
“People don’t necessarily want their ideal face,” Okawara has said. “They just want a transformation.” He sees the masks as art objects, and many customers are creators who use them in film and theatre — a modern echo of Japan’s long tradition of masks as tools of performance and transformation.
Wear one yourself
A rotating selection of ready-made That Face masks — wearable hyper-realistic portraits — is available now in our online store. Each is handmade to order and ships worldwide from Japan.
▶ Browse the That Face – Realistic Human Face Masks collection
Custom commissions: your own face
We also create made-to-order masks of a specific person’s face, produced only with that person’s consent. The process is quick on your side — a short 3D scan and photo session — followed by a few weeks of production. Custom work can extend to hair, ears, full heads and life-size figures.
▶ Contact us about a custom That Face commission
What people use them for
- Wearable art, events and live performance
- Film, television and web video
- Advertising, exhibitions and promotion
- Personal keepsakes and gifts (with the subject’s consent)
The face of a real person, handmade in Japan and shipped worldwide. Shop hyper-realistic That Face masks · ask about a custom order.
Ready for your own? See How to Order a That Face Mask: Timeline and Common Questions.
