While watching VIVANT, I thought, "This is just too incredible." Masaharu Fukuyama's character, Yunosuke Nogi, has incredibly long lines. "How does he memorize this?" Curious, I looked into it and was even more surprised.
In the filming of VIVANT featured on Sunday First Ear, there were lines spanning up to 34 pages, and he also tackled dialogue in 10 different languages.
Normally, you'd think, "His memory must be fundamentally different from ours." I thought so too at first. But when I checked his interviews, what emerged was a surprisingly diligent method.
It turns out that what's amazing isn't just his memory, but his 'method' of learning.
Moreover, as I investigated this method, I found many overlaps with findings from memory research. If that's the case, this isn't just a special story for actors. It should be applicable to studying for certifications or memorizing English vocabulary.
This time, we will look at the memorization methods Masaharu Fukuyama actually uses, alongside papers on memory research.
1. Memorization: Speak Aloud Rather Than Just Read
On TBS Radio's Konekuto broadcast in April 2026, Masaharu Fukuyama was asked about how he memorizes long lines.
His answer was, "I memorize them like chanting sutras."
He inputs the script text into his smartphone and mutters it repeatedly during spare moments. In other words,
Rather than "sitting at a desk for 3 hours trying to memorize," he
repeats it aloud multiple times throughout daily life.
This act of "speaking aloud" has an interesting effect confirmed in memory research.
It's called the "production effect."
MacLeod et al.'s 2010 study showed that words spoken aloud are remembered better than those read silently.
The reason is simple. Silent reading centers on the information of "seeing the text." But speaking aloud adds seeing the text, pronouncing it yourself, hearing your own voice, and moving your mouth. The amount of information increases.
Speaking aloud creates more cues to hook onto memory.
So even for certification studies, instead of just reading 10 times, try saying it once. For English vocabulary, pronounce it. For technical terms, try explaining it yourself:
"XX means YY."
Don't just stare at the textbook.
When memorizing, use your mouth as well as your eyes.
Masaharu Fukuyama's method of "memorizing like chanting sutras" makes a lot of sense scientifically.
2. Long Lines: Touch Repeatedly in Spare Moments, Not All at Once
Another interesting point from the same Konekuto interview was "spare time."
Masaharu Fukuyama keeps the script on his smartphone and repeats it whenever he has a moment. The key here isn't the smartphone itself.
He doesn't try to memorize it all at once; he touches the same lines repeatedly over spaced intervals.
This aligns with the concept of "distributed practice."
Cepeda et al. analyzed 184 papers, 317 experiments, and 839 evaluations regarding distributed practice. They confirmed the trend that
repeating content over spaced intervals leads to longer-lasting memory than cramming it all at once.
For example, if you want to memorize 100 English words. You could spend 1 hour at night doing round 1, round 2, round 3. Or you could do one round in the morning, another during the commute, check mistakes at lunch, and test again at night.
Even if it's the same number of repetitions (3 or 4), the latter method includes "time to recall." Each time, you have to search your memory asking, "What was that again?"
The more there is to memorize, the better to focus on increasing the frequency of re-encountering the same information rather than just increasing study time.
Especially if it's 34 pages long. Don't try to power through it in one night. Make the lines appear repeatedly in your daily life.
Masaharu Fukuyama conquers long lines not by "one long session," but by using short sessions repeatedly.
3. Fukuyama Memorizes Mouth Shapes, Not Just Text
And this is where I was most surprised. Masaharu Fukuyama isn't just speaking aloud.
In the July 2026 episode of Sunday First Ear, his method for VIVANT's long lines was introduced: memorizing the 'shape' by pronouncing every single word using only vowels.
Up to 34 pages. Instead of just reading it as normal text, he repeats it using vowels. It seems like an extreme method. But hearing this, I realized
Masaharu Fukuyama isn't just 'memorizing lines in his head,' he is 'making his body memorize the lines.'
This differs from point #1. Point #1 was about "speaking aloud increases memory cues."
However, vowel practice goes further. He repeats not just the meaning of the words, but the mouth movements, sounds, rhythm, and order of pronunciation.
In the production effect research mentioned earlier, it was confirmed that not just vocalization, but the act of moving the mouth relates to memory.
Vocalization involves not just auditory input, but sensory and motor information from moving the mouth.
In other words,
It's not just the memory of "knowing this sentence."
He creates physical cues such as 'after this mouth movement, this sound comes next.'
That's why for 34-page lines, he doesn't search character-by-character in his head, but reaches a state where his mouth knows the next word. This is the brilliance of Masaharu Fukuyama's vowel practice.
You can apply this same idea to studying. For English vocabulary, learn the pronunciation along with the meaning. For English sentences, don't just follow the text with your eyes; say it aloud repeatedly. For long definitions, actually explain them fully with your own mouth.
Take it from 'understanding' to 'body can reproduce it.'
This is a major difference from memorization by just reading.
4. Check Memory by Saying Without Looking, Not Re-Reading
Another interesting aspect of Masaharu Fukuyama's approach is revealed in TBS Radio's Konekuto.
He stated, "I basically go to set having already memorized the lines," revealing that he generally does not bring the script to the location. This is quite important when considering memorization.
'Knowing it if you see it' and 'being able to say it without looking' are completely different.
When reading a textbook, you might think, "I know this." But if you close the book and someone asks, "Please explain it," it doesn't come out.
This happens often.
This is because you are only at the stage of "recognizing it if seen," not "being able to retrieve it yourself." In Masaharu Fukuyama's case, he cannot see the script during performance. Therefore, being able to say it perfectly while looking at the script is meaningless.
What is needed is being able to say it without the script.
This connects to "retrieval practice" in memory research.
A study published by Karpicke and Blunt in Science showed that practicing retrieval from memory after closing the material resulted in higher subsequent learning scores compared to re-studying the text or creating concept maps.
So in studying, don't just end with reading, reading, reading again. After reading one page, close it. Then ask yourself, "What was written on that page?" Write it on blank paper. Solve problems. Try explaining it to someone else aloud.
'Understanding' and 'Recalling' are different things.
And exams require the latter. It's not about how many times you've gone through the reference book.
How much can you retrieve with the reference book closed?
You should make this the standard for memorization.
5. Even for 10 Languages, First Transform into a Form You Can Handle
What's even more surprising in VIVANT is the foreign language aspect.
In the Sunday First Ear interview, it was introduced how Masaharu Fukuyama memorizes lines in 10 languages.
The method is interesting. First, he converts the foreign language lines into katakana. He memorizes that version once. Then, he gets teachers of each language to correct his pronunciation. Moreover, he reportedly did this for several languages in parallel. What I found interesting wasn't the 'katakana' part itself.
Masaharu Fukuyama doesn't try to memorize difficult information as-is.
He first transforms it into a form he can handle. Instead of holding onto unknown foreign sounds directly, he converts them into readable characters. Memorizes that. Then refines it toward accurate pronunciation.
This act of "transforming into a processable form" is also crucial for memory.
Slamecka and Graf reported the "generation effect" in 1978, showing that memory retention is better when you generate information yourself rather than just passively reading provided information.
In other words, instead of passively accepting information, process it yourself. Reconstruct it. Change it into a form you can handle. These actions themselves become memory cues.
So for certification studies, you don't need to rote-memorize difficult explanations as they are. Break long texts into chunks. Rephrase technical terms in your own words. Diagram complex mechanisms. Pair English words with their sound and meaning.
If you can't memorize it, before doubting your memory capacity, change the 'form of the information.'
This is very important. Reading difficult things in their difficult form over and over.
Then failing to memorize and thinking, "I'm bad at memorization."
But the problem might not be memory capacity, but
trying to put it into your head in a 'hard-to-memorize form' in the first place.
Faced with 10 languages, Masaharu Fukuyama didn't accept them as-is.
He transformed them into manageable information before memorizing.
6. The Goal of Memorization is Freedom in Performance, Not Just Remembering
Looking at all this, another question arises. Why does Masaharu Fukuyama prepare this extensively? It's not to show off that he can recite 34 pages.
In Sunday First Ear, when Osamu Hayashi asked about preparation, Masaharu Fukuyama said, "If I haven't memorized the lines, I'll get left behind." The program also shared an anecdote about filming on camels in Azerbaijan.
On actual sets, unexpected things happen. Camels run faster than expected. Camera positions change. Co-stars improvise. Direction changes on the spot.
In such moments, if you're thinking, "What was the next line?", you can't respond. Masaharu Fukuyama himself stated in the program,
"Preparation is important. Whether you can ride the atmosphere of the set during the take depends on whether you are prepared."
Here, everything connects. Speaking aloud. Repeating in spare time. Embedding in the body via vowels. Retrieving until you can say it without the script. Transforming foreign languages into manageable forms. The reason for doing all this is one thing:
To ensure you don't have to think about the lines during the performance.
This applies to certification exams too. If you stop to think, "What does this word mean?" every time you read an English sentence in TOEIC, you lose the bandwidth to understand the whole passage. In certification exams, if you struggle to recall basic terms one by one, you can't devote brainpower to application questions. That's why you memorize the basics.
It's not to brag about memorization skills.
You create a state where you don't have to think about easy things, so you can think about hard things.
Memorization looks like "stuffing information into the brain." But I think it's the opposite. Memorization is the work of creating white space in the brain. If basics are automatically retrievable, you can use your brain for other things during the performance.
Masaharu Fukuyama prepares massive amounts of lines not ultimately to memorize them, but
To act.
Memorizing is not the goal. Creating a state where it comes out without thinking is the goal.
This was the most interesting part of investigating Masaharu Fukuyama's memorization methods.
Summary
The amount of information Masaharu Fukuyama handles in VIVANT is enormous.
Long lines up to 34 pages.
10 languages.
And he must perform while managing this.
At first, I also thought,
"His memory must be different from normal people."
But following his interviews, what became clear was something else.
What's amazing isn't just the volume memorized, but the 'process' of getting there.
Speak aloud.
Touch repeatedly over spaced time.
Use mouth movements.
Retrieve without looking.
Transform difficult info into manageable forms.
Finish to a level where you don't use brainpower on memorization during the performance.
Connecting these methods into one flow gives us:
Remember with voice → Remember with time → Remember with body → Retrieve independently → Reshape information → Become free in performance
People who are bad at memorization tend to think,
"I need to read more."
"I need to increase study time."
But looking at Masaharu Fukuyama's way, what needs to change is something else.
Not the number of readings, but the method of memorizing.
So if you want to change starting today, you don't need to do anything difficult.
If you usually read silently, try saying it aloud once.
If you cram at night, touch on it briefly in the morning or afternoon.
After reading a reference book, don't just move on; close it and try to recall.
If difficult explanations don't stick, rephrase them in your own words.
Just doing that helps you escape "memorization by just reading."
And the goal of memorization is not
"Becoming someone who remembers a lot."
It is
Creating a state where necessary information comes out without thinking, allowing your brain to focus on what truly requires thought.
You don't need to memorize 34-page lines.
But
Stop 'memorization by just reading.'
That you can do starting today.
If reading this article made you think,
"How should I incorporate this into my own studies?"
"Is my current study method really right for me?"
In my open chat, I exchange information about certification studies and study methods with people who are actually studying.
Instead of figuring out study methods alone, just seeing others' approaches can provide hints.
If interested, please consider joining.
▼ My study open chat is here
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