Born in New York City to Japanese artist parents, Ashima Shiraishi first touched the rock at just six years old. From the beginning, climbing felt less like a sport and more like a language Shiraishi was born to speak. By her early teens, she was rewriting the history of the sport—becoming the youngest person ever to climb V10, V12, V13, and 5.14c routes. And at just 15, she was the first female in history to send a V15.
These milestones placed her at the forefront of climbing, but what has always set Ashima apart is not only her extraordinary strength and precision, but the creativity and artistry she brings to every move. Today, she remains one of the most celebrated figures in the climbing world, continuing to inspire new generations with her vision of what the sport can be.
In the short film MUGA, Ashima journeys to the granite boulders of Switzerland’s Ticino Valley, a landscape steeped in beauty and deep time. These towering hulks lie scattered amid coniferous forest, their surfaces shaped by glaciers and weather over millennia. Every ripple, seam and edge carries its own story. Among these ancient forms, Ashima seeks not only to test herself against the rock, but to enter a new way of being.
“To me, climbing is a ritual. A creative act. The boulder, a blank canvas.” –Ashima Shiraishi
As she moves across the stone, the usual boundaries begin to dissolve. The act of climbing becomes less about reaching the top and more about entering muga—a Japanese Zen principle of selflessness, where ego, desire and expectation fall away. In this state, climbing transforms into a meditation on presence. Breath synchronizes with movement, and each hold is met not with force, but with awareness. What unfolds is a portrait of climbing that is both intimate and expansive: a practice of focus, vulnerability and surrender.
Wide shots reveal the mammoth scale of the Ticino landscape, while close, careful frames linger on Ashima’s movements, hands tracing ancient lines. The contrast of vastness and detail mirrors the balance within climbing itself—between power and delicacy, ambition and acceptance.
MUGA goes beyond the pursuit of grades or summits to explore the mental and emotional depths of the sport. Through Ashima’s journey, it becomes a meditation on resilience and the art of letting go.
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