​

1. My entrepreneurial father encouraged his children to become international in an environment where we often met foreigners.
​
​2. I had a super-smart older brother who read encyclopedias like novels. My mother told me, "You have to study hard because your brother took the most of your brain." I believed her and became a hard worker.

​

3. When I was two years old, one of my drawings got selected for an exhibition curated by the local town hall. My mother was delighted - "She is a genius artist!" - and encouraged me to pursue art. 
​
4. At the age of three, I suffered third-degree burns on my left arm and neck due to an accident. My parents taught me to hide them. When I was older, my father told me, "I don't think any man will marry you, but you can live with us forever." I didn't want to do that, so I thought, "I have to be financially independent."
​
5. I excelled in sports, but I couldn't wear short-sleeved sportswear since I had to hide the burn scars. I declined to participate in any tournaments and eventually gave up on my wish of becoming an athlete or a dancer.
​
6. After I failed to be accepted by the elite Tokyo University of the Arts, my father sent me to an English Intensive school in Vermont, USA, without asking me what I wanted to do. I later moved to New York City of my own will and felt at home for the first time. 
​
7. I enjoyed a successful career as an illustrator in my 20s to 40s and worked with many leading corporations and organizations.
​
8. Contrary to my father's prophecy, I had a colorful love life and got married twice. Even though both ended in divorce, I learned a lot from my ex-husbands.
​
9. I always wanted to have children, but I could not conceive (a long story). But, I was lucky to adopt a half Asian - half white newborn girl who grew up to be a strong feminist. 
​
10. I worked at an art gallery in the Chelsea section of Manhattan owned by a successful Japanese woman. I learned the joy of working with Japanese clientele.
​
11. After my father's sudden passing in 2013, I took over one of the two small companies he left behind. I managed the company by commuting between New York and Tokyo for two and a half years. My father's best friend, a former president of Marubeni Philippines, taught me everything about how to run a company. 
​
12. Two years later, my brother, who was only two years older than me, suddenly passed away. This event made me examine my life. I sold the company and started a new chapter back in New York City.

​

13. Then the pandemic arrived! In the summer of 2021, I bought a small old house in Upstate New York and started a new chapter. 

​

​