Hikaru Utada - a biography

 Utada Hikaru is one of the most famous singers in Japan.

She was born in New York in 1983, and lives in London now. She debuted in 1998 when she was only fifteen years old. She became quickly popular because of her beautiful & unique voice. So her first single "Automatic" sold more than two million copies and her first album "First Love" topped the Japanese album sales chart.

Hikaru Utada

Her songs were were getting more & more famous. Therefore, "Flavor of Life", which was released in 2007, recorded first place of degital songs sales in the world. She also received a prize named 'Artist of the Year' in japan Gold Disc Grand Prize. However, in 2010, she suddenly declared a pause. Nobody knew the reasons. It made many people sad and they though she might not come back. 

Then, in 2016, she suddenly started her activities again. Actually, she married and gave birth to her baby. "Fantome, which was first released when she came back was recorded first place in Billboard Japan. It show how she is loved by many Japanese people. 

Today, Utada Hikaru's songs are used by many daramas, animes, and movies. She and her songs are loved by many people all over the world.

Posted for Akane

J.K. Rowling - a biography

J.K. Rowling's journey to success was filled with hardship & resilience.

Born in England in 1965, she loved writing stories from a young age. After university, she worked various jobs but never felt fully satisfied. She dreamed of becoming an author, yet life presented challenges. Her mother passed away, her marriage failed, and she returned to England as a single mother, struggling financially & emotionally. Despite these challenges, Rowling started working on a story about a young wizard named Harry Potter.

Sitting in cafes, she carefully wrote while her baby daughter slept beside her. Rejection after rejection came from publishers, but Rowling didn't give up. Finally, in 1997, a small publisher took a chance on her manuscript. The first Harry Potter became an instant success, transforming Rowling's life.

The Harry Potter series went on to become one of the best-selling book series in history, leading to films, merchandise, and a dedicated fan base worldwide. Rowling;'s story is a powerful example of perseverance, proving that even in the hardest times, holding onto your dreams can lead to amazing outcomes.

Posted for Miki

My grandma

The author (left!)

My maternal grandma was very elegant and she always wore a kimono. She sewed kimonos by herself, and made some beautiful kimonos for me as well, which includes a special one for my coming-of-age ceremony.

She married a military officer, who was held as a detainee for seven years in a Siberian internment camp. That must have been a very difficult time for her, with three children during and after the war, but unfortunately I never had any opportunity to listen to her recollections.

I remember her sitting still and sewing a kimono in the sunshine with a beautiful picture, more than two tatami-mats in size, hanging beside her. I also remember her back when she was about to go out, which was quite often. She was a member of the Red Cross Society, LDP, Women's association and so on. She also learned traditional Japanese dance and did some volunteer work; she liked reading historical novels, such as Eiji Yoshikawa's. She always wrote as well, so she was always quite busy and seemed to get involved in something all the time.

She liked eating good food and drinking a little sake and enjoyed the company of friends. She was very pleased with my marriage and welcomed my husband so much whenever we visited her, and she gave him the full treatment with her generosity - so he liked her very much as well.

My grandma enjoyed her life in many ways with a lot of friends, she always did something fun and she was always beautiful. I would love to be like her!

The biography of Caroline Kennedy/Schlossberg

Caroline Kennedy was born on November 27, 1957. Her brother John FK jr. was born in 1960.

In 1963, when she was just five years old, her father was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. After her father's death, she moved from Washington to New York City with her mother, and she grew up there.

In 1968, her uncle Robert F. Kennedy, a US Senator from New York, was also assassinated while campaigning. Later in 1968, her mother got remarried to a Greek billionaire Aristotle Onassis. Another uncle, Ted Kennedy, almost died in a car crash in 1969.

In 1979, she graduated from Harvard University. Then in 1980, she started work in the film and TV department of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She met Edwin Schlossberg there. She married him i
n 1986. They have three children, and she still lives in New York City.

Her mother died in 1994, age 64. Caroline has had many tragedies in her life. May 19th, 1999, her brother John Jr. and his wife, Carolyn, died in a flying accident. Now she is the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy.
In 2008, she worked with Barack Obama in the US presidential election campaign. From 2013 to 2017, she worked as the US Ambassador to Japan. Now she is the US Ambassador to Australia.


Posted for Kaoru

A voyage around my favourite relative

I write about my wife's brother, a straight man with no front and back who is loved by everyone

He is three years older than me, and is also a karate enthusiast.

After graduating in physical education at college, he began his career as an adventurer. His most famous adventure was an unsupplied dog sledding adventure to the North Pole, which shows his aggressive, adventurous spirit. Of course, in appearance he has kept his youth, and does not look his age.

After his adventure to the Arctic, he became a director of a company that undertakes corporate training, to strengthen organizations’ talents. He also teaches leadership and organizational management at university. I haven't seen him because of the coronavirus, but I'd like to hear about his other interesting adventure stories someday.

Posted for Masaya

My Great Uncle Hiroaki

Of all my relatives, I like my Uncle Hiroaki. He’s my mother’s youngest brother. Sadly, I said my final goodbye to him last year. Today, I’d like to write something about his life.

He was very tall (actually over 200cm!) and used to play basketball in his school days and early years after joining his company. He played any sports quite well, and he often used to play catch with my younger brother and me when we were children.

He majored in electricity when he was a high school student. After graduating from high school, he got a job at a big electronics company in Hitachi, Ibaraki, in Japan. He had been working hard and got a lot of patents there. And he built his own house and spent a long time of his life.

He was very kind to his family, including me. I was pleased when he got back to his hometown Nagano and had some dishes with him. When I visited his house, he feasted me with lots of tomatoes and cucumbers from his garden. Also, he kept a lot of pets, such as rabbits and dogs. His last dog was now in his older brother’s house. Every time I see her that reminds me of my great Uncle Hiroaki.

Posted for Yuki T

Poul Henningsen (1894-1967) - Biography

 

Poul Henningsen was famous for modern lighting designer.

He was born Ordrup, in Denmark, on 9 September 1894. His mother, who was noted author.

From 1911 to 1917, he was trained at Copenhagen Technical College and the Technical University of Denmark, where he studied to be an architect, but had not graduated, he chose a career as an inventor and painter.

In 1919, he was hired by Kay Fisker. From 1920, he freelanced as an architect and designer. Henningsen presented the Paris Lamp at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts at Paris which was a World’s fair, was designed by the French government. He won gold medal for the Paris lamp, was consisted of 6 shades and made of silver.

A few years later, in 1925, he worked with Louis Poulsen which was company, had corporate with him until he was died.

Henningsen designed PH lamp series, which has three-shade system. The lamps were successful and gave him for royalty. 

He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1963, struggled with difficulty speaking, when he finally died on January 31, 1967. 

Audrey Hepdurn - biography

Audrey Hepburn is one of the best players in golden time of Hollywood’s movie and the EGOT actors who win all sorts of awards - Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. She was also an icon and popular actress who had slender appearance and bright smile. 

She had influenced  not only to cinema production but also to fashion market. Her dresses of  "Breakfast at Tiffany’s"  had been designed by Givenchy, and the black dress she wore is one of the most recognized as her style.

Her life, which we receive from articles in the magazines,  shows brilliant success and supreme happiness. However, her true story in childhood was relatively unknown. World War II had broken her future as a ballet dancer by malnutrition in the war. In her late life, after getting many prizes, she dedicated her life to UNICEF which helps the poor children who need help for their lives.

While traveling for UNICEF, she had found out she had cancer. To get back to all of the children who had been waiting for her help,  she decided to fight the cancer in the USA, but she couldn't win. Her family recommended she go back to her peaceful house in Switzerland which she loved, and lived happily with her family. 

Although her body had no power to walk by herself, Givenchy prepared his private jet plane for her safe return.  In 1993, she had breathed her last in her house with her loving family at her side.

Posted for Yumi M

The big father of the nation

 

Nelson Mandela was a social rights activist, politician and philanthropist who became South Africa’s first Black president from 1994 to 1999, after spending 27 years in prison for political offenses. Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in the tiny village of Mvezo, in Transkei, South Africa. His father was a local chief and councilor to tribal chiefs. Mandela's African name "Rolihlahla" means "troublemaker." He studied at Wesleyan College, University of London, Clarkebury Boarding Institute, University College of Fort Hare, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

At the start of his career, he believed in only peaceful and non-violent protests. In 1942 Mandela became actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement, joining the African National Congress. In 1961 he led a three-day national workers strike. For this, he was arrested. He was accused of treason against the government and put in prison. He was released 27 years later, in February 1990. 

 For 18 of his 27 years in prison he was on Robben Island, which is now a very famous tourist attraction. He lived in a small cell with no bed and no plumbing. He had to work very hard breaking limestone all day. While in prison he caught tuberculosis, but he received the worst kind of treatment and medication, being a black prisoner. In prison he continued his political work, corresponding with a worldwide audience. During this time, a global movement to have him released grew. There were demonstrations and protests in many different countries and the international community became more aware of the South African government’s apartheid laws.

In 1990, the new, non-racist South African president, Frederick de Klerk, ordered Mandela’s release. Mandela was at last a free man. The symbol of opposition to the repressive South African regime was welcomed by throngs of supporters - over half a million people, in Cape Town.

In 1993, both Mandela and de Klerk, won the Noble Peace Prize. Eventually, in 1994, South Africa held its first fully democratic election which was the first-time people of all races could vote. It was also the first time Mandela had ever voted in his life. Mandela became the first black president in the country on May 10th, 1994 at the age of 77. He tried to reconcile a united South Africa. In 1996 he signed a law which guaranteed and protected the civil rights as well as protecting the freedom of speech for all minority ethnic groups, and all races. He helped South Africa become more democratic, helping to give citizens a voice.

After he had retired, he raised money through his foundation to build schools and hospitals across the country. The foundation also tried to fight poverty and HIV. Additionally, he founded an organization called “The Elders “, which was a group of world leaders who worked publicly in trying to find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems.

 Mandela died on December 5, 2013 at the age 95 in Johannesburg. In South Africa. He is revered by people today as the “father of the nation”.

Teruki

Biography of Taka - Japanese pop idol

Takahiro Moriuchi - One OK Rock vocalist

Takahiro Moriuchi is the vocalist of Japanese rock band "ONE OK ROCK". He is an excellent musical talent. Now he is one of the best singers, and "ONE OK ROCK" is getting popular not only in Japan but also around the world.

Taka was born in Tokyo on April 17, 1988. His father is a famous Japanese singer, Shinichi Mori, and his mother Masako Mori is also a great singer.

When he was 13 years old, he joined "Johnny & Associates". He joined the idol group "NEWS". However, he was bashed because he was the son of celebrities and had become famous without having to struggle, so he quit.

When he as 17 years old, he joined "ONE OK ROCK". After that he wrote many wonderful songs, and they succeeded playing a lot of concert tours in Japan and also around the world every year. Their concerts in Tokyo Dome and Nagisaen (Shizuoka) drew audiences totaling 100,000 people in two days.

Now he tries to provide a new style of music with "ONE OK ROCK" band members. I hope and cheer for their success.

Posted for Masato - a big fan!

Christiaan Barnard - biography

Christiaan Barnard was born in South Africa in 1922. he studied medicine at the University of Cape Town and became a doctor in 1953. He went to the USA and studied at the University of Minnesota. He returned to the University of Cape Town in 1958 to teach surgery. He specialised in the heart. Barnaard was not the usual picture of a surgeon, young and handsome he spent as much time in night clubs as he did in operating surgeries.

In 1967 he did the first heart transplant and became world famous. He changed the heart from a dead woman into a 55 year old man. This man died 18 days later. In 1968 he did the second translplant to a man and he lived 563 days. He met the Pope in Rome, and President Lyndon Johnson in America. He knew many beautiful film stars of the time, like Sopia Loren, but all three of his marriages failed.


He also performed free surgery on hundreds of very sick people.

Christiaan Barnard died in 2001.

Posted for Tomoro