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"I didn't realize it was possible to make a living as a photographer until I met my mentor, Shoji Ootake."
I studied drawing from the time I was in kindergarten, and loved painting, but other than taking a few souvenir snaps with an Olympus Pen camera when I was in high school, I wasn't that interested in photography. I didn't even realize it was possible to make a living as a photographer, and didn't think of it as something a woman would want to do.
At college, I was introduced to a well-known Japanese artist who lived near my dorm, and was completely swept away by his work. I thought it would be wonderful to be involved in the art world, and told him that I wanted to become an artist, too. "Don't even think about it," he said. "It's impossible to make a living as an artist."
I think my fascination with the art world goes back to my childhood in Ishikawa Prefecture, in an area where they make Kutani pottery, and where whenever I looked up, I saw Mt. Hakusan towering above me.
When I was in my second year of junior college, I was crowned Miss Universe, and it was during my term as Miss Universe that I met my photographic mentor, Shoji Ootake. He asked me what I wanted to do in life, and when I replied that I wanted to do something artistic, he said that I should become a photographer. At the time, I was so ignorant that I actually asked him, "Is photography really art?" I didn't realize how respected Mr. Ootake was in his field, and was later taken to task by my friends for being a complete naïf.
Mr. Ootake also told me about Sanae Numata, a successful woman photographer, and said that it was time for women to play a more prominent role in society. After that, I went straight to a bookstore to look for photo collections that I liked. And when I discovered Cartier-Bresson's work, I felt I had found a soul mate.
I began to see the photographic possibilities of composition and color, and to feel it was something I could really get into. After thinking it over for about six months, I finally went to Mr. Ootake's studio and asked him to make me his assistant. I really didn't know anything, but I thought I would give photography a try, and do the best I could.
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