Chiyo Uno

It's been quite a while since my last blog update! Are you familiar with the NHK morning information program "Blossom," currently airing this season? It features Chiyo Uno, a native of Iwakuni.

Chiyo Uno, who passed away at the age of 98, was a free-spirited woman who was married four times and nurtured many loves.

Her first marriage was apparently unwanted,

but what happened afterward was astonishing!

She was truly a wonderful person!

While she wasn't directly involved in the women's liberation movement,

I believe Chiyo Uno's way of life embodied the movement itself, and she contributed significantly to the protection of women's rights from the Meiji era onward.

A writer and kimono designer, Uno possessed a natural talent—a unique aesthetic sense unlike any other!

I am particularly drawn to the Taisho Romanticism and Showa Modernism eras. Yumeji Takehisa, a painter of her time, is one of my favorite artists. The men who were around her—for example, the writer Shiro Ozaki and the painter Seiji Togo—and who had relationships with her (as husbands or lovers) were all incredibly talented and somewhat melancholic! I think that just goes to show how captivating she was.

Iwakuni sightseeing information! Visiting Chiyo Uno's birthplace and reflecting on the historical context of the time, as well as the writers and painters who lived during her era, would be a wonderful experience.

Everyone, please come to Iwakuni!