Female Announcer Kaede Ito Transforms Into Painter

A female announcer at TBS has become a painter.

Kaede Ito, 30, who made an unusual career change, is currently based in Germany, where she is engaged in creative activities. However, when she left TBS in February 2009 and moved to Germany by herself in October of the same year, she encountered a series of troubles. Following Part 1: TBS Female Announcer Makes Unusual Career Change to Painter “Encouraged by Shinobu Sakaue and Hikaru Ijuin,” we would like to look back on Ms. Ito’s tumultuous life in her own words.

In the beginning, I lived in a student dormitory because I went to Germany on a 3-month language study abroad program, but after that it was difficult to find a house. It also took me a long time to set up an account.

I was even accused of staying in a hotel. I was once accused of staying at a hotel, and they deducted 20,000 yen from my credit card without my permission, saying that I had drunk and eaten the entire contents of the minibar in the room. There was no way I could eat and drink everything in the refrigerator by myself. I was so frustrated that a Japanese person who tends to hold back on everything would be looked down upon, that I appealed to my lawyer to protest, and the 20,000 yen was immediately refunded to me.

I can’t call myself a “painter.” ……

He also suffers as a painter.

Immediately after quitting TBS, I was excited about my possibilities, wondering how far I could go. However, when I moved to Germany, I began to feel a complex, perhaps due to the country’s high regard for the arts, and I could not call myself a ‘painter. I did not go to a school specializing in painting, and I did not learn the techniques well. I was spending my days in agony.

The opportunity for a turnaround came in January of last year. He sent an e-mail to the COO of UNIQLO’s German subsidiary, with whom he had no contacts, to make an appointment, and brought his work to present. After making a solo sales visit to the COO of UNIQLO Germany, Kikkake’s design was adopted and the product was put on sale.

Naturally, the local UNIQLO staff didn’t know who I was. They didn’t let me wear the ‘geta’ that I used to wear when I was in Japan. They looked at my original drawings and said, ‘You can collaborate with us. They said, “This is what makes Kaede’s drawings unique, so we would like to emphasize that. I was very happy to be recognized for the first time as an artist, not just a former female TV announcer. That’s when it all started. I was able to call myself a ‘painter.

Ito’s designs were so well received that the Japanese culture campaign period during which the products were sold was extended by two months. But …….

I was really worried. For two months, I blocked out my friends’ messages and e-mails, and continued to think alone. After much worrying, I came up with an answer. I decided to do what I wanted to do, not what I wanted to be liked by others. I decided to make a partner who would agree with me. I explained carefully to the company and asked them to reset the situation.

Mr. Ito says, “I can create a very good picture” when he is in a negative frame of mind.

When I tell my friends about it, they say, ‘Are you okay? When I tell this to my friends, they are seriously worried about me, saying, ‘Are you okay? When I tell this to my friends, they seriously worry about me, but for me, suffering is part of the creative process. I don’t want to lose,” “Be strong! It motivates me to be strong. I try to honestly express my weaknesses and inadequacies.

I wonder if it will be difficult to find ordinary love.”

At his solo exhibition, which opened in Ginza, Tokyo, until January 28, he wanted viewers to feel through his works the image of a Japanese person struggling in the world. Ito, who hails from Takaoka City in Toyama Prefecture, has a major project in the works.

I was in my hometown during the year-end and New Year holidays,” he said, “and we were hit by the big earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula. My parents’ house cracked on the stairs and the wall on the second floor. When I thought about what I could do to help the affected areas, we came to the conclusion that we should cooperate with local sake breweries to make labels for the “Reconstruction Bottle”. I also like sake and have been working with ……. We have now created 16 sake labels.”

When we finally asked him about his goals for the future, he pondered for a moment, “Hmmm,” and then smiled and replied, “I haven’t decided yet.

I haven’t decided. I am the type of person who thinks while running. In other countries, Japanese people are highly respected. When I went to Germany, I rediscovered the beauty of the Japanese people. As a Japanese, I only have the ambition to compete in the world. I have also fallen in love, but it is not going well. I keep traveling to Germany and Japan, so I think it is difficult to have a normal love life.”

The glamorous smile of the former female TV announcer has the added strength of having suffered and cultivated overseas.