<figure id="attachment_356086" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3600px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356086"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3e71c0a1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/974dbbb1d693b1a0b90ff2ef4c3e78b8.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356086" class="wp-caption-text">He says that when he is in pain, he often draws tigers and other ferocious animals out of his desire not to be defeated.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Shinobu Sakaue and Hikaru Ijuin &#8230;&#8230;.</p>
<p>The venue was decorated with flowers sent by many celebrities. All of them were people who pushed him to become a painter. Kaede Ito, 30, a former TBS employee, who held a solo exhibition of paintings titled &#8220;How Long Can a Person Keep Dreaming?</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Since I was at TBS, Mr. Sakagami and Mr. Ijuin told me, &#8216;You have a lot of energy, so do what you want. Thanks to those words, I was able to take the plunge. Now he is based in Germany, where he is engaged in creative activities, but he is constantly troubled and suffering. I would be happy if you could find some courage in my struggles as a Japanese artist in the world through my works.</span></p>
<p>Mr. Ito&#8217;s path to becoming a painter was not a smooth one. We would like to introduce the troubled and exciting life of Mr. Ito in his own words.</p>
<h2>Qualification as a portrait painter acquired at university</h2>
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<p>Mr. Ito has been interested in painting since he was a child.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I went to the zoo with my mother, we used to draw pictures of living creatures together. My mother had a good sense of aesthetics, and she gave me good advice, saying, &#8216;You should use these colors. I was in the badminton club in high school, and I designed the student T-shirts for the sports festival. I remember I was particular about the font of the letters.</span></p>
<p>After graduating from high school, he went on to study at Rikkyo University&#8217;s Faculty of Letters.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> After graduating from high school, I went on to study at Rikkyo University&#8217;s Faculty of Letters. I took the English Proficiency Test, the Secretarial Test, and the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (&#8230;&#8230;). My mother told me, &#8216;You should take it because it&#8217;s interesting,&#8217; so I took a correspondence test and became a portrait artist. This certification became a turning point for me when I later became a female announcer.</span></p>
<p>When she was in elementary school, Ms. Ito saw Yukari Nishio (formerly of Nippon Television Network Corporation, now freelance) and other female announcers on TV, and she admired them as &#8220;intelligent and dignified women. At university, she was a member of the Broadcasting Research Association.&#8217; After joining TBS in April 2004 and taking the first step toward her dream of becoming an announcer, she was away from the world of painting for a while.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="The turning point came in her third year with the company, when she was put in charge of portrait painting."></div>
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<figure id="attachment_356087" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3600px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356087"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4678c6cf"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/fc69956217f06d67be8e81527fe92673.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356087" class="wp-caption-text">More than 30 works were displayed in a solo exhibition held in Ginza, Tokyo.</figcaption></figure>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The turning point for me came in the fall of 2006, my third year with the company. I was an assistant on Masahiro Nakai&#8217;s variety show, and I had to improvise portraits of celebrities and ordinary people who consulted with me. I was qualified as a portrait artist, which I had acquired during my college years,&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<p>Ito began to study drawing, determined to do it properly and not half-heartedly. He began to study drawing at home every day, copying photographs and animals.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I went to a specialty store and bought 150 professional colored pencils to make my drawings more realistic,&#8221; he said. I got more and more addicted to the joy of drawing. I thought that if I wanted a realistic depiction, I could do it with photographs, so I started painting with watercolors along the way. In the world of painting, I was able to express my personality to the fullest.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> On the other hand, I also became deeply troubled. In painting, I can use my sensitivity and subjectivity, but as an announcer, I have to be fair, neutral, and objective. I began to wonder, &#8220;What is it that I want to do? I began to have strong feelings of &#8220;What is it that I want to do? I spent many days asking myself these questions.</span></p>
<h2>Going to Germany alone to start from scratch</h2>
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<p>Ms. Ito shared her passion for painting with Sakagami and Ijuin, who co-hosted the program with her. The advice they gave him at that time was the words introduced at the beginning of this article. Mr. Ito made a big decision. In February 2009, he left TBS and chose to become a painter.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I loved TBS because the people were warm and allowed me to do various jobs. I also gave 100% of my all to my work as a female TV announcer. However, even though I seemed to be leading a fulfilling life to those around me, I was conflicted on the inside. When I told the president, &#8216;I&#8217;m going into the world of painting,&#8217; he smiled and forgave me, saying, &#8216;I can&#8217;t stop you from trying to accomplish great things. &#8230;&#8230;</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I no longer have the title of &#8220;female announcer&#8221; and I have nothing to offer. Let&#8217;s start from scratch, put myself in an environment where no one knows me. With this in mind, I decided to go alone to Europe, where I could have daily contact with classical paintings. I have traveled to England and France before, so I can imagine my life there. As for the destination, I decided on Germany, where I could take on the challenge with a pure and simple mind, without any travel experience or knowledge.</span></p>
<p>However, in Germany, where he moved in October 2009, unimaginable hardships awaited him. In Part 2, we will introduce Mr. Ito&#8217;s lonely struggle in a foreign country.</p>
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<p>Part 2: From <a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/356100">Announcer to Painter&#8230;Kaede Ito &#8220;S</a> aved a Life of Suffering in Germany&#8221; by Going Into Business Alone</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Her image has drastically changed since her days as a female TV announcer! The &quot;Flashy Blonde&quot; Photo"></div>
<figure id="attachment_356088" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3600px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356088"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a6d50755"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/5e2cd3fc43ed65a717113f5f10f64e25.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356088" class="wp-caption-text">He answers each question, choosing his words carefully.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_356089" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3600px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356089"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="591c3712"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/843b0d091453c417372c215b636465af.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356089" class="wp-caption-text">Smiling, he says, &#8220;I think I&#8217;ve grown up a little since being in Germany.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_356090" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3600px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356090"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8f3ffb5a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/ac6fa79ee98f996ba8cdee5621445198.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356090" class="wp-caption-text">Sometimes it takes about a year for production.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_356091" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1280px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356091"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3b1d001f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/4b88d560477ec216859dbb0551cc7198.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356091" class="wp-caption-text">After leaving TBS, she changed her hair to blonde. In Dresden, eastern Germany (courtesy of Mr. Ito)</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_356093" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1280px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356093"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="45783320"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/17ca7ae9b08846f460955191d58ea730.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356093" class="wp-caption-text">Refreshing herself in a forest in the suburbs of Berlin (courtesy of Ms. Ito)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_356116" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1479px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356116"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="db07e36d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/fb23f1e9baea355a91d168ee464ea148.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356116" class="wp-caption-text">With an American woman who loves Japanese sake in Germany (Courtesy of Mr. Ito)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_356094" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 958px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356094"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6c5bc3ac"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/46b66431388e90198a196aa62b3c6ec9.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356094" class="wp-caption-text">A charming pose from her days at TBS. Her black hair, typical of a female announcer (Courtesy of Ms. Ito)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_356115" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1008px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356115"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f6b7f778"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/539f9bfa26769a780f8168bacc0ed186.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356115" class="wp-caption-text">As a female announcer, she sometimes interviewed foreigners (Courtesy of Ms. Ito)</figcaption></figure>


 Aida En

 A former TBS female announcer has made the unusual transition to becoming a painter. Kaede Ito is 30 years old. She is now based in Germany, where she continues her creative activities. It was a tough experience for her before she became a professional painter. Here is the first part of her life story.

TBS Female Announcer Kaede Ito Embraces Unconventional Career Shift to Painter, Inspired by Shinobu Sakagami and Hikaru Ijuin; Reveals Solo Move to Germany

TBS Female Announcer Kaede Ito Embraces Unconventional Career Shift to Painter, Inspired by Shinobu Sakagami and Hikaru Ijuin; Reveals Solo Move to Germany

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