is a Brazilian-born Japanese photographer and

internet celebrity An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social ...

. She was previously a

hairdresser A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be refe ...

track cyclist Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

, and

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...

Early life and education

Kimiko Nishimoto was born in Brazil in 1928. Her parents taught

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

to locals. She was the second daughter of 7 siblings. At the age of 8, her family moved to

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

. She graduated from

beauty school Cosmetology (from Greek , ''kosmētikos'', "beautifying"; and , ''-logia'') is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/pedicures, non-permanent hair removal such as ...

Career

Nishimoto worked as a

in her father's salon where she specialized in bridal and Japanese

coiffure A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human scalp. Sometimes, this could also mean an editing of facial or body hair. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal groomin ...

. After 4 years working as a hairdresser, Nishimoto attended cycling school and became licensed as a professional cyclist. From the age of 22 to 27, she competed nationally as a

with her younger 2 brothers. In 2001, Nishimoto began her career as an amateur photographer after taking a photography and

image processing An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

course taught by her eldest son. In 2011, she had her first solo exhibit at the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art. In 2018, she had an exhibition named "Asobokane?" () at the

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

. , Nishimoto had developed a social media presence, with over 220,000 followers of her

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account.

Personal life

At the age of 27, Nishimoto married Hitoshi, a tax official, and they raised their 3 children in

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

. She was a

for over 45 years. Nishimoto's husband died in 2012 of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

. , Nishimoto resides in

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

. In reference to her longevity, Nishimoto stated that she is a daily cigarette smoker and drinks a

tall glass A collins glass is a glass tumbler which typically will contain . It is commonly used to serve sparkling cocktails, especially long drinks like the Tom Collins or John Collins. Its cylindrical shape, narrower and taller than a highball glass, ...

Bourbon whiskey Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbo ...

every day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nishimoto, Kimiko Living people 1928 births Brazilian people of Japanese descent Brazilian emigrants to Japan Sportspeople from Kumamoto Prefecture Japanese Internet celebrities Japanese track cyclists Japanese female cyclists 21st-century Japanese artists 21st-century Japanese women photographers Japanese hairdressers Social media influencers