is a Japanese humanitarian, actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned
Miss Universe Japan 2006 and competed at
Miss Universe 2006
Miss Universe 2006 was the 55th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States on July 23, 2006.
At the end of the event, Natalie Glebova of Canada crowned Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico as Miss ...
where she finished as the first runner-up.
Miss Universe 2006
Chibana is known for her participation in Miss Universe 2006 where she represented Japan.She won the Best National Costume Award for her
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
-themed outfit designed by the artist Yuichi Miyagawa and the designer Yoshiyuki Ogata, and was the first runner-up. During the final, Chibana wore a black evening gown exhibiting intricate latticework designed by Olivier Theyskens for
Rochas
Rochas is a fashion, beauty, and perfume house founded in 1925 by French designer Marcel Rochas, the first designer of 2/3-length coats and skirts with pockets and one of the two designers, along with Elsa Schiaparelli, who launched the fashion fo ...
, and at the preliminaries, Chibana sported a unique red and pink-hued gown with silver corseting designed by Novespazio.
During the pageant, held in Los Angeles, Chibana was the crowd favorite and her flirty winks drew an unusually enthusiastic response from the audience. In spite of the crowd support, her performance in both the swimsuit and evening gown segments were consistently the best and she made it to the top 5 over heavy favorites Miss Mexico and Miss Colombia, despite wearing an ordinary gown.
Chibana was very charismatic especially during the interview portion. Paula Shugart, President of the
Miss Universe Organization
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Str ...
said in an interview that the scores between Zuleyka and Kurara were very close. During the announcement of the winner, the audience was very vocal in their support for Chibana. Japan had not come that close to winning the crown since 1959 when
Akiko Kojima
is a Japanese model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1959, making her the first Japanese and Asian woman to win the title.
Biography
Kojima was a 22-year-old model from Tokyo, Japan when she bested four other finalists from Nor ...
won the first
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...
crown for Japan. Chibana's successor,
Riyo Mori
(born December 24, 1986) is a Japanese actress, dancer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2007 in Mexico City.
Personal life
An only child, Riyo Mori began dancing at the age of 4. She has studied at Quinte Ballet School of ...
won the Miss Universe 2007 title in Mexico City. She also managed to outdo the two
Japanese women
Although women in Japan were recognized as having equal legal rights to men after World War II, economic conditions for women remain unbalanced. Modern policy initiatives to encourage motherhood and workplace participation have had mixed results ...
who managed to enter the semifinals in most recent years:
Miyako Miyazaki
is a Japanese fashion model and beauty pageant winner of the Miss Universe Japan competition in 2003.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miyazaki, Miyako
1978 births
Japanese actresses
Japanese beauty pageant winners
Japanese female mode ...
, fourth runner-up in 2003, and Mizuho Sakaguchi, third runner-up in 1988.
Personal information
Chibana was an educational-
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
student at
Sophia University
Sophia University (Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private research university in Japan. Sophia is one of the three ''Sōkeijōchi'' (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the to ...
. She got her
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in 2006. She turned down a job offer from a publishing company in order to compete in the
Miss Universe Japan
Miss Universe Japan ( ja, ミス・ユニバース・ジャパン) is a national Beauty pageant in Japan to select an official candidate for the Miss Universe pageant.
Since 2018, the national director of Miss Universe Japan is Hiroko Mima.
...
pageant, which was held on April 25, 2006, in Tokyo. Kurara now works as a feature
reporter
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
, flying around the world to interview people for a leading
fashion magazine
Fashion journalism is a component of fashion media, with a focus on writing and photojournalism. Fashion journalists write about fashion events, trends and have to cultivate and maintain a relationship with stylists and designers. A fashion jour ...
in Japan. She writes and takes photos of their lifestyles. She speaks four languages: English, Spanish, French, and Japanese.
Since October 2006, she has appeared regularly on the
Nippon Television
JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
show "News Zero", reporting from both domestic and international locations, and launched her endorsement career as a
spokesperson
A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.
Duties and function
In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...
for more than four world-famous brands in 2007. She is the spokeswoman for
Maybelline
Maybelline New York (formerly The Maybelline Company and Mabelline and Co.), trading as Maybelline ( ), is an American multinational cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company, based in New York City. It was founded in Chicago ...
New York's Angelfit Make-Up. In late December, Global Beauties named Kurara as the Sexiest Woman Alive 2006, a title formerly held by her co-patriot/beauty diva,
Miyako Miyazaki
is a Japanese fashion model and beauty pageant winner of the Miss Universe Japan competition in 2003.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miyazaki, Miyako
1978 births
Japanese actresses
Japanese beauty pageant winners
Japanese female mode ...
.
In December 2013, Chibana was elected as the Japanese Ambassador for
United Nations World Food Program
The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
because of her contributions to the organization as a celebrity partner.
In October 2017, Chibana announced that she had married her boyfriend
Ryuji Kamiyama
is a Japanese actor and former singer. He was a member of the boy band Run&Gun from 2001 to 2014.
Career
In 2000, at the age of 14, Kamiyama was part of D.A.N.K. (Daisuke Asakura New Kids), a performance troupe produced by Daisuke Asakura. ...
.
References
External links
Official websiteMiss Universe JapanMaybelline New York - Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chibana, Kurara
1982 births
Living people
Japanese actresses
Japanese beauty pageant winners
Japanese female models
Japanese reporters and correspondents
Japanese television personalities
Miss Universe 2006 contestants
People from Naha
Ambassadors of supra-national bodies
World Food Programme people
Models from Okinawa Prefecture
Ryukyuan people