JWH Author's Voice Vol. 13 interview with Reiko Ohmae
R eiko Ohmae, who is active as a travel coordinator, restaurant consultant, and producer, has also contributed to various magazines in her capacity as an essayist and travel coordinator. She is the elder sister of Ken'ichi Ohmae, who is one year younger and is currently active in international affairs as a management consultant. She has published "Ken'ichi Wouldn't Go to School," which details Ken'ichi's upbringing, as well as letters to Reiko Ohmae, published while she was still a student. She has even been published in translation in Taiwan. This fall her second book, "Fortunate Weather," was published. She first moved to New York because of her husband's business. Later, after divorcing and opening her first shop, she fell in love and decided on her own to return to New York a second time. Suddenly discovering she had breast cancer, she recovered and then opened "Seasonal Restaurant 'Weather.'" Following that, she had a chance encounter with an artist possessing great genius, and established a foundation to support him. She tells readers of the experiences she has lived through overcoming various obstacles in her life, and how she has searched for happiness through the good and bad times.When Reiko Ohmae came to New York on her own to pursue her lover after her divorce, she was well into her 40s. Now in her sixties, she continues to work at the foundation she established to fulfill the dreams of artists. In this book, she teaches that the most important thing is to act, and to realize more than anything that it's never too late. I asked Reiko Ohmae a few questions about her book. Q: Could you tell us what the motivation for writing this book was? Right now the expression "around forty" is in vogue, and I got to thinking what kind of life I'd like to lead if I could go back to my forties. As I reminisced about my past, I started to write this book. Q: As a result of your restaurant “Weather,” you have been able to connect with more than 7000 individuals. Is there a key to connecting with people that you can share, or a creed that you follow? I really like the phrase, "the way to a person's heart is through his stomach." I'd think about good food, a warm heart, treating people well … then every day, I'd think of my shop as a stage. Visitors would compete and hand out their business cards. I always wrote down distinguishing characteristics on those cards, so that the next time they came around, I would remember them. Q: This book describes a lot of the ups and downs of your own life. When you were approaching a happy situation in your life, what would you do to support yourself? I had a sense of recklessness and courage that made me willing to try anything. We only get one chance at life, and even if we have a good day, we don't know what might happen tomorrow. Besides that, I felt the people around me and my family supported me. Q:Do you have any special message to pass on to the readers? We only live once. Since the number of acquaintances we can have is limited, we should be grateful to God for the people we are able to meet. I'm grateful for my life, and I write with the idea that, if I die tomorrow, I want to be able to say thank you to God for the life I have led. Q: After the book was published, what kind of impression did you have? Since I started writing this book from the perspective of a person in her 40s, I thought it'd be better to write more of a internal description of people that I've known for a long time … but then my perspective completely changed, and I realized I'd learned that, even if you're facing a serious illness, you have to live looking forward. Q: Can you tell us what your next writing project will be? I've been asked to write a book about my culinary talents, so I'm thinking of writing a book on cooking and interior design. I've also been doing a serialization in "Flix," which revolves around a film set in New York, and I'd like to write a little more and turn that into a book. 
Fortunate Weather (Shiawase Biyori) published in October 2009 by PHP Institute
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