UNICEF's Longest-serving Goodwill Ambassador, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi - Still Going Strong at 90, Aiming for 100 : NYTimes / Sam Koo / Kul Gautam
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| UNICEF/UNI120444/Noorani |
Editor's Note: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since 1984. Click here for Kuroyanagi-san's page on UNICEF.org.
In the exchange of emails below Sam Koo shares his message to our long-retired colleague, Nagayo Sawa, asking that she pass on his congratulations to Tetsuko Kuroyanagi-san on having reached 90 and committed to continuing her work to age 100.
Kul Gautam adds his own congratulations and recalls awarding Kuroyanagi-san UNICEF's medal of recognition on the 20th anniversary of her service with UNICEF.
In our September 2020 Quarterly we included an excerpt from the lovely story, Little Girl at the Window, written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi.
From Sam Koo
Dear Sawa-san,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Lo and behold, the New York Times today carries a 4-column front page story with photos on our beloved Tetsuko.
Click here for the full article in the NY Times
A belated tribute to a great lady, the longest serving Unicef goodwill ambassador and a very special person I adored and worked together during my Tokyo years.
In a separate message I am sending you the full story which I copied (since you cannot read without subscription) and photos of the front and jump pages.
In the interview with the NYTimes Tokyo bureau chief, Kuroyanagi-san, 90, sums it up this way when asked why she keeps working.
"To show that a person can appear on TV until I am 100 with a body that is OK and my mind still works. If I can show that, I think that would be an interesting experiment."
Interesting indeed! Long live Tetsuko.
Please convey my love when you see her next.
Domo domo.
Sam
From Kul Gautam
Wow, what a tribute to our beloved Tetsuko in NYTimes!
I echo Sam's sentiments as I recall my own occasional but memorable interactions with Kuroyanagi-san.
I vividly recall the special honor I had to confer on her UNICEF medal of recognition on the occasion of the 20th year of her service as our Goodwill Ambassador in 2004 at the Maurice Pate conference room at UNICEF HQ.
May she live to 100+ years and appear in Tetsuko's Room as she wishes to "experiment" it!
Dear Sawa-san, please convey to her my greetings too when you meet her next.
With warm regards -
From Sam Koo
Dear Sawa-san,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Lo and behold, the New York Times today carries a 4-column front page story with photos on our beloved Tetsuko.
Click here for the full article in the NY Times
A belated tribute to a great lady, the longest serving Unicef goodwill ambassador and a very special person I adored and worked together during my Tokyo years.
In a separate message I am sending you the full story which I copied (since you cannot read without subscription) and photos of the front and jump pages.
In the interview with the NYTimes Tokyo bureau chief, Kuroyanagi-san, 90, sums it up this way when asked why she keeps working.
"To show that a person can appear on TV until I am 100 with a body that is OK and my mind still works. If I can show that, I think that would be an interesting experiment."
Interesting indeed! Long live Tetsuko.
Please convey my love when you see her next.
Domo domo.
Sam
From Kul Gautam
Wow, what a tribute to our beloved Tetsuko in NYTimes!
I echo Sam's sentiments as I recall my own occasional but memorable interactions with Kuroyanagi-san.
I vividly recall the special honor I had to confer on her UNICEF medal of recognition on the occasion of the 20th year of her service as our Goodwill Ambassador in 2004 at the Maurice Pate conference room at UNICEF HQ.
May she live to 100+ years and appear in Tetsuko's Room as she wishes to "experiment" it!
Dear Sawa-san, please convey to her my greetings too when you meet her next.
With warm regards -
Kul
The excerpt mentioned above is from Tetsuko's book
which is included in the XUNICEF bibliography and is also available on Amazon.
Ah I met her in two duty stations. She was great.
ReplyDeleteI just got this email from Sawa-san with the good news about Tetesuko's successful new book and also that her book Totto-chan has been produced as an animation film. I had previously suggested it would be nice to get a film version of that lovely story, but she felt it was already known to everyone.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, Sam Koo said that the NYT article is a "belated tribute". Tetsuko actually turned 93 last August, so she has "only" seven to reach 100. Hope you continue feeling "forever young" (as Rod Stewart sang)
Horst
Dear Mr. Cerni,
My sincere apologies for the belated thank you for your message.
I took the liberty of sharing it with Tetsuko-san.
Her new book, about her childhood experiences during the war, came out in October last year and has been on the top of the best-selling book list ever since, According to a newspaper report, more than 500,000 copies have been sold in a little over two months.
Also, the original “Totto-chan” book, has been made into an animation film and was released on 8 December 2023.
Best regards,
Nagayo Sawa