Singer Risa Ono appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) on September 18th. She spoke about her father's immigration to Brazil and his interactions with musicians, as well as her life there, where she lived until she was 10 years old.
Her father, who loved music, moved to Brazil and lived there for 15 years. He worked in the music industry, owned a live music venue, and encountered many musicians. Her father accompanied composer Hachidai Nakamura and singer Kyu Sakamoto when they attended the Rio International Music Festival. Hachidai conducted a Brazilian orchestra at the festival, and her father was thrilled. She was about six years old at the time, but she said, "I still remember how deeply moved Hachidai was."
Ono lived in Brazil from birth until he was 10 years old. "I spoke Japanese with my parents at home, so I knew a certain level of Japanese," he said. He attended a Japanese kindergarten and recalled with a smile, "Every time I learned a nursery rhyme, like 'Seven Children,' I would sing it from morning until night, and my mother would say, 'I wish you'd be quieter.'"
