Through the Eyes of the Consul General of Japan in Detroit

 
“Umaa-mi!”
When you form a heart next to your cheek using all five fingers, you will have a big smile on your face.
This is Kimono Mom’s signature Umami pose.
On the sunny evening of July 22, we took a group photo on the veranda of the Consul General’s residence. What stood out from the usual group photos was the overwhelming number of children in the picture. That’s because, on this day, the children were the stars of the show.
 
It was Mr. Yuta Sugano, a pianist based in Detroit, who first reached out to let me know: “Kimono Mom is coming to Detroit.”
I must admit I wasn’t familiar with her, as I tend to be out of touch with trends. But when I heard she had 2.7 million followers on Instagram (even MIYAVI has “only” a million), I was amazed.
 
Kimono Mom has been traveling across the U.S. in a camper van since November of last year with her husband Motoki and their 6-year-old daughter Sutan, having started out in Los Angeles. It seems various Japanese embassies and consulates are supporting her journey.
Ordinarily, one might host a cooking demonstration at the official residence using Kimono Mom’s talents in the kitchen while inviting politicians and businesspeople to sample the dishes. That was my initial plan, too.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about Sutan. Would she have to wait in the car with her father while her mom worked inside the residence?
We had a recent example when a State Senator and her husband were invited to dinner, and the couple nearly had to cancel due to the difficulty of finding a babysitter for their 9- and 5-year-old daughters. (In the end, they came without the kids.)
 
So I thought—why not flip the idea entirely? Let the children be the center of the event, and have the parents be the ones tagging along.
This approach worked beautifully. It allowed guests like the Mayor of Novi, the Honorary Consul of Switzerland, and a Vice President from Comerica Bank—who all have children—to attend with their entire families. And, of course, Motoki and Sutan joined as well.