★ Chiyo Uno was born in 1897 in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, and died in 1996 at age 98. She was a novelist, essayist, kimono designer, magazine editor, and entrepreneur. The 2026 NHK morning drama “Blossom” is modeled on her life, starring Shizuka Ishibashi. She once said, “I‘ve done everything except theft and murder.” She married four times and built thirteen houses in her lifetime. This book presents her philosophy of living through photographs and essays across three dimensions: clothing, food, and home.
★ The “clothing” section features her small-pattern kimono designs, with cherry blossom motifs and delicate colors. She founded the early fashion magazine “STYLE” and published her designs in “Kimono Reader,” making kimono her lifelong “side occupation.” In the “food” section, she personally shopped for fresh ingredients, and her plates and small bowls were tasteful.
★ She built thirteen houses from Hokkaido to Aoyama. “Act immediately when inspiration strikes”—this was her life of love and wandering. Her autobiography “I Live On” was adapted into a TV drama twice. The photographs in this book make her life concrete and touchable.
★ This book is for anyone who wants to know “how to live as oneself.” Not expensive, not forced—starting from “what to wear today, what to eat, where to live,” live out your own way.

The year 2026 marks thirty years since her death, and the writer Chiyo Uno is drawing attention as the model for the morning drama “Blossom.”

She said, “I‘ve done everything except theft and murder.” She married four times and built thirteen houses in her lifetime. Her free-spirited behavior was a topic of discussion both then and now. As a writer, kimono designer, and founding editor of the popular magazine “STYLE,” she wore many faces and ran through her 98-year life to the fullest. Her charm and fastidiousness were evident in every aspect of her life.

This book presents Chiyo Uno’s “philosophy of living” mainly from three dimensions—clothing, food, and home—through photographs and essays.

Clothing
● From youth to her later years, sewing was her livelihood
● Many small-pattern kimono designed by Chiyo. Cherry blossom motifs with delicate colors
● Founded the fashion magazine “STYLE,” demonstrating her talent as an editor
● Published her designs in “Kimono Reader.” Kimono became her lifelong “side occupation”

Food
● Personally shopped for fresh ingredients, with tasteful plates and bowls
● Served her proud dishes according to the preferences of the man she loved

Home
● From a house in Hokkaido to a house in Aoyama, Chiyo built thirteen houses in her lifetime
● Acted immediately when inspiration struck—a life of love and wandering
● Aoyama became her “final residence.” Surrounded by objects full of memories

Creation
● Encounters with literary heavyweights and four marriages colored Chiyo’s creative activities
● Still active past ninety. Sat at her desk day after day

Origins
● Chiyo’s proud hometown, the view of Kintaikyo Bridge
● Her father squandered the family fortune with a dissolute life
● The turbulent teens of the “little mother”

Uno Chiyo (宇野千代)
November 28, 1897 – June 10, 1996. Japanese novelist and essayist, active in the Taisho, Showa, and Heisei eras. Born in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, graduated from Iwakuni Higher Women’s School. She was a novelist, essayist, book editor, kimono designer, and entrepreneur. In 1921, she won first prize in the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun‘s prize novel competition with “Face of Rouge,” launching her literary career. In 1957, she won the Noma Literary Prize for “Ohan”; in 1971, the Women’s Literature Prize; in 1972, the Japan Art Academy Prize; in 1982, the Kikuchi Kan Prize; in 1974, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class; and in 1990, she was designated a Person of Cultural Merit. In 1982, at age 85, she published her autobiography “I Live On,” which became a bestseller.