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Mineko Nomachi

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Mineko Nomachi
能町みね子
Born (1979-03-17) March 17, 1979 (age 45)
NationalityJapanese
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo
Notable workI'm Queer but I'm an Office Lady

Mineko Nomachi (能町みね子, Nōmachi Mineko, born March 17, 1979) is a Japanese essayist, columnist, illustrator, and radio and television personality. She is best known for her blog I'm Queer but I'm an Office Lady (オカマだけどOLやってます。, O-kama dakedo OL yattemasu), which was published as a book by Bungeishunjū in 2006, and for multiple radio and television programs co-hosted with writer Mitsurou Kubo. Her name is a pen name derived from a combination of the names of her paternal and maternal grandmothers.[1]

Biography

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Early life and career

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Nomachi was born in Hokkaido on March 17, 1979.[2][3] She is the older sister to Onoya, a pseudonymous writer and parfait critic.[4] At the age of two, her family moved to Ushikyu in Ibaraki Prefecture, where Nomachi attended Ushikudaiichi Junior High School [ja].[5] After graduating high school, Nomachi attended and graduated from the University of Tokyo.[6]

In 2005, she began writing the autobiographical blog I'm Queer but I'm an Office Lady (オカマだけどOLやってます。, O-kama dakedo OL yattemasu), where she detailed her experience as a transgender woman working as an office lady.[7][8] The blog was published as a book by Bungeishunjū under the same title in 2006. Nomachi underwent sex reassignment surgery in 2007,[2] and was legally recognized as a woman in her family's koseki, or family registry, that same year.[9]

Television, radio, and cultural commentary

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In 2011, Nomachi began co-hosting the radio show Oretachi Detox with writer Mitsurou Kubo.[10] In 2012, Nomachi and Kubo were chosen in a public vote to host the radio program All Night Nippon 0.[11] Nomachi and Kubo were promoted in 2013, and served as hosts of Mitsurou Kubo & Mineko's Nomachi's All Night Nippon [jp] from 2013 to 2015.[12] From 2013 to 2017, Nomachi, Kubo, and Kenichi Maeyamada hosted Mine Kubo Hyada Kojirase Night [jp], a variety program on Fuji TV.[13] Nomachi is a sumo enthusiast, and since 2015 has appeared on NHK as a sumo commentator.[14]

In 2015, Nomachi appeared on a Nippon TV variety program where she was introduced as an "onee talent", a slang term for an effeminate male television personality.[15] Nomachi objected to the term's use in an interview with Mainichi Shimbun, calling its use discriminatory; Nippon TV acknowledged Nomachi's objection, but did not issue an apology.[9][15][16]

In 2019, Nomachi led a campaign against JR East to protest the naming of Takanawa Gateway Station, after the company solicited suggestions to name the station in a public poll before ultimately choosing a name without a plurality of public support.[17][18] Following the death of talent manager Johnny Kitagawa in 2019, Nomachi wrote an editorial in Shūkan Bunshun criticizing the Japanese press for their failure to acknowledge allegations of sexual abuse by Kitagawa in their obituaries.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "能町". 能町みね子の仮サイト. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "能町みね子さん「私はオネエじゃない」日テレに抗議". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). August 14, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  3. ^ @nmcmnc (April 10, 2011). "私自身は住んでいたのは幼児期の2年間だけで、両親含め親族ほとんど道民(+元道民)ですが私は生まれも育ちも関東というハンパ者です。いいんでしょうか… 北海道は大好きです" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "能町みね子さん「LGBTが第一のアイデンティティなわけじゃない」". HuffPost Japan (in Japanese). September 4, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  5. ^ @nmcmnc (November 6, 2012). "私が育った街、牛久のイズミヤに入っている書店にこんなものがあるそうです!正直、牛久に私の本は売ってないと思ってたので超驚き(特に出身を公言してないし)!ここの書店員さんマジありがとう しかもこんなかわいい絵にしてくれて" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "妄想娘、東大のその先へ——能町みね子×大石蘭対談". Cakes (in Japanese). March 29, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  7. ^ "「オネエ」と呼ばれるのを拒否する能町みね子とは結局何者なのか?". Asagei (in Japanese). August 18, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  8. ^ Mackie, Vera (2010). "Necktie nightmare: narrating gender in contemporary Japan". University of Wollongong: 111–128.
  9. ^ a b "能町みね子さん、「オネエ」紹介に訂正要求も日テレから「謝罪の言葉ない」". RBB Today. August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "久保ミツロウ×能町みね子が愚痴だらけのトークイベント". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). September 2, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  11. ^ "久保ミツロウ×能町みね子、オールナイトニッポン新番組担当". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). March 21, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  12. ^ "久保ミツロウ&能町みね子のANN復活!「GOLD」の木曜日レギュラーに". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). March 6, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  13. ^ "Mina Kubo Hyada Kojirase Night-Fuji Television Network". Fuji TV (in Japanese). Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  14. ^ "新・シブ5時相撲部 タイトルが完成!!". NHK (in Japanese). January 8, 2016. Archived from the original on March 21, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Brasor, Philip (June 4, 2016). "Japan baffled by the intricacies of LGBT issues". The Japan Times. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "オネエ呼ばわり「不快」 テレビ番組、差別助長の恐れ". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). May 16, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  17. ^ "Petition demands JR East change 'Takanawa Gateway' station name". The Mainichi. March 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  18. ^ "Petition to demand JR East change 'Takanawa Gateway' station name". AJW. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  19. ^ Brasor, Philip (August 3, 2019). "News outlets in Japan less afraid to tackle entertainment issues". The Japan Times. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
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