is a cultural icon for the deaf and hard of hearing in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. She has overcome many barriers to deafness in her home country to the benefit of thousands of deaf people in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is in large part due to her that the Japanese people

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 are more appreciative of deaf culture

Deaf culture

Deaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, the word deaf is often written with a...

.

A talented performer, with a love for song, Mariko is a friend to many deaf people internationally, including the Wild Zappers

Wild Zappers

The Wild Zappers is an all Deaf all male dance group that combines American Sign Language, music and dance to promote the education of sign language to both Deaf and hearing communities.- Background :...

, among others.She introduced many deaf artists to Japan as the promoter.

External links

In Japanese:

• Free Hands Interview (Japanese)

In English (translated from Japanese):

• Free Hands Interview (English translation)