Draft:Naomi Moriyama

Naomi Moriyama (born 1960) is a Japanese-American marketing consultant and author known for her non-fiction wellness writing. She has published four novels alongside her husband and co-author, William Doyle.

Education and Career

Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Moriyama moved to the United States, where she attended college for two years in Illinois. After completing her education, Naomi moved back to Japan, where she worked for an advertising agency, which later sent her to Manhattan to work at their headquarters in her late 20s. She spent the majority of her adult life in New York until around 2020, when she was given the opportunity to move to Finland, inspiring her to write her most recent book, "The Sisterhood of the Enchanted Forest: Sustenance, Wisdom, and Awakening in Finland's Karelia".

Life

Family and Traditions

Naomi Moriyama was one of four members in her family, including her mother Chizuko, her father, and her sister. Living in Japan in the 1960s was a time that Naomi refers to as the "pre-fast-food-takeout-era", since eating three home-cooked meals a day rather than fast food was the norm. From her mother's Tokyo kitchen, Naomi grew accustomed to Japanese recipes which include many vegetables and whole ingredients, and cooking styles such as steaming, pan-grilling, and sautéing.

Interests

Naomi's passions relate to "green living," which includes wellness, healthy eating, and exercise. She describes her life goal as "prevention," where she focuses on always maintaining a healthy body, mind, and soul, rather than needing to fix illnesses that appear. Naomi maintains her goal of prevention through healthy eating, which she outlines in her first three books, and through meditation, hiking, and being in nature. Her goal also extends to her daily habits, where she utilizes natural products, leading her to stop popular beauty treatments like hair colouring, nail painting, and using chemical based makeup products.

Works

2007 - Japan Diet: The secret to effective and lasting weight loss

Moriyama uses her knowledge of traditional Japanese foods as the basis for this diet book, giving over 40 Japanese food recipes that are healthy, filling, and easy to make.

2015 - Secrets of the World's Healthiest Children: Why Japanese children have the longest, healthiest lives - and how yours can too

In this book, Moriyama investigates some of the social norms around eating that she believes are the reasons why Japanese children are so healthy. She also includes a few Japanese recipes in the book.

2021 - The Sisterhood of the Enchanted Forest: Sustenance, Wisdom, and Awakening in Finland's Karelia

In this non-fiction book, Moriyama discusses life in Karelia, an eastern region of Finland that her family lived in for six months. She primarily focuses on the topics of cooking using locally foraged ingredients, but also mentions some of the societal aspects, such as the prioritization of children’s wellbeing, that make Finland a great place for families.