A madcap Japanese great-grandmother armed with a camera and an appetite for mischief has shot to fame for taking side-splitting selfies — many of which appear to put her in harm’s way. Closing in on her 90th birthday, Kimiko Nishimoto tweaks the nose of fear: she has amassed
A madcap Japanese great-grandmother armed with a camera and an appetite for mischief has shot to fame for taking side-splitting selfies — many of which appear to put her in harm’s way.
Closing in on her 90th birthday, Kimiko Nishimoto tweaks the nose of fear: she has amassed more than 41,000 followers in just two months since she started regularly posting her hilarious snaps on Instagram.
The goofy photos show the fun-loving pensioner riding a broomstick like Harry Potter or, even more alarmingly, knocked over in an apparent traffic accident.
« I’ve actually never injured myself taking a photo, » Nishimoto tells AFP in an interview at her home in Kumamoto, Kyushu.
« I’m always focusing hard on taking a fun photo so I really don’t think about the danger too much, » she explains.
Nishimoto, who only took up photography at the age of 72, reveals she quickly became hooked on the hobby after being invited to join a local class.
« I love my camera, » adds the octogenarian, who has three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. « I even sleep with it by my bedside, just in case. I always have it close. »
A decade later she secured her first solo exhibition — held in her home town — but Nishimoto’s recent decision to showcase snaps of her daredevil stunts on social media has now catapulted her to stardom.
Such is her celebrity now that many fans were shut out of her exhibition at a Tokyo gallery in December as it struggled to cope with the crowds.
