If you know Japan, you likely know Rola (ローラ). The Japanese supermodel – who’s of Japanese, Russian, and Bangladeshi descent – was born in Tokyo’s Tama City and spent many years of her childhood moving between Bangladesh and Japan. Today, she lives a jet-setting life as an international model based out of Los Angeles.
For her entire career, Rola’s been known simply as “Rola.” Last week, however, she made a big reveal on her Instagram, announcing that her full name is Sato Eri (佐藤えり). Rola also revealed she’d be traveling regularly to Niigata, where her Sato ancestors rest, to learn farming.
The post generated a lot of excitement, as Rola fans learned a lot more about their fave. Thanks to the power that talent agencies hold over the press in Japan, it’s pretty easy for stars to keep personal information about themselves under seal, only revealing details when and if they see fit. (A benefit of this is that it enables non-celebrity spouses of famous people to remain out of the spotlight and preserve a measure of anonymity.)
It also engendered some laughs. Rola is known for her exceptional beauty and unique appearance, so it’s pretty funny she has literally the most common Japanese last name ever. It’s so common, in fact, that we’ve written before about fears that, due to population decline, everyone in Japan could be named “Sato” by 2531.
However, the post also raised alarms for some people. The issue? A single kanji.
In her post, Rola used the words 気づいた (kizuita, noticed) and 気持ち (kimochi, feelings). Except she used the kanji 氣 instead of the regular 気.
What’s up with that?
