In 2000, Jack Ma went to Japan in a low-key manner accompanied by his assistant.
After getting off the plane, he first bought a bouquet of flowers in advance, and then went straight to a teahouse in Tokyo with excitement and anxiety.
After nervously opening the door, a beautiful-looking woman immediately stood up to greet her.
Seeing the person in front of him, Ma Yun burst into tears.
The "dream lover" who could only be missed through the screen, the woman who influenced half of his life - Araki Yumiko , finally stood in front of him. It was not in vain that he had traveled to Japan six times in the past two years.
So, who is Yumiko Araki? What is the connection between her and Jack Ma? Why does Ma Yun always miss her?
Both an idol and a motivation
Jack Ma was born in an ordinary family in Hangzhou. When he was a teenager, he was not a good student. He often skipped classes and made trouble. Later, he was forced to transfer schools because of fights.
Even so, his family still supported him until he went to high school.
In 1982, Ma Yun ushered in the first college entrance examination in his life. 8-year-old boy is always ambitious. He confidently wrote " Peking University " on his college entrance examination application.
The result is that the ideal is very plump, but the reality is very skinny.
When the results of the college entrance examination were released, the child who dreamed of going to and of Peking University was instantly dumbfounded. His math score was only 1 point.
Although Peking University also admitted candidates with zero scores in mathematics at that time, such as Zhu Ziqing , Wu Han and so on.
But obviously, Jack Ma did not have any shocking talent at that time.
After failing the college entrance examination for the first time, Ma Yun and his cousin went to interview a waiter. However, the restaurant owner only hired a talented cousin, and Ma Yun was eliminated.
Just like that, Ma Yun found several jobs in succession, but was rejected all of them.
In desperation, he had no choice but to continue his study path.
In 1983, Jack Ma ushered in his second college entrance examination. This time he was still very "slap in the face". His math score was only a little better than last time, and he scored 19 points.
Same as last time, this time I didn’t even meet the undergraduate threshold, let alone go to Peking University.
failed again, and the frustrated Jack Ma went out to work again, but still encountered obstacles everywhere.
After failing the college entrance examination twice in a row, Ma Yun was deeply shocked. He originally wanted to give up studying, but he met a person who changed his life's destiny.
She is the heroine of the Japanese TV series " Volleyball Players " - Xiaolu Junko .
After the reform and opening up, our country's cultural undertakings have developed rapidly and a number of foreign film and television works have been introduced, "Volleyball Girls" is one of them.
The play tells the story of a group of high school girls who are passionate about volleyball who formed a women's volleyball team, experienced setbacks, and thrived in the hard work. In addition to praising friendship and youth,
also inspired the growth of a generation of young people at that time.
Among them, the heroine Xiaolu Junko is young and beautiful, facing difficulties and daring to fight for her dreams. The image is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and she is regarded as the "first love" and "dream lover" by many viewers.
Jack Ma is no exception.
From the first moment he saw Junko Xiaolu, he felt that this girl was like a beam of light, driving away all the haze around him.
Her unwillingness to admit defeat has become her motivation to keep moving forward.
In this way, in 1984, Jack Ma regained his strength and entered the college entrance examination examination room for the third time. After the results of
came out, although they were significantly improved compared to the previous two times, they were still five points behind the undergraduate line.
Fortunately, Jack Ma's English scores were very good and he was finally admitted to Hangzhou Normal University.
After being admitted to the undergraduate program, Jack Ma cherished learning opportunities even more, never slacked off, and worked harder in life and work.
As for "Volleyball Girls", which once gave him a strong spiritual motivation, although he did not find related videos or posters to watch repeatedly, Xiaolu Junko's voice and smile and her persistent spirit have been deeply ingrained in his bones.
Since then, the spirit of "never give up" has become one of Jack Ma's life creeds.
After graduating from college, Jack Ma started his Internet business. During this period, many similar companies closed down due to poor management.
But he persisted, and Alibaba has grown bigger and bigger, becoming one of the leading companies now.
As Jack Ma said, the reason why he has achieved his current achievements is closely related to the spiritual support given to him by his dream lover Junko Xiaolu.
Xiaolu Junko is no longer just an idol, she is more like a spiritual motivation for struggle, constantly inspiring Jack Ma to overcome all difficulties.
Finding the actor who plays "Little Deer Junko" and expressing his love and gratitude to her personally became what Jack Ma wanted to do most after his success.
Six trips to Japan to search for people
After his success, Jack Ma continued to socialize. Once when he went to Japan and talked about his entrepreneurial experience with a friend, the first thing he thought of was Junko Xiaolu.
The character of successful people who say wind is like rain is also reflected in Jack Ma.
So in 1997, he officially embarked on a journey to Japan to search for people.
At that time, Jack Ma was not completely prepared, and he did not know the real name of the actor who played Junko Xiaolu.
Although the actors' names are written in the credits at the end of the TV series, what is special is that it is composed of Japanese "hiragana" and "real kana".
After Ma Yun looked at it for a long time, he could barely recognize the word "Yumiko".
After getting off the plane, Jack Ma went straight to Tokyo, the capital of Japan.
He thought that Tokyo was prosperous and there were people from all walks of life, and since what he was looking for was a public figure, there would always be one or two people he knew.
Just like that, Ma Yun took a poster of "Little Deer Junko" from more than ten years ago and asked everyone who the actress in the picture was.
What's strange is that even after walking around the streets of Tokyo, no one knows about this actress who is well-known to women and children in China.
Jack Ma was very disappointed for a time, and even thought whether his "dream lover" was no longer alive?
Moreover, what puzzled him even more was why no one in Japan knew about "Volleyball Girls", which was well-known in China?
After returning to China, Jack Ma learned from various inquiries that the TV series "Volleyball Players" had been hidden in Japan!
The reason is also very simple. At that time, Western countries were boycotting Moscow, and this TV series happened to be about volleyball's impact on the Moscow Games.
In order not to offend Western countries, this film was removed from the shelves, and the heroine naturally has little popularity.
After learning the reason, Ma Yun did not give up. Instead, he became more frustrated and courageous, and became more determined to find his "dream lover".
After half a year, Jack Ma contacted Hideo Tanaka, the chief director of "Volleyball Players" - Hideo Tanaka , and took his personal translator on his second search trip to Japan.
Compared to the first time, this trip was more fruitful. Jack Ma finally found out that the real name of the actor who plays "Fawn Junko" is Araki Yumiko .
Hideo Tanaka also told Ma Yun that after filming the TV series, Yumiko Araki did not choose to continue working in the entertainment industry.
"Volleyball Players" was hidden, which was a big blow to her.
Her efforts were let down, and her acting career went up and down again and again, making Yumiko Araki fall into a low point in her life.
Therefore, in the second year after filming the TV series, 23-year-old Yumiko Araki chose to retreat behind the scenes and start a life of raising her husband and raising children.
At that time, she did not expect that her TV series would become a hit in China on the other side of the ocean, and even influence a generation of Chinese young people.
Although Yumiko Araki was not found during this trip to Japan, Jack Ma still gained a lot of useful information, which made him very happy.
In the next two years, Jack Ma traveled to Japan many times.
Finally, hard work paid off, In April 2000, with the help of a Japanese friend, Jack Ma successfully met his former goddess.
Although Yumiko Araki was already a forty-year-old woman at that time, her eyes were very clear, her whole person was full of energy, and she still had the demeanor of Junko Oka. When
met for the first time, they had a great conversation and had endless topics to talk about.
But as the boss of a listed company, Jack Ma is busy with official duties and cannot stay in a foreign country for a long time.
After the brief meeting, Jack Ma had to return to China.
When leaving, Ma Yun burst into tears. At the suggestion of his assistant, the two exchanged contact information.
Yumiko Araki was equally moved. She never expected that after more than 20 years, fans from across the ocean would remember her.
originally thought that this was just a short fan meeting and would not cause any shock. But what she didn't expect was that this would be the beginning of her return to the public eye.
Invited to China
In 2004, 44-year-old Yumiko Araki received an invitation from Jack Ma to come to China.
While visiting Alibaba, she also attended a fan meeting organized by Jack Ma. As soon as
appeared, all the fans present immediately became excited.
Unexpectedly, after more than 20 years, some people still remembered her. Yumiko Araki couldn't help but burst into tears and bowed to the fans present to express her gratitude.
From the personal experience shared by Araki Yumiko, her life can be said to be as inspirational as Xiaolu Junko.
After getting married at the age of 23, she retired from the entertainment industry and took care of her sick mother-in-law at home.
Even though her mother-in-law made things difficult for her in every possible way, she still never left her, and she took care of her for ten years.
Emperor God paid off, and her mother-in-law expressed her recognition of her efforts before she died, and then passed away.
I thought life would be kind to this strong girl, but at this time Yumiko Araki was diagnosed with a tumor.
The treatment process was painful, but she still persisted with her perseverance.
After a year and a half of treatment, the good news finally came. The tumor turned benign and can be cured by surgical removal.
As my body gets better, my life also gets better.
Thanks to Jack Ma's guidance, she returned to the public eye. After the meeting, Yumiko Araki accepted many invitations from TV stations.
In order to thank Chinese fans for their love for her, Yumiko Araki actively devotes herself to Sino-Japanese friendly activities and promises to come to China every year to perform.
In 2014, she was officially selected as the "China-Japan Friendship Ambassador" and used this status to come to China to participate in various literary and artistic activities.
Yumiko Araki said frankly: "I like China very much. China is my second hometown."
In 2020, the Shanghai National Center for the Performing Arts invited Yumiko Araki to sing the classic song of "Volleyball Players".
Many of the audience in the audience were born in the 60s and 70s. When the music started, it seemed like they were back to that summer when they were fighting for sports.
Now, Yumiko Araki is a 63-year-old grandmother.
She has an old-fashioned heart and actively studied Chinese traditional culture. She also opened a public social platform account and learned to communicate with fans in simple Chinese. In front of the
screen, Yumiko Araki conveyed the sportsmanship of never giving up to the audience through film and television works, inspiring a generation of Chinese youth.
Privately, she always insists on facing the difficulties in life with positivity and optimism.
Perhaps this is the reason why she can still be loved by the Chinese people even though she has not been in the spotlight for many years.
Nowadays, Jack Ma has become a well-known entrepreneur in my country.
I believe he will always remember that during the low period of his life, Araki Yumiko's smile drove away the gloom around him like light, allowing him to insist on being himself and becoming a better person.
This may be the meaning of the existence of idols!
