02-10-2021, 10:55 AM
Paralympian, nurse, musician: Manami Ito, Japan's show-stealing violinist
![[Image: 319f2f534d45cb16e73ee8a3c0203eebb9788841...k=POc5seFN]](https://onecms-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/s--fRJYHW0n--/c_crop%2Ch_512%2Cw_682%2Cx_55%2Cy_0/c_fill%2Cg_auto%2Ch_622%2Cw_830/f_auto%2Cq_auto/v1/one-cms/core/319f2f534d45cb16e73ee8a3c0203eebb9788841.jpg?itok=POc5seFN)
Haunting notes stream from Manami Ito's violin as she gracefully draws her bow back and forth, clasping it with her specially designed prosthetic arm.
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The Japanese musician enthralled a nation with her brief but show-stealing performance at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics, and playing violin isn't even her day job.
The 36-year-old is a qualified nurse and a former Paralympian swimmer who has spent the years since she lost her right arm in a motorbike accident defying her naysayers and overcoming every obstacle before her.
"There were always people who told me: 'No, you can't do it. It's impossible,'" she told AFP at her mother's home by a lush green riverbank.
"Every time I faced that kind of wall, I thought to myself: 'They are saying that because no one has done it before. So I will do it'."
But that wasn't always the way Ito felt, particularly in the dark days after her accident at the age of 20.
"I thought I would confine myself at home for the rest of my life," she admits. "I didn't want my friends or neighbours to see my body, I didn't want them to know what happened to me."
It was the sight of her parents "in real pain" at her state that made her rethink her stance. "I thought, I cannot make them smile if I don't smile myself," she said.
Ito had been encouraged by her mother to play the violin when she was a child, and after her accident she decided to give it another try.
Haunting notes stream from Manami Ito's violin as she gracefully draws her bow back and forth, clasping it with her specially designed prosthetic arm.
SLOTXO game has different features and fun stories, such as a slot game that tells the story of solving a murder mystery where players have to spin the wheel.
The Japanese musician enthralled a nation with her brief but show-stealing performance at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics, and playing violin isn't even her day job.
The 36-year-old is a qualified nurse and a former Paralympian swimmer who has spent the years since she lost her right arm in a motorbike accident defying her naysayers and overcoming every obstacle before her.
"There were always people who told me: 'No, you can't do it. It's impossible,'" she told AFP at her mother's home by a lush green riverbank.
"Every time I faced that kind of wall, I thought to myself: 'They are saying that because no one has done it before. So I will do it'."
But that wasn't always the way Ito felt, particularly in the dark days after her accident at the age of 20.
"I thought I would confine myself at home for the rest of my life," she admits. "I didn't want my friends or neighbours to see my body, I didn't want them to know what happened to me."
It was the sight of her parents "in real pain" at her state that made her rethink her stance. "I thought, I cannot make them smile if I don't smile myself," she said.
Ito had been encouraged by her mother to play the violin when she was a child, and after her accident she decided to give it another try.
