Yuri "Yureeka" Yasuda (; born 21 June 1983) also known as Yureeka is a Japanese businesswoman and art collector. Born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, she graduated from

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese language, Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private List of Jesuit educational institutions, Jesuit research university in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1913 by ...

with a bachelor's degree in Comparative Cultures.

Early life and education

Yuri Yasuda was born in Tokyo in 1883. Her great-grandfather, Hizume Masaharu was a doctor as well as a poet who has published a collection of

tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the influential poetry anthology (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to disti ...

, a thirty-one syllabled verse. Her grandfather, Nobuaki Hizume was the head bureaucrat of the

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry The , METI for short, is a ministry of the Government of Japan. It was created by the 2001 Central Government Reform when the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) merged with agencies from other ministries related to economic acti ...

, as well as the former Director-General of Small and Medium Enterprises, former vice-president of Daimaru Department Store. (He was also appointed as the Chairman of Kansai Association of Corporate Executives for 2 terms during the Showa period.) Her father runs a business related to art in

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Her mother is a former poet with several books published, her eldest sister is a professor at a university in the United States.

Career

Wonderlily was founded in 2007 by Yureeka, where she began her first deal as the exclusive Japanese license owner of a tea brand, Harney & Sons. Since the foundation, she has built over 350 accounts across Japan, launching customized pet bottles limited to Japan, collaborating with various luxury brands such as

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota, Toyota Motor Corporation. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked amon ...

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

and have supported over 100 events including the American Embassy,

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...

, TED x, and more. The products she works with are brands she discovered overseas and felt confident would be popular in Japan, holding an exclusive contract. She discovered Harney & Sons during her trip to New York where she came across the taste in a hotel suite, which eventually led her into the business she has today. She founded The Tea Time Company in 2015, and opened the first direct retail store of Harney & Sons Japan in JR Nagoya Takashimaya. Yuko Nagayama, an architect who also designed the Louis Vuitton boutique in Kyoto worked on the interior design. In 2015, Yureeka became the brand ambassador for Pont des Arts wine. Pont des Arts also participated as the VIP sponsor for Art Fair Tokyo in both 2016 and 2017. Pont des Arts have also hosted collaboration events in Tokyo with

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...

and Christian Dior. She founded Tokyo Art Office (TAO) in 2017, which have been working with Art Fair Tokyo and The Fine Art Group, the largest art fund in the world. Dating back to her student years, Yureeka has been featured in various magazines on her fashion sense and lifestyle, and on her animated character and background. In 2013, she began writing regular columns on art for Commons & Sense magazine. She continues to contribute essays and interviews on artists and art collectors on various platforms.

References

External links

How Yuri Yasuda took her Yureeka moment and ran with it
featured i
''Hong Kong Tatler''Yureeka Yasuda's Golden Rules
featured i
''Net-a-Porter''A graduate interview - Yuri Yasuda
featured in ''Sophia Times''
An Interview with Yuri Yasuda
featured i
''Artzine''Yuri "Yureeka" Yasuda of Wonderlily
featured i
''Savvy Tokyo''Pixel Perfect: Artist Kohei Nawa
written by Yureeka, contributed i
''Billionaire''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasuda, Yuri 1983 births Living people 21st-century Japanese businesswomen 21st-century Japanese businesspeople Sophia University alumni