TAKASAGO, Hyogo Prefecture--Suzu Momoi had a tangled relationship with her own family when she was in her teens.

She even developed a habit of slashing her arms with a cutter knife. Her only solace was cosplay.

Now she works as a part-time lecturer at a public high school here, teaching students what it takes to start a business.

“No matter how hard the circumstances may seem, things will change when you meet people who get inside your heart,” said Momoi, 33, who lives in Takasago.

Her father suffered a stroke when she was in her third year at junior high school. It plunged the family business into financial difficulties and poverty for everyone.

From that point, things started to unravel.

“My mother told me there was no money to send me to college, and my brother, one year older, vented his frustrations on me through violence,” she recalled.

Feeling unloved, she started slitting her wrists.

LIFE-CHANGING ENCOUNTER

But that all changed when she was a second-year senior high school student.

Her homeroom teacher noticed her bandaged wrists to hide the self-inflicted injuries.

Even though she told him to mind his own business, the teacher never got angry.

She had never come across an adult like him before.

The teacher was non-judgmental and urged her to go easy on herself. He always offered kind words like, “You really don’t want to do that to your body” and “Let’s make it the last time.”

“She had a hard stare. Maybe it was because she didn’t trust adults,” the teacher recalled thinking.

As for his interactions with a student with a history of repeated episodes of self-harm, he added: “I was scared, deep down. But I thought her self-harm behavior would escalate if she felt rejected at school as well and had nowhere else to turn.”

In the fall, Momoi decided to stop harming herself.

SALVATION IN COSPLAY

Momoi aspired to be a voice actress, thinking it would allow her to transform into any character she wanted.

She worked part-time at a supermarket and a restaurant to save money for tuition fees. She attended classes at a training school in Osaka’s central Umeda district once a week.

One day, she was invited by classmates to join a cosplay event in which participants dressed as characters from anime and video games.

When Momoi posed as virtual idol Hatsune Miku, she drew cheers from fans with cameras who raved about how cute she looked.

It was a good feeling.

Eager to cut ties with her family, Momoi wanted to get a job that provided a stable income so she could live on her own.

Her answer was to become a public servant.

After graduating from senior high school, she landed a job at the city office.

Working at the agriculture, forestry and fisheries division, Momoi was in charge of adjusting rice production and consolidating farm holdings.

She also worked for the city assembly secretariat.

In the meantime, she continued her cosplay activities and was even chosen to represent the Kansai region in the preliminary round of the World Cosplay Summit for two straight years.

AS VICE PRESIDENT AND COSPLAY MODEL

Around that time, Momoi met Takumi Orii, 47, who runs Takumi Kogei, a plastic processing company here.

The company produces and sells “fantasy weapons,” or plastic replicas of weapons featured in video games, anime and manga.

She was struck by the notion of a job that turns dreams into reality and packed things in at age 24.

Now she works as the vice president in charge of accounting and marketing and also as a model at cosplay events held around the country.

She also set up a costume production company three years ago.

For Momoi, cosplay allowed her to escape from the reality of everyday life, even when she was in high school.

“Now that it is my career, it is an important part of what defines me,” she said.

It was her background that caught the attention of prefectural-run Shoyo Senior High School here, which normally invites members from the local chamber of commerce and industry to lecture students.

Momoi was singled out because she could provide students with valuable advice based on her experiences that led to her becoming a successful cosplayer.

At the recommendation of the school, the prefectural education board appointed Momoi as a special part-time lecturer in charge of independent study for third-year students in the commercial course for this academic year.

The theme of her class is “entrepreneurship.”

The students are planning to open a specialty shop in a local shopping street in December as part of their practical training. Momoi teaches them how to purchase merchandise and raise start-up capital, among other business tips.

Members of a local credit union joined her class in September when the students explained their business ideas.

WINNING TRUST

The students listen carefully to what Momoi says during her lectures, even though she speaks in a rather unconventional manner.

“It’s more difficult to borrow money than earn it, you know?” she told them one day. “Look in their eyes when you speak. Bear it in mind because it will be your advantage when you become an adult.”

According to 53-year-old Yusuke Toyama, the head teacher of the grade, even tardy and truant students come to school looking forward to attending her class.

Momoi is resolved to accept what students say or do.

“She listens to me. I love her,” said Yuka Yamamoto, 17.

Momoi said, “I hope they meet many people, as this will change their way of thinking and what they can do.”