Momofuku Ando

My hero is Momofuku Ando. He was born on March 5, 1910, in Chiayi Taiwan. I came across and learned about my hero from my teacher, Mrs. McGee. She told me what he did to save Japan in hardships and I thought it would be interesting to research his life. He made a big change for Japan when he lived in his time by making the product Ramen.

My hero has done many things in his life.

Momofuku Ando first lived in Chiaya, Taiwan. This is where he first grew up, but then his parents died when he was a young age. He then lived in Tainan, Taiwan to live with his grandparents since both his parents died. For him he got it pretty easy because his parents were rich and wealthy. His grandparents owned a little textile store and that encouraged Momofuku to open his own textile store. It cost him 190.000 yen to open one, when he was 22. This was a success for him. While he owned the textile store, he entered Ritsumeikan University and opened a merchandising firm, but in 1948, he made some clueless decisions. He was giving kids scholarships which at the time was a form of tax evasion and had to serve 2 years in jail without knowing he was doing something wrong. Jail time caused his textile store to go bankrupt.

After World War II he became a Japanese citizen. In 1958, Ando created the best food product at the time. The Japanese were in a pre- war state and were in a shortage of food. He came up with Chikin Ramen. He then called it Cup Noodle.

After World War II there was a pre-war and that’s when Japan faced hardships of famine. They were striving for food and were supplied with bread from the United States. Ando was very confused why they were getting supplied with bread instead of noodles. He then thought of the idea of Chikin Ramen. He made it in bags, but then found out that people were putting hot water into it and eating it with forks instead of chopsticks, which he intended to have people use. He then got motivated and made them in Styrofoam cups to put hot water into. It was very popular because at the time it was affordable and yet filling when people were in famine and has nothing to eat. That was a huge success.

Momofuku Ando is very important to me. He made me learn that if I want to achieve something I can do it. He went through times of hardships and suffered through them to find ways to get out of hardships. Now I think differently of hardships just because of him. To me now, hardships can sometimes be a good thing. It opens up opportunities for anybody in this world or myself.

To me, I realized he is a really big role model. His parents died at a young age, went to jail, lived through famine, shocked the world, and overcame all of it. He has made a big change in this world and for Japan in the time of the famine. My hero, Momofuku Ando, lived from 1910 to 2007 and died of heart failure. He lived to be ninety-six. He said that Chikin Ramen and golf helped him live to the age of ninety-six. In my opinion it was a great idea and I really like what he made. It is a great food and snack too. It is also the #1 food choice of most college still today. Momofuku Ando is my hero.