Hi Everyone!

Today's Japan Times article is about Ratna Sari Dewi Sukarno, who is a businesswoman and the widow of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno. Ratna Sari in Sanskrit means the "Essence of Jewels" and it's the name Sukarno gave her.
my article on Dewi Sukarno
President Sukarno on Wikipedia
President Sukarno was a charismatic leader who fought fiercely and wisely against the Dutch and succeeded in getting his country out of the chains of colony. Bravo!
He was smart and diplomatic and in Dewi Fujin, he found his match. The two looked so gorgeous and perfect together. I feel sad that their happiness was so short but they certainly achieved a lot. Thank you! 
President Sukarno and Dewi Fujin were vital to the development of both Japan and Indonesia. Their union brought the two countries closer and no nations needed each other as much as these two. Back then Japan was desperate for Indonesia's wealth of resources and Indonesia needed technology and finance from Japan. President Sukarno and Dewi Fujin connected them.
I imagined her as a female version of Hideyoshi Toyotomi: with a brilliant mind, always positive and constructive and really good at people. And she is all that plus funny, too!
Hideyoshi Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Dewi Fujin, these two great communicators both rose from humble beginnings to very powerful positions. Good for both and Japan!
There is a famous Senryu (Japanese poem) that asks what the three legendary leaders of 16th century Japan would do if a nightingale stopped singing. It says that:

Nobunaga Oda would kill it while ordering the next nightingale to be delivered
Tokugawa would patiently wait for it to sing
And Hideyoshi would talk the bird into singing!
Nobunaga Oda
Ieyasu Tokugawa
Hideyoshi Toyotomi
Seems like Nobunaga Oda was all about function, a practical man who operated much like a tough executive. I find him pretty Un-Japanese in that sense. Ieyasu Tokugawa was very conservative and careful, with a long-range viewpoint. He was happy to gaman (endure) in the present for better results later. Very Japanese! Hideyoshi was a genius at people and managed to work with anyone. Just like Dewi Fujin. After years in exile in Paris, she moved back to Indonesia and worked under Suharto's regime. Suharto, the man she calls the Indonesian Pol Pot for murdering about one million innocent civilians. Suharto, who was behind the coup d'etat that ousted President Sukarno.
I am amazed at Dewi Fujin's strength! Not only she was brave enough to move back to Jakarta, she even succeeded as a businesswoman in those hostile circumstances. She attended several World Tenders and made history bidding successfully for one billion dollar projects. In my book she qualifies to be in the league of the world's toughest. She keeps on fighting and winning and manages to do it with great style. Yes, in high heels, no less.
BTW, she is Megawati Sukarnoputri's stepmother, who was Indonesia's first female president: Megawati Sukarnoputri 
This is Dewi Fujin with two of her dogs:

She always looks impeccable which is a miracle since she's constantly surrounded by her beloved dogs, all eleven of them. These little dogs run a big house and in all the right directions. As we talked, cute doggies would be licking my hands and gently scratching my back. I felt happy!
Dewi Fujin paints:
I love her work! Hope you all got some of Dewi Fujin's power. I certainly have. Thank you! Judit