Japan Is in Love With This Bodybuilding Landscaper Who Became a Citizen

Many of us love to travel, but most of us wouldn’t dream of giving up citizenship to the country in which we were born. Swedish-born Jakob Sebastian Björk, however, fell so in love with the country of Japan that he became a naturalized Japanese citizen. In fact, he had to renounce his original nationality because dual citizenship goes against Japanese law. He now proudly goes by the name Tatsumasa Murasame.

Take one glance at Murasame and you’ll notice that he doesn’t fit the stereotype of a Japanese person. He is tall, blonde, and incredibly muscular; he’s a competition bodybuilder who has massive, sculpted arms. But despite him not fitting into the homogeneity of his chosen country, Murasame embraces the culture and has made a career in traditional Japanese gardening. He was at first an apprentice gardener and his master who taught him everything also gave Murasame his new name that reflects his life now.

Murasame’s good looks, coupled with his unique situation, has earned him an enthusiastic following online. He shares his love of gardening, bodybuilding, and his adorable tortoiseshell cat. Murasame has fully leaned into his fame and done some modeling and even gone as far as to appear on various television shows, including one called More Japanese Than a Japanese Person. You can see what he's up to now on Instagram.

Swedish-born Jakob Sebastian Björk fell in love with Japan…

… so much so that he became a naturalized citizen!

Now, he's a gardener—and was an apprentice under a master—who gave him the name he uses now, Tatsumasa Murasame.

His good looks have gained him popularity—especially as a Japanese bodybuilder.

Tatsumasa Murasame: Instagram
h/t: [SoraNews 24]

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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