"He inherited the Japanese philosophy of life from his parents, more precisely from his mother.
She was born as Himari Kobayashi in Kyoto, Japan, and met Daan Van de Velde at a bicycle trade fair in Tokyo when she was 21. Lars' father Daan was a Dutch native from Amsterdam and the third-generation owner of a bicycle factory. It was love at first sight when he met Himari, whose name in German translation was Sunshine. It described her very appropriately.
Six months later they both got married in Amsterdam because Lars had announced his arrival. His brother Finn followed two years later. Lars, with his adult height of one meter eighty, a rather stocky build, blue eyes and dark blonde short hair, was supposed to take after his father and looked very Dutch. His mother's Japanese moved inward. It showed in the way he thought and acted as well as in his preferences, values and his special way of living. He also acquired Japanese language skills as a child."
Excerpt from the book "When Gunnar Martinson`s Franchise Robots Go Crazy", Bellone/Matla, 2024, page 16, about the Dutch-Japanese private detective Lars Van de Velde.
