I am beginning to work back through the poems and diaries I wrote while in Japan and really wanted to show this picture to you.

On Monday, September 27, the staff of The Tanka Journal had a tea for me at the Jurire Cafe in the Keio Plaza Hotel. Thanks to the waiter in the cafe who took this photo I can tell you more about these women.

Starting on the right is a dear woman with excellent language skills who is a tea ceremony master - Mahiko Kobayashi. She is such a beautiful gentle soul I am looking forward to correspondence with her so I can absorb some of her completely Japanese being.

Next to her is Ruri Hazama, who wrote Raffaello's Azure, a book of her tanka. Ruri was the time keeper for my talk and the discussion group afterward. It was such a comfort to have her in the front row and to see the encouragement she gave me with a smile every time I glanced in her direction.

Then me, already looking a bit tired and overwhelmed by so much talk and kindness!

The big surprise for me at this tea was Aya Yuhki, whose work had been so often in Lynx. She is the new editor for the Tanka Journal and when I was looking for a translator for Taking Tanka Home, I thought of her and then thought, "I cannot ask this woman to take on more work just as she is getting into her new job." Well surprise of surprise, Aya comes to the tea with a copy of Taking Tanka Home and she has already translated every poem in the book! Thinking of this today makes tears of gratitude come to my eyes! I am thinking of making a second edition of the book and using Aya's translations. Am eager to get to this job!

Next to Aya is Mariko Kitakubo. She had come to Gualala in April of 2009 for the Japanese Poetry Evening at Gualala Arts where she read her tanka in Japanese, and played the homon drum and Linda Galloway read the tanka in English. We had such a good time together at the dinner at St. Orres so it was really a joy to meet Mariko again. She turned out to be an excellent hostess and really made sure we enjoyed our stay in Japan. Thanks Mariko for the CD of your reading of your tanka - Messages!

Next to her is Mrs. Toyoko Aisawa, the founder of the Nihon Kajin Club, The Japan Tanka Poets' Society, who is a very interesting person. I wish I had had more time to talk to her! She had lived in Australia and gave me four of her books in English! A beautifully made book, A Garden of Verses of her tanka, A Blossom in Eternity, also her tanka, as well as Feminine Spirituals (which is right up my interest-alley) as well as Utopia which has her renga! She was the first poet I found who crossed over into other poetry genres. This is one forward thinking woman and it was so good to meet her!

Next is my daughter, B. Steiner, who accompanied me on the trip. She took excellent care of me and did all the little chores that saved me so much energy. And she made the trip a real joy.