My grandmother was a teacher of tea ceremony in Takayama, Japan. She wanted me to practice tea ceremony. This was the reason why I belonged to the TEA CLUB in KEIO UNIVERSITY in Tokyo. Although, at first, I was not very much interested in it, the experiences such as routine training with friends and/or presenting tea at the University Festival with KIMONO made me gradually understand the joyfullness of the tea ceremony. Therefore, I continued to have lessons at the tea ceremony class in the neighborhood even afer I became an employee of an airline company. The marriage interrupted my training for a while. This was because I went to USA with my husband who worked at the University Hospital there and I gave birth to two children every other year in USA.

Prior to going to USA, I learned much about American history, culture and language. However, what I was asked in USA was mainly about Japan. I realized how little I had known about the history and the tradition of my country. I felt ashamed about it. Since I am a Japanese, I must learn about Japan. I believe that the true internationalism is based upon profound knowledge of his or her own country. After our homecoming, I resumed the practice of tea ceremony with much firmer motivation.