Tomoko grew up in a family that appreciated music. Her father played the violin before he married, and her mother actively participated i...

 Memorial Day in the United States commemorates its military personnel who died in defending their country. Music is often played in remembr...

Tomoko remembers how people celebrated the new year in Japan.  In Japan, Tomoko grew up in a Protestant family, and she converted to Catholi...

  Candles are a part of several religions practiced in Japan. As Tomoko grew up in Japan, she experienced Protestant uses of candles in reli...

  The world is watching the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, thanks to the media. Especially with the pandemic, few people get to set foot at the act...

  As a child, Tomoko experienced World War II in Japan. Her father and brother were conscripted to help the war effort as civilians, and the...

 Among the many people who have contributed to the musical scene in the United States are the Japanese. Tomoko is a wonderful example: she w...

This week, Saint Patrick’s Day is being celebrated worldwide, including in Japan, where fifteen parades and Irish festivals occur this time ...

  Japan has many holidays, as Tomoko knows because she grew up there. Several holidays are centuries old and others are more modern, sometim...

Tomoko decided to come to America by the time she was in college. “In Japan graduation is the end, in America it is just part of life,” Tomo...

  Tomoko is thankful that she immigrated to the United States and became a U.S. citizen. She is thankful for her family and friends, includi...

Over the centuries, poetry has often been set to music. Indeed, Tomoko’s brother Hidehiko became a composer who would draw upon Japanese n...

Tomoko knows the value of food, both in her professional and personal life. In Japan, where Tomoko was born, food has ceremonial i...