by Rebecca Copeland | Apr 22, 2026 | Family
“I’m doing the best I can,” Beth texts me. It’s 5:23 in the morning my time. I’m in Kyoto. Beth’s in an intensive care unit in Winston Salem, North Carolina. It’s her third admittance since she began her cancer journey in early 2025. I know she hates being in the... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Jul 31, 2024 | Book Review
Amber Logan’s impressive debut novel The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn invites readers into a lushly landscaped world of beauty, loss, and surprising discoveries. The novel, written in an elegantly sparse style, follows American Marissa Lennox to her childhood home in... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Sep 27, 2023 | Japanese Culture
Part Three: The Dancers’ Practice Session “We practice at the Kokin-en. It’s close to the Funaoka Onsen,” my friend instructed. Funaoka Onsen is well known in Northwest Kyoto. Many consider it the best public bath in the city. The name “onsen” means hot spring. But,... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Sep 13, 2023 | Japanese Culture
Part Two: The Choreographer and the Secret Lessons I can’t tell you her name. I promised to keep her Nihon buyō lessons confidential. That sounds odd, I suppose. It’s not as if she is stealing secrets or trying to profit off the hard work of others. The lessons she... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Aug 30, 2023 | Japanese Culture
Part One: The Tragedy of the Maiden Scorned I’m not a theater professional. But I love teaching about Japan’s classic theaters—Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku. One tale among all others captures students’ imagination, “The Maiden of Dōjōji,” a story of monstrous...
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