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 | Feb 14, 2024 | Japanese Culture
The Cherry Blossom Dance I remember being almost giddy when someone first gave me a handkerchief with Uno Chiyo’s signature motif. It was pale pink with small white dots, not quite cherry blossoms. But the sheerness of the fabric hinted at the delicateness of the... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Feb 1, 2023 | Mystery Fiction
Here’s another scene from The Kimono Tattoo draft that ended up on the cutting room floor. Again, we have reference to Hiratsuka Raichō, but also to a controversial feminist painter, an ancient Japanese legend, and the politics of protest in postwar Japan. Why... 
by Rebecca Copeland | Sep 23, 2020 | Japanese Culture
Mother bought me a kimono of my own for my birthday. When she understood my love of Japanese dance and my deep and growing interest in Japanese culture, she wanted me to have a kimono. She had one. Or at least she had, had one. When she lived in Japan in the 1950s a...
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