With respect and love and deepest gratitude I dedicate these sacred memories to my two mothers whose lives and environments were far apart, yet whose hearts met in mine



Acknowledgment to Nancy Virginia Austen Whose pleasant friendship, energetic spirit, and practical knowledge encouraged me to believe that a little Etsu-bo, with a heart full of love for old Japan, could gather the falling fragments of samurai spirit and weave them into a fragrant chain for the readers of today.