Emiko Takai was born in Hokkaido and raised in Kanagawa, Japan.  After graduating Keio University, she worked for a local newspaper in Japan as a reporter/writer for a few years.  She then attended University at Buffalo in Buffalo, NY and obtained a MA in Political Science.  She taught elementary and intermediate Japanese at several universities in the Rochester, NY area for many years.  Nowadays she teaches Japanese classes for adults in New Jersey.  She also has experience working as a translator/interpreter.