The root of my family is a suburb of Kofu in Yamanashi Prefecture 150 killometers west of Tokyo and 50 killometers north by north-west of Mt. Fuji. The town is in a basin surounded by mountains, where two extensions of Fujigawa River merge to run down by-passing Mt. Fuji into Suruga Bay.

My grandfather was an outlaw dentist in the town without liscense. My father, when he was young, run away from home to study by himself in Tokyo. After working and studying under extreme adversity, he graduated a dental school, succeeded to get a liscense and opened a dental clinic in Kawasaki City near Tokyo. After several years of successful business, he invited his parents to his home in Kawasaki to live together. The story is indeed dramatic and very stimulating for me.