Masako Takeda was born in Nagano, Japan, in 1945. She grew up in Osaka, where she now lives. Graduated from Kyoto University in 1972, Masako initially taught it Mie University and has been teaching at Osaka Shoin Women’s University since 1991. Her wish to spread knowledge and appreciation of Emily Dickinson’s poetry in Japan led her to compile several textbooks on her poetry for Japanese students. She has also translated Dickinson’s love poetry, some of her letters, and a Dickinson cookbook in Japanese. A book recounting her experience in the United States in Search of Emily Dickinson was published in 1996 in Japan. In Search of Emily is her first book written for an American audience.