Meeting Shiori

I left Koyasan as I had first arrived in April, by cable car and train, headed for Kobe and my first meeting with the newest member of our extended family.

Musumi's sister Narumi and her husband Mitsuhiro welcomed the arrival on 27 December 2007 of a precious Christmas gift, a mostly healthy baby girl. Mostly because she was born with a hernia. The surgery involved was typical and without complication.

During this time I received regular updates from Mutsumi, as well a number of pictures taken from within the Intensive Care Unit.




With a scar on her abdomen, Shiori Narukawa was discharged two weeks later.



Five months further on and she got to meet her uncle Jeff.




We had a wonderful time hanging out together, rolling around on the floor.




Her name looks like this:



The left kanji means "poem" and the right "to weave." A rather lovely name, isn't it?



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