From Hiroko Sano

I hope all of you had a safe journey home. Again, I would like to thank you all who participated in the IMS10 in Tokyo. Every day I have received quite a few emails of appreciation, too many for me to reply to each immediately! I feel honored to receive many words of thanks and more praise than I deserve. I therefore would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you all.

I have already revealed my true feelings both in my opening and closing addresses. Looking back over the period of the symposium, I was deeply touched that participants from all over the world had a chance to deepen friendships at every scene: at the wine reception and the banquet in Ivy Hall, during the breaks in the foyer of Honda Memorial Hall, at lunchtime in the cafeteria, in the lobby of the National Noh Theatre, in the coaches during the day trips, and at other times. These encounters were further evidence of “Milton’s Global Reach” realized in Tokyo. I believe the Noh play Samson disclosed the elemental and sometime “dark materials” that unify Eastern and Western culture, and that the concert reminded us of the vast aesthetic range of Milton’s art. The one-year postponement notwithstanding, the Noh play was and will hereafter be dedicated to the victims of disasters and wars.

I am very happy and honored to be given the opportunity to organize IMS10. Again, thank you all, and thank you, too, John Milton.

Kindest regards,

Hiroko Sano