Tazu Sasaki
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Tazu Sasaki | |
|---|---|
佐々木 たづ | |
| Born | 28 June 1932 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | 3 April 1998 (age 65) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Relatives | Yoda Gakkai (grandfather) |
Tazu Sasaki (28 June 1932 – 3 April 1998; in Japanese 佐々木 たづ ) was a Japanese writer. Sasaki wrote fiction for children; she was known for her adaptations of Japanese fairy tales, and for a children's book about her guide dog, Roberta.
Sasaki was born in Tokyo. Her father was a civil engineer.[1] Her maternal grandfather was scholar Yoda Gakkai. She was a high school student when she lost sight in one eye; despite attempts at surgical intervention, her glaucoma advanced, and by 1953 she was completely blind. She learned to use braille, to type, and to speak English at a training school in Yokohama.
Career
Sasaki published her first book of children's stories in 1958; the collection won Sasaki a cultural award from the Ministry of Health and Welfare.[2] A second collection followed in 1960. In 1962, Sasaki traveled to England to work with Guide Dogs for the Blind at their training centre in Leamington.[1] After five weeks, she returned to Japan with her first guide dog, Roberta; she was believed to be the first person in Japan to have a trained guide dog.[3] She wrote about her life with Roberta in a 1964 book, Let's Go Now, Roberta.[4][5]
In 1965, Sasaki met with Princess Alexandra, patron of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in Britain, at the British Trade Exhibition in Tokyo.[6] In 1966 and 1967, Sasaki and Roberta traveled to the United States to study at Perkins School for the Blind in Boston. Roberta died in 1977.
