Born in Yokohama, Yuki Ainoya studied Japanese painting at the Tama Art University Faculty of Art and Design. She was the winner of the the Crayon House Children’s Book Grand Prize in 1990 and the 12th Japanese Children’s Book Award in 2007 for the original Japanese edition of Sato the Rabbit (Shogakukan). In her spare time, she likes playing the accordion and hula dancing. A Seattle native with a life-long connection to Japan, Michael Blaskowsky spent seven years living on the Japanese island of Hokkaido after graduating from Eastern Washington University. His translations cover a wide range of topics, with a focus on literature, the arts, gaming, and the sciences.
