Introduction

Biography

As a young wo­man, Sarah had hoped to fol­low her sister, Mrs. R. P. Al­ex­an­der, as a mis­sion­ary to Ja­pan. How­ev­er, poor health pre­vent­ed it, so she stayed in Bos­ton, writ­ing, rent­ing rooms and run­ning a tea room.

After her death, her sister pub­lished Per As­pe­ra, Sarah’s book of re­li­gious po­et­ry (Tokyo: Ka­nai Press, 1932). The book’s title can be trans­lat­ed as by rough or through bit­ter­ness.