She has published three books of poems: Haō Bekki (The Emperor’s Unfortunate Lover, 1997), Tamashii dansu (Soul Dance, 2007) and Betto to shokki (Beds and Looms, 2013). Some of the poems in her second collection, which won the Oguma Hideo Prize, appear in English translation in Four from Japan: Contemporary Poetry and Essays by Women (2006) and Soul Dance: Poems of Takako Arai (2008). She is the editor of Mi’Te, a journal featuring poetry and criticism. She teaches Japanese and Japanese poetry at Saitama University.