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Morning Beach Walk=Wakame Lunch

2012-02-20T13:10:00.000+09:00

Today is a perfect wakame day--sunny skies, light breeze, calm bay--so instead of a morning run, I went for a beach walk. January to March is wakame seaweed season up and down the Shonan coast, and today all the fishing families were out working the wakame.

Yesterday's wakame, crisp-black, was laid out for a final drying, and today's wakame, harvested from rafts out in the bay, was being hung from laundry clips.

I love seeing the freshly hung wakame, blowing in the breeze, up and down the beach.

Alhough the surf was quiet, meaning less seaweed drifting ashore for individual wakame gatherers, at least one person could be spotted with a pole. snagging fronds and dropping them into a bag.

I stopped to talk with one of the fishermen who cultivates wakame. He said that the recent high winds had torn wakame from the cultivation ropes in the bay and pulled some of the ropes from their moorings. Still, he said, the harvest is good this year, though of course, due to climate change and warmer waters, the wakame fronds continue to be shorter.

After chatting for a while, I bought a bagful of wakame from him...

which, at home, turned out to be a huge heaping plateful.

This will keep me content for a few days! For lunch I enjoyed a large fresh wakame salad with sesame seeds and yuzu (citron) ponzu dressing. Perfect! What's your favorite way to eat wakame?

Vietnam--Asia Pacific Poetry Festival Part 5

2012-02-13T19:56:00.000+09:00

Recently I was in Vietnam for the first Asia Pacific Poetry Festival held in Quang Ninh Provice at Halong Bay and in Hanoi. Following is Part 3 of this experience; Part 1 is here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here.

The finale of the festival was a closing banquet held at the swank Daewoo Hotel.

The Cambodia delegation presents Japan with a plaque

Poets Dinah Roma Sianturi and Alice San-Cua, and Alex from the Philippines

A toast

More toasts

and hugs

Nguyen Vu Hung and Yuka Tsukagoshi

Pornpen Hantrakook and Goro Takano

Marjorie Evasco and Mamta Sagar

And there were some final speeches...

good laughs...

songs...

Japan contingent singing the sukiyaki song (Ue o muite)

and even a bit of dancing.

We'd all become fast friends during our week of poetry and it was a lovely celebration to cap the experience.

My last day in Vietnam there were no planned activities, so I joined poet Joel Arnstein for a Hanoi walk. We started at Ngoc Son Pagoda and from there explored Hanoi's Old Quarter.

Approaching Ngoc Son Pagoda

Ngoc Son Pagoda

Hanoi

hardware

bamboo seller

fish seller

egg seller

baskets

closed temple door with money offerings

old city gate

baguette seller

Sidewalk tea break with poet Joel Arnstein, UK/Philippines

Hanoi

Ngoc Son Pagoda

From City View Cafe

After lunch at City View Cafe, we visited the Ethnology Museum to make for a full day. And then it was time for me to depart Vietnam.

I'm so grateful to the organizers of the first Asia Pacific Poetry Festival for inviting me to take part, for the chance to meet poets and translators from near and far, and for treating me to an incredible glimpse of Vietnam. Thank you!

Vietnam--Asia Pacific Poetry Festival Part 4

2012-02-13T19:44:00.002+09:00

Recently I was in Vietnam for the first Asia Pacific Poetry Festival held in Quang Ninh Provice at Halong Bay and in Hanoi. Following is Part 3 of this experience; Part 1 is here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here.

On the morning of our fifth full day, we traveled to the Xu Doai region to visit the Thay Pagoda.

Arriving at the pagoda area

Mariko Nagai lakeside

Poet father and Nguyen Vu Hung

Head monk addressing the poets and Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Fruit dragon

Poets on stage

After greetings and speeches, we toured the pagodas.

Water puppet pavilion

Incense burner

Inside one of the pagoda halls

Surprise!

pagoda hall

Covered bridge

Poets from Sri Lanka

After the tour we sat down under the tent for a huge vegetarian feast prepared by the locals.

In the afternoon we returned to Hanoi and groups of us went downtown for a bit of shopping. At last the sun was out.

Hanoi

Hanoi park

Hanoi sunset

And the finale of the festival was the splashy closing banquet held that evening at the swank Daewoo Hotel.

Continued in Part 5...

Vietnam--Asia Pacific Poetry Festival Part 3

2012-02-13T19:43:00.001+09:00

Recently I was in Vietnam for the first Asia Pacific Poetry Festival held in Quang Ninh Provice at Halong Bay and in Hanoi. Following is Part 3 of this experience; Part 1 is here, Part 2 here.

The Evening Gala of Poetry was held on our third day at Hanoi's Temple of Literature, a Confucian temple that dates back to 1076. Arriving at night was a magical experience.

Temple of Literature entrance

Temple of Literature gate

I was honored to read two pages from Orchards

and I read an English translation for a Vietnamese poet

The following morning we returned to the Temple of Literature, on the occasion of Vietnam's National Poetry Day, for more readings and performances with stages set up in two of the temple's large courtyards. It was lovely to see the temple in daylight.

Temple of Literature

With poets Yuka Tsukagoshi and Mariko Nagai

A long parade of poets arriving

one of many ancient steles

huge drum

entirely flowers

crowds waiting for the events to begin

Poetry was interspersed with musical and dance performances.

Poet Cyril Wong, Singapore reading, with Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Poet Anna Retejum, Russia, and her translator

musical performance

Poet Marjorie Evasco, Philippines and translator

folk dance

performance poetry

Poet Mamta Sagar, India, with Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Poet Goro Takano, Japan, with translator

Poet Azam Abidov, Uzbekistan, singing

Reading my poem "Hills North of Ulaan Baatar"

Performances ended in the early afternoon. Later in the afternoon of that day we boarded buses again for a reception at . . . the Presidential Palace.

Presidential Palace

Poets Goro Takano, me, Ngyuen Phan Que Mai, David McKirdy, Mamta Sagar and Sue Wootten

Once we were seated inside a reception hall, the president of Vietnam greeted us. There were speeches by representatives from Vietnam, Laos, China, Cambodia, Russia, India and Japan, then the president spoke about the success of the festival. Outside we gathered on the steps for photos.

Japan haiku poet Ban'ya Natsuishi with the president

The President of Vietnam addresses the poets

The poets gathered with the President of Vietnam

Yuka Tsukagoshi with the president of Vietnam

Expressing my thanks to the president of Vietnam for this incredible opportunity

Poets Mamta Sagar and Sukrita Paul Kumar of India escort Vietnam poet

And to top off the very full day, the evening included a water puppet performance.

And following a wee bit of sleep, the next morning we traveled to the Xu Doai region to visit Tay Pagoda.

Continued in Part 4...

Vietnam--Asia Pacific Poetry Festival Part 2

2012-02-13T12:50:00.003+09:00

Recently I was in Vietnam for the first Asia Pacific Poetry Festival held in Quang Ninh Provice at Halong Bay and in Hanoi. Following is Part 2 of this experience; Part 1 is here.

On Day 2 of the festival after a morning of poetry readings and lunch at the hotel, the international and Vietnamese poets all boarded boats and set out on Halong Bay. Clouds had lifted, and for most of the trip the drizzle held off. Ha long means dragon descending, and the islands lifting out of the bay indeed looked like the bodies of serpent-like Asian dragons. How apt to visit Halong Bay in this dragon year.

Halong Bay

On board we were interviewed by news teams.

Sheo from Singapore being interviewed

Poet Cyril Wong ready for interview

Huu Thinh with interpreters and translators

Translator Nguyen Vu Hung

After the Halong Bay excursion, some of the international poets met to discuss the poetry today, new directions and new possibilities and the role of festivals and readings. Then following dinner a full evening of readings lasted until nearly midnight. In addition to the readings, some poets sang and performed.

Poet Mariko Nagai, Japan, reads

Poet from Yakutia, Russia

Poet Ban'ya Natsuishi, Japan, reads haiku

Poet Azam Abidov, Uzbekistan, sings

Early the next morning we packed up and our buses departed Halong Bay for Hanoi. Along the way we stopped at the Bat Trang Ceramic Village where we were treated to a lunch feast and had a peek at some of the pottery stalls.

Bat Trang pottery

Shards atop a wall

We arrived in Hanoi in mid-afternoon and settled into Ho Tay Villas, a communist party gated property. Five of us poets from Japan shared this huge "villa."

Ho Tay Villas

Across the way was a small lakeside temple.

Poets Joel Arnstein and Yuka Tsukagoshi

There we enjoyed a quiet stroll before the evening's events at Hanoi's Temple of Literature.

Continued in Part 3...

Vietnam--Asia Pacific Poetry Festival Part 1

2012-02-13T00:32:00.002+09:00

Last week I traveled to Vietnam for the first Asia Pacific Poetry Festival, held in Quang Ninh Province at Halong Bay and in Hanoi. What an unforgettable experience! The festival included about 80 international poets from some 25 countries as well as 40 Vietnamese poets. What a feat to collect all of these poets coming in on different flights and transport them in batches from the airport several hours east to Halong Bay. Five poets attended from Japan: myself and Mariko Nagai, Yuka Tsukagoshi, Goro Takano, and Ban'ya Natsuishi, president of the World Haiku Association.

A ceremony was held on the morning of the first day of the festival, with a marching band and stage fireworks, and opening comments from Poet Huu Thinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association.

Opening ceremony

Then we immediately traveled by bus for an incense ceremony. We were taken to a town center from where we walked through narrow lanes out to the bay to an apparently sacred site. The area was covered with heaps of rubble, though, clearly under deconstruction/construction. We made our way over the rubble to the tent for speeches, performances and the incense ceremony--when all of the poets were invited to come forward to light incense.

Poets making their way through town

Walking to the tent

Starting the incense ceremony

Drum performance

After the incense ceremony and dance and drumming performances, at water's edge we released balloons with banners on which early Vietnamese poems had been written. The balloons quickly disappeared into the mist.

Vietnamese poem on a banner

Balloons with poems

Lunch was followed by the opening sessions of the conference with speeches by the Chairman of the Vietnam Writers' Association, various Vietnamese poets, and several international poets, including me--my speech was titled "Insiders, Outsiders and Those In Between."

Opening sessions

Seating by country

After dinner the poetry readings began, and readings went on until late, each poem read in its original language, then again by a translator. International poets were often called upon to read the translations.

Poet Rida Liamsi, Indonesia

Poet Pornpen Hantrakool, Thailand

me waiting to read a translation for Vietnam poet Mai Van Phan

Poet Goro Takano, Japan

The second full day, we were scheduled for an excursion on Halong Bay, but the bay was socked in with fog, so the schedule was quickly rearranged. Poet readings were held throughout the morning, and we came to know the poets from Laos, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, China, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Russia, India, Indonesia and of course, Vietnam. Now and then we were pulled aside to be interviewed.

With a young journalist who interviewed me

Poets from Japan, seated L to R, Goro Takano, Ban'ya Natsuishi, Mariko Nagai and me standing with Yuka Tsukagoshi

International poets

Poets signing the banner

In the afternoon, the mists had lifted and the limestone islands of Halong Bay were finally visible as we set out on tour boats.

Continued in Part 2...

Lucille Clifton and My Students in Japan

2012-01-31T15:21:00.000+09:00

As the university academic year comes to a close in Japan, my writing students have been busy with final writing portfolios. Students in my poetry classes also give readings of their own poems.

When students enter my poetry classes, most have never written poems in their native language, let alone in English. There is plenty of befuddlement and wariness at the beginning of the term, yet I am always amazed to observe the change as students gain the tools to talk about poetry, to critique others' poems, and to write, revise and finally read their own works before the class . . . in just 15 weeks.

To prepare for readings, I show my students video clips from the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. I try to share a range of poets and reading styles, but every year I'm certain to show videos of the late Lucille Clifton reading. Her style--the pausing, the enunciation, the unhurried and dignified pace of her readings--and her words--with humor and tragedy deftly intertwined--stun and move my students. She is always an inspiration.

In the final classes this term, my students shared words of introduction to each of the poems they'd selected, then read . . . with pauses and stress, humor and emotion and a love of words. I was moved. There were poems of crushes and break-ups, mistakes and triumphs; odes to bras, convenience stores, futons, and Korean dramas; and narrative poems of poignant and personal memories. There were poems created from grim news reports; poems of surprising honesty; wry cinquain poems that drew chuckles; poems of the tsunami and nuclear plant disaster; and poems of hope.

Though there are often complaints over the amount of homework required for this course, in the end, most students say they feel proud of their accomplishments. But my all-time favorite student comment this year was . . . "We should have a poetry conference!"

Orchards receives APALA Asian/Pacific Award for Literature

2012-01-27T18:14:00.000+09:00

Happy dancing this week! My novel Orchards received the 2012 APALA Asian/Pacific Award for Literature in the Young Adult Literature category.

This wonderful bit of ALANews was announced at the American Library Association (ALA) midwinter conference. Administered by the Asian/Pacific American Libraries Association (APALA), APALA Asian/Pacific American Awards, as stated on the ALANews release, "honor and recognize individual works about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage with exceptional literary and artistic merit. The awards are given in five categories, including Adult Fiction, Adult Non-Fiction, Children’s Literature, Young Adult Literature and Picture Book." I am so thrilled with this honor.

Also this week I learned that Orchards is a YALSA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults. Double woohoo!

An auspicious start to the year of the dragon (knock wood...). I am deeply appreciative of this affirmation and encouragement as I go about tackling my next complicated writing projects. Fiction writing just never gets easier...

A Box of...Nishiura Mikan!

2012-01-18T16:33:00.000+09:00

The other day a wonderful package arrived at our house--a large, heavy box.

Inside were...

lots of mikan (Japanese mandarin oranges) and lemons from the orchards in the Nishiura district of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka where I had worked with a farm family when doing research for Orchards (see earlier posts here and here).

In the months when I worked at the farm and lived in one of the mikan growing villages, I ate mikan every day, often 3 or 4 a day. Oh, they were good--I have never tasted better mikan. So what a treat to receive this boxful from the farm family!

Besides the tasty contents, I love the box itself. Why the graphic of Mount Fuji on the side?

Well, because the scenery from Nishiura is like this:

and this:

Both photos were taken at sunrise as I was about to join the farm family for the day working in the mikan groves. Views like these helped me quickly forget about my cold hands and toes. I miss the farm family, the Nishiura hills and that spectacular setting and look forward to my next chance to visit...which will have to be very soon because we are already halfway through that box of mikan.

Kyoto, Machiya and Kizuna

2011-12-30T22:25:00.001+09:00

This week we took a short trip to Kyoto, and rather than stay in a hotel, we opted for a recently renovated machiya or old Kyoto style townhouse. Kyoto machiya have been disappearing--torn down and replaced by new houses, condominiums and parking lots--at an alarming rate for the past few decades, but fortunately there are now individuals and organizations that have been making efforts to preserve and renovate them as homes, shops and rental accommodations. In my novel Ash, the characters Caitlin and Naomi stay at Naomi's aunt's machiya, hence on the World of Ash website there is a section on traditional Kyoto architecture. This trip we stayed at the charming renovated machiya Suoan, a small two-story building with a tsuboniwa (tiny courtyard garden). A few doors away from Suoan was a popular sento (public bath) that we made full use of in the evenings after wintry days of touring about.

Kyoto is one of my favorite places in Japan. Tucked away are so many extraordinary sights and experiences, and the food is incredible.

In addition to central Kyoto, we visited the Fushimi district in the south...

Sake warehouses in Fushimi

Some of the 1,000 or so torii gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha (shrine)

the Arashiyama district in the west...

World Heritage temple Tenryuji


Tenryuji

Daruma painting at Tenryuji

and the Ohara district in the north...


Sanzen-in

Sanzen-in

where the morning sunlight on moss glistening with snowmelt was breathtaking.

And we visited Kyomizudera in the east...

Kiyomizudera (temple)

specifically to see the kanji of the year, kizuna 絆...

meaning bonds or connections, a kanji and concept that gained deep meaning nationwide after the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami.

And to close, this post and this year, here is a hauntingly beautiful piece Kizuna--Prayer for Japan featuring pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto and art by Valerio Berruti.

Fortunately...Unfortunately--Today's Version

2011-12-14T21:29:00.000+09:00

Fortunately, I keep cloud and external hard drive back ups.

Unfortunately...late at night as I complete one final task--compiling contact info of Japanese poets for an organizer of a poetry festival in Vietnam--my new MacBook freezes.

Fortunately...I have an old MacBook I can dust off, and in the morning the draft email can still be accessed on old MacBook and sent.

Unfortunately...new MacBook remains frozen.

Fortunately...I don't have morning classes and can talk at length with Japan's Apple support.

Unfortunately...support says no appointments are available at the Apple store in Shibuya until Friday.

Fortunately...there is a late afternoon appointment available in Ginza, so I change my email password to be safe, and take old computer and new computer to the university.

Unfortunately...old computer has trackpad problems of its own, and it, too, freezes.

Fortunately...I have the appointment at the Apple store, so I can take both MacBooks and in the meantime access gmail on my iPhone.

Unfortunately...changing my email password means that gmail no longer works on my iPhone.

Fortunately...the Apple store employee says all the right kind words.

Unfortunately...new MacBook will take a week to repair; old MacBook will take a week to repair.

Fortunately...nice Apple store employee heeds my plaintive tone and scrambles to arrange for a repair of old MacBook today.

Unfortunately...gmail on iPhone won't be accessible for two days and rush work on Tomo galley corrections will be tough using old MacBook.

Fortunately...when I get home, a wonderful Cambodian curry dinner is waiting. And there is an email from the festival organizer with an official invitation to all the poets I suggested to her PLUS an official invitation to me as well to present at the Asian Poetry Festival in February in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Whew!

Inspired by Remy Charlip's Fortunately.

Tomo Anthology Update

2011-12-04T15:40:00.000+09:00

I'm happy to announce the launch of the Tomo anthology contributor interviews on the Tomo blog (tomoanthology.blogspot.com)! The first interview features Alan Gratz, author of The Brooklyn Nine and Samurai Shortstop and other books. Baseball, ghosts and fiction writing are all touched on in this Alan Gratz interview.

Publication date for Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Fiction is March 10, 2012. ARCs are now being printed, and here is the updated cover.

From now until launch date I will be uploading two or three Tomo contributor interviews per week on the Tomo blog. With over forty contributors, that's a lot of interviews!

Proceeds from the sales of the Tomo anthology will benefit teens in Tohoku affected by the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami, and soon I look forward to sharing news about where exactly the Tomo funds will be directed. Stay tuned!

Manila International Literary Festival

2011-11-23T17:02:00.001+09:00

Last week I attended and presented at the second Manila International Literary Festival, dubbed The Great Philippine Book Cafe. Sponsored by the National Book Development Board and held at the Ayala Museum, the three-day festival was a wonderful introduction to the Manila writing scene and a chance for me to meet some familiar and many new faces. The organizers did an outstanding job with the ambitious program, and I thank Neni Sta. Romana Cruz and Andrea Pasion-Flores for inviting me.

Day 1 I had no presentations so was able to mingle and listen to presentations. The keynote talk by Resil Mojares "Where in the World is the Filippino Writer?" was followed by "Writing from the Margins" featuring Pulitzer prize winners Junot Diaz and Edward P. Jones, including short readings of their work. Discussion ranged from similarities between the Philippines and the Dominican Republic, race as an undercurrent in the U.S., the authors' role models, the differences between short stories and novels, and the thinking groundwork for a novel (ten years of thinking for Edward P. Jones's The Known World).


Edward P. Jones and Junot Diaz

In the afternoon I floated a bit, and peeked in on "In Search of the Next Great Philippine Novel" with authors Jose Dalisay, Jr., Charlson Ong, Alfred Yuson and Edgar Samar.

Following those I attended the lively "Conversation with Junot Diaz." His talk covered his personal background, reading, writing, history and its interplay with writing, and the obligation for every artist to strive to do what no one else is doing. Powerful.

with Junot Diaz

Book blogger Tarie Sabido then introduced me to her circle of book blogging friends who took me out to sample a few Filipino dishes and a weng weng drink before I attended the dinner for speakers at the Ayala Library.

with Tarie Sabido, standing, and book bloggers and friends

Day 2 I had three panel presentations. First was "The Stranger Experience" on writing away from home, cross-cultural experiences, and the multi-faceted immigration experience with Junot Diaz, Gemma Nemenzo and me.

with Junot Diaz and Gemma Nemenzo, Managing Editor of the U.S. magazine Filipinas

Next was a panel on writing for young adults with author Perpi Alipon-Tiongson and publisher RayVi Sunico.

with RayVi Sunico, Perpi Alipon-Tiongson and Tarie Sabido

Book bloggers then took me to Via Mare for more excellent Filipino food for lunch.

After lunch I caught part of "Of Folktales, Myths and Legends" featuring authors who have drawn inspiration from the folklore of the Philippines--I wished I'd been able to catch more about the intriguing tales and legends. And after that I presented on a panel "The Many Forms of the Novel" in which I spoke about writing in verse and read an excerpt from Orchards. I was pleased to meet Que Mai, poet from Vietnam and to come home with one of her books of poetry. I expect she'll be coming out with a novel in verse in the future... It was exciting to share the news of Thanhha Lai's National Book Award win with her on the day it was announced.

with poet Que Mai

That evening I was invited to the home of Yvette Fernandez, Editor-in-Chief of the Philippines Town and Country magazine. There I enjoyed a Filipino feast, a bit more conversation with Junot Diaz before he left for the airport, family conversations, and amazing mango, rice cake and turon (banana rolls).

Filipino hospitality

And I learned that there are some impressive beetles in the Philippines.

Friday morning I caught up with Nikki Torres, Assistant Regional Advisor of SCBWI Philippines, at an early breakfast meeting--it was so good to meet face to face. Next time I'm in the Philippines I hope to have more time to do an event with the chapter.

with Dominique (Nikki) Garde Torres

At the festival Day 3, I attended the panel "Mentoring the Writer" with Jayapriya Vasudevan and Priya Doraswamy of Jacaranda Press, Rachel Kahan, Senior Editor at G.P. Putnam, and Ravi Mirchandani, Editor-in-Chief of Atlantic Books U.K., which opened with a contract signing with crime writer F. H. Batacan.

Blurry, but a great celebratory moment with Priya Doraswamy and Jayapriya Vasudevan and F. H. Batacan, seated, with NBDB's Andrea Pasion-Flores and Neni Sta. Romana Cruz in the back

Ravi Mirchandani (Atlantic U.K.), Rachel Kahan (G. P. Putnam), Priya Doraswamy (Jacaranda Press), Jayapriya Vasudevan (Jacaranda Press) and author Jose Dalisay, Jr.

Next up was "A Conversation with Edward P. Jones" in which he shared his background and his amazing brain that held the details of his book The Known World for ten years before he began writing. He spoke on revision, the importance of reading, and the need for everyone to discover their talent.

Edward P. Jones signing my books

Next I went to "So You Got Yourself Published. Now What?" with the same great panel of agents and editors. And finally I presented with author Carljoe Javier on teaching fiction writing. Great fun!

with Andrea Pasion-Flores, Executive Director of the NBDB, and author Carljoe Javier

And the amazing Tarie Sabido, book blogger extraordinaire, and Honeylein de Peralta, Managing Editor of Flipside Digital Content, then took me to Intramuros, the old walled city. Not ideal timing since it was dark and the fort was closed, but it was so nice to have a glimpse at the area, even at night. We had a perfect meal of Filipino specialties at Ilustrado to cap off my visit.

Tarie and Honey pore over the menu at Ilustrado

Excellent choices, Tarie!

I look forward to reading more stories from the Philippines and I believe that we will soon be seeing more and more literature coming from this multilingual, diverse and complex country. The Philippines has MA, MFA, and Ph.D. programs in creative writing. There is tremendous energy and drive in the writing community, and I predict that we'll soon see more of its talented authors emerging into the spotlight. Thank you, Manila!

Meeting up with Semester at Sea Professor and Students

2011-11-14T21:14:00.000+09:00

Today I had an opportunity to meet up with a group of students from the Semester at Sea program...now in Japan and nearing the end of their around-the-world tour. You can read blogposts of their current voyage here. Professor Rashna Singh, my former World Literature in English professor in the graduate program at New York University some years back, had contacted me to meet up with the group. She asked me to talk to them about my Japan-set writing in a program titled How Place Informs Story. It was a rushed visit but we walked and talked and zipped up to Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura as the sun was setting, then ate okonomiyaki.

Here we are just before heading up the Dankazura walkway that leads to Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine--the group includes current college students and lifelong learner adult students:

And Professor Singh with me on the shrine grounds:

Rashna Singh is the author of, among other titles, Goodly is Our Heritage: Children's Literature, Empire, and the Certitude of Character. I loved Professor Singh's world literature class at NYU; one paper I wrote for her on the use of non-English words in English language fiction--a comparative study of three novels--had me spending hours learning bits of Swahili. Words she said in her course have continued to guide me and resonate with me for years as I write my books. Some teachers truly become lifelong friends and mentors.

Wishing the SAS group smooth sailing as they head to Hawaii then Central America!

The Amazing Mary Kole in Tokyo

2011-11-12T21:53:00.000+09:00

Thanks to an SCBWI regional grant, SCBWI Tokyo was fortunate to host Agent Day with Literary Agent Mary Kole from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Full disclosure...my agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton is also from the same agency. But the impetus for this event came not from me but from SCBWI Tokyo members eager to meet Mary, who regularly doles out so much helpful advice on her kidlit.com website.

The event took place at Yokohama International School on October 29 and 30. On Saturday she gave a full day of talks--on craft, on queries and on first pages. Using actual sample queries and first pages from SCBWI Tokyo and SCBWI Hong Kong members, Mary offered helpful, humorous and honest feedback; her suggestions for improvement seemed to be appreciated by all participants, whether pre-published or published. Mary also squeezed in fifteen 15-minute face to face private critiques over two days. Despite the rigorous schedule, Mary enthusiastically joined members for lunch on Saturday and for dinner at a Motomachi izakaya on Saturday.

On Sunday at the end of the marathon event, I had a chance to take Mary to one of my favorite gardens, Sankeien, for a quick stroll and soba lunch.

Mary at Sankeien Gardens in Yokohama

Thank you, Mary Kole, for coming to Japan!

Orchards helps support the Hafu film project

2011-11-09T21:54:00.001+09:00

Hafu is a documentary film-in-the-making about the mixed-race experience in Japan. On Indiegogo.com the filmmakers are now trying to raise $10,000 to enable them to complete their project. There are some great perks for donating, including a copy of the film, music, and books (including five copies of Orchards). Check out the Hafu film page on Indiegogo.com.

This film evolved out of the Half Japanese Project, which aims to create a dialogue between cultures. It's a fascinating project with a great website that I've been following for several years and have used in my university discussion classes. Links to some interesting videos are at the bottom of their web page.

I'm so looking forward to the release of this film Hafu. Year by year Japan is becoming more multicultural, and year by year more mixed-race children are born in Japan. This cultural diversity deserves far more attention and celebration.

Update

Check out this Nov. 12, 2011 article by Kris Kosaka in the Japan Times: "Searching for connections drives young documentarian--Peace activist Megumi Nishikura seeks common humanity in all races."

On Seeing Shaun Tan

2011-11-03T12:19:00.000+09:00

Alas, the title of this post is not "On Meeting Shaun Tan" but I feel so lucky to have attended his JBBY sponsored lecture in Tokyo on October 22. All 500 tickets had sold out and there was a line of at-the-door hopefuls.

Shaun Tan's stories have been on my radar for a long time, and my favorites are The Arrival

and Tales from Outer Suburbia.

All of Shaun Tan's stories deal with notions of belonging, of insiders and outsiders, and home. As the son of a Chinese-Malaysian father and an English-Irish-Australian mother and married to a Finnish woman, Tan is well-poised to tackle ideas of straddling cultures. Yet his stories do so indirectly, by wedding realism with fantasy, by combining observational painting and drawing with imaginary stories, or as Tan said, by exploring "reality in all its strangeness."

At the event on October 22, we first were treated to a screening of the Academy Award-winning film "The Lost Thing" based on his picture book of the same title, in which a large, living, lost object is found by a boy and brought home like a puppy. Tan explained that he loves drawing emotions that feel real but are dislocated into another place.

When Tan took the stage he immediately told us a story, "Eric" from Tales from Outer Suburbia. He narrated it straight-faced, as if he were sharing an actual family memory of an exchange student's visit, while simultaneously showing illustrations from the story. Since Eric is about the size and shape of a maple leaf, the effect was hilarious.

The Arrival, as Tan explained, though wordless, is heavily research-based--he had collected and researched numerous immigrant stories and studied waves of mass migration. He discovered common emotions of anxiety and loneliness in what felt like disconnected places. Then he used fantasy to create a world unfamiliar to all readers and himself, and to remind readers of the strangeness of ordinary life. Though Tan has never migrated himself, the book is one of the most compelling and moving migration stories I have ever encountered. See this page from Shaun Tan's website on the inspiration for and process of creating The Arrival.

Tan said that he doesn't set out to tell a meaningful story, that he's actually just having fun painting. But since painting is a slow process that allows for lots of time to think, when he steps back from a painting he's often surprised to see the depth of meaning that has come through. Like the silent water buffalo in one of his stories who wordlessly points people toward a solution, painting can also point vaguely in a direction that seems interesting and worth exploring.

Shaun Tan spoke with an interpreter for about 90 minutes--and what a full 90 minutes it was. His talk covered his early drawings, background and training, family, research, discussions of The Lost Thing, The Arrival, several stories from Tales from Outer Suburbia, The Red Tree, and new work.

After an intermission, author/illustrator Satoshi Kitamura who'd been spotted in the audience, plus another Japanese author/illustrator whose name I couldn't catch were brought on stage and invited to ask questions of Shaun Tan. A few questions that had been submitted by the audience were also directed at Tan. In response to one question, he said, "There is almost nothing more distressing to me than a perfect line. I like the nervousness and unfinished look of working by hand." He likened his philosophy to that of Japanese calligraphy where there is mastery without control, and the artist is "at peace with the accident."

So I didn't get to meet him personally or host an SCBWI event. But I feel so incredibly lucky to have heard Shaun Tan give such a full and inspiring talk on his books that have meant so much to me. I look forward to his next works juxtaposing observation and imagination and exploring the gap between the familiar and the unfamiliar.

Cake Illustration

2011-10-10T09:16:00.000+09:00

It's birthday season again--pressure for me to come up with cake designs. Since part of yesterday's party took place at the beach, I went with that theme.

First the land, water and sky.

Then I sprinkled granulated kokuto (brown sugar) for the beach sand and maccha green tea powder mixed with sugar for the green hills. A piece of dried mango became the Enoshima lighthouse.

Next, a few details--dried mango fishing boats and of course...fish.

Jelly beans became surfboards, and sprinkles worked for the people on the beach. And I sculpted Mount Fuji from hagi (mochi covered with crushed black sesame, filled with azuki) and added a snow cap of powdered sugar.

Okay, so the lower left corner of the cake wasn't so popular, but one guest actually requested a fish.

Orchards Book Trailer

2011-09-30T09:06:00.001+09:00

Hope you enjoy this trailer for Orchards created by ASIJ library intern Ellen Yaegashi. Thanks, Ellen!

And Orchards has been nominated for an ALA YALSA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults--check out the YALSA list of nominated titles.

Return to Ishinomaki--Six Months After

2011-09-14T00:17:00.000+09:00

Last week, just before the six-month anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, I traveled north to Tohoku to complete another volunteer work stint with the NGO Peace Boat in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. In late April and early May, during Golden Week, I had joined an 8-day trip. This time I joined a 4-night, 3-day trip--2 nights on overnight bus and 2 nights staying at the Kasuka Fashion factory building.

our lodgings

Conditions for volunteers have changed dramatically since my first trip when we had to bring our own tents, food, water and gear. Now most gear can be borrowed, lunch and dinner are served, water is available, tents are not necessary, and there are even...daily showers.

shower stalls

And Ishinomaki itself looked quite different from the sludge shoveling days of spring. Most of the debris has been heaped into organized mountains, mud has been removed, destroyed cars have been gathered and stacked, and shells of houses stand amid cleared open areas now filling with weeds.

debris mountain

miles and miles of damaged homes

The volunteer work that our team was assigned to do was all in the same location--Oginohama, a small fishing community part way out the Oshika Peninsula. The tsunami had overrun the fishing port and poured over the torii gate at the base of the shrine. Our efforts for the three days were to ready the shrine and surrounding grounds so that the locals remaining in the area could hold their important annual shrine festival. On day one, many teams worked together to clean the neglected 200 steps up to the mountaintop shrine, scrubbing away moss and mud for hours on end.

Some teams worked with the fishermen helping to cut ropes in preparation for wakame cultivation, an alternative to oyster farming which was heavily damaged and takes longer to revive. The port area had sunk about one meter; high tides now inundate the pier.

cutting rope for wakame

submerged pier

On day two we returned to the shrine, and our team was assigned to weed and cut grass alongside the upper steps.

weeding and grass cutting

In the afternoon, locals cut bamboo poles, and volunteers helped hoist the festival flags.

preparing the flags

festival flags hoisted

We returned to Ishinomaki via Onagawa, one of the most dramatically and brutally hit towns along the coast. The tsunami reached 18 meters in Onagawa (60 feet), even flooding the first floor of the hospital, high on a hill. Debris in Onagawa has been mostly cleared, leaving a stark, eerie and sobering landscape.

Onagawa Hospital

police box on its side

climbing up to the hospital

view from the hospital

trying to comprehend

the tsunami reached the top of this building

Back at our home base, after dinner, tsunami survivor Yoshinobu Bandai spoke to volunteers, sharing his harrowing experience of escape in Ishinomaki, his despair at hearing people's last cries for help, and the grim scenes the days after the tsunami. He implored us all to heed disaster warnings, to not hesitate in escaping to higher ground in case of tsunami, and to be wary of predicted heights of tsunami waves--in Ishinomaki the warning had been for just a six-meter wave.

with Yoshinobu Bandai

Later we watched Peace Boat's DVD of earthquake, tsunami, and volunteer efforts.

On the third and final day we returned to Oginohama for the actual matsuri (festival) event. Peace Boat volunteers set up for a barbecue then joined the priest and priestess and locals climbing the 200 very clean steps to the shrine for the ceremony.

Volunteers waited in silence outside the shrine during the proceedings.

Afterward we descended the steps...

and the mikoshi (portable shrine) was brought out and carried through the harbor rubble, to the few habitable homes and temporary housing for purification rites, then out to the pier followed by the elementary school students--now only nine in the area, down from 20 due to relocation after the tsunami.

bringing the mikoshi down the steps

carrying the mikoshi through the port area

the procession

stopping at the temporary housing units

The mikoshi and drums, children and priest and a few volunteers went on one boat, and most of the volunteers and locals on the others, and we chugged out into the bay toward a pair of islands. The scenery was stunning and it was difficult to imagine a tsunami on that placid sea.

Back in the port, we cooked up the feast that Peace Boat had prepared and served the local residents who seemed to enjoy this day of community and festivity.

After the feast, all played Bingo and a raucous round of suika wari (blindfolded watermelon bashing) followed.

This trip to Ishinomaki was short but deeply meaningful. My teammates, once again, were amazing--patient, thoughtful, and hard-working.

my team departing Ishinomaki

And Peace Boat staff members, selfless volunteers themselves, continue to awe and impress me. I am so grateful for these brief opportunities to join them in helping Tohoku recover.

Orchards Giveaway for World Suicide Prevention Day

2011-09-06T11:10:00.002+09:00

In honor of World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, I will be giving away five copies of my young adult verse novel Orchards (see the book trailer here) to middle or high school students, or teachers, librarians or parents of middle or high schools students. I will mail the copies to addresses anywhere in the world. To qualify, please leave a comment on this blog post below (these will be moderated) and include a few words about why you'd like to receive a copy of Orchards. I will draw five names on September 10 sometime in the evening EDT (morning September 11 Japan time). UPDATE: Comment period extended through September 30, 2011.

World Suicide Prevention Day aims to raise awareness around the globe that suicide can be prevented. The 2011 theme is "Preventing Suicide in Multicultural Societies." Toolkits, suggested activities and information are available via the International Association for Suicide Prevention. See what you can do to help prevent suicide, from wherever you are in the world.

Typhoon 12 Cloud and Surf Action

2011-08-31T21:34:00.000+09:00

Typhoon number 12, or Typhoon Talas, is headed straight for central Japan. I cycled down to the beach in Kamakura just before sunset to check out the wave and cloud action. The tide was nearly high, and waves were surging up to the lifeguard stations and flooding into the beach road underpasses. People were scurrying about securing boats, fishing equipment and beach restaurant paraphernalia.

Surfers seemed happy though, as did a maniac kayaker. The light was constantly changing, the surf charging then quieting then raging. These photos were taken from one location on the beach within a time span of just 30 minutes.

Our bikes and potted plants have been secured or brought indoors, laundry poles have been stowed, humidity is now at 95%...now just to wait as Typhoon 12号 slowly approaches. Happy last day of August!

Minka and Novel Revision

2011-08-25T13:37:00.000+09:00

The other day I had a chance to visit the home of Yoshihiro Takishita, architect and minka (old Japanese houses) preservationist. During our visit, in one eighteenth-century minka of the gassho zukuri peaked-roof style on Takishita's property, he was explaining the dismantling and moving process of that enormous farmhouse from the snow country (where it was to be discarded). He spoke of removing the roof, the walls, the sliding doors, the floors, and then carefully taking apart the posts and beams with their mortise and tenon joinery and the massive curved beams that weave over and under and lock into place. "It is really just the skeleton that we move," he said. And I realized that was exactly the process I was undergoing with my current novel.

In my novel revisions, I have had to remove the roof, tear down the walls, pull up the floorboards and remove the doors. And I have hammered the pegs out of tongue and groove joints and taken apart chapters and poems and stanzas beam by beam. The beams and posts exposed and dismantled, I have taken the pieces and moved them not to a different part of the country as often happens with minka, but forward in time and situation. And now I am undergoing the process of reconstruction--reassembling the frame, repairing structural problems, recarving some problematic posts, and little by little adding new walls, flooring and roof.

It is a tedious process, and I often wish I had physical pieces to actually manipulate. But it helped me to see the minka, to see the intricate joinery work, to gaze up into the lashed roof beams, to study how pine beams of enormous girth could be woven together, and to think of the labor behind the final product. I was reminded of the patience required of minka craftsmen...and I am inspired to keep rebuilding and refining my novel.

Yanohara House, Sankeien (Wikimedia Commons)

You don't have to go to Japan's snow country to see minka. You can spot them here and there throughout Japan, even in greater Tokyo. In Yokohama, you can enter the preserved gassho zukuri style minka, the Yanohara House. And just outside of Tokyo in Kawasaki, the Nihon Minkaen is an excellent place to spend a day exploring minka moved from all around Japan. Davina Pardo recently made the documentary film Minka about Takishita's home--I'm eager to get to a screening.

Yukata Contest

2011-08-07T10:45:00.000+09:00

In my novel Orchards, Kana is presented with a yukata by her grandmother. In my novel Ash, Caitlin recalls the pair of yukata that Mie's grandmother had made for them. It's hard to write a novel set in Japan in summer without mentioning yukata. It's hard to imagine summer in Japan without yukata, the summer kimono, worn especially for bon odori dancing, fireworks and festivals.

This year I joined a local dance circle, and my dance teacher cajoled me into entering a yukata contest at a big temple festival in Fujisawa. I have several ordinary yukata of my own, but members of the circle suggested one of the teacher's yukata with a willow and umbrella design. Another member loaned a linen obi. The teacher's daughter made me a hairpin with handblown glass. They helped me dress, tied the obi, put up my hair and I was ready to go.

Up on stage, contestants were asked questions--details about their yukata and obi. I had practiced a few responses, and fortunately they didn't throw me any tough questions.

This man had made his own yukata and urged more men to enjoy wearing yukata in summer.

Some of the other yukata and obi were stunning. I loved this hand-painted obi.

Much to my surprise my name was announced for first runner up.

I was presented with a sash, a gift and a cash award.

And photos followed.

And more photos.

And after the contest, the music started, and huge crowds danced the tanko bushi and other Obon dances around the dais. It was a crazy, fun evening.

My dance teacher first learned to dance in her hometown of Kesennuma, a city in northeast Miyagi Prefecture that was ravaged by the March 11 tsunami. As I've told her, I already know where I'm sending my prize money.

Taking to the Hills--Kamakura Hiking

2011-08-02T16:04:00.000+09:00

Kamakura has hiking trails winding all through its hills. Midsummer they are cool and serene, quiet save for cicadas and bush warblers. The hills climb fast to panoramic vistas and long ridges that skirt finger-like valleys. After rains the forests are lush. Ferns are hip high. Fan palms hide the trail. And here and there are caves, tiny shrines, rows of tombstones—marks of history. Worn stones reveal where others have stepped…for centuries. One of the paths I walk leads past the Takatoki hara-kiri caves. Another goes by Mandara-do with its multi-storied cave tombs. Kamakura has hundreds of burial caves from the Kamakura era dug into cliffsides. Many are filled with gorinto, stupas of five-element "rings" representing from bottom to top earth, water, fire, wind, space. There are still paths I haven’t explored in all these years in Kamakura, and even on the paths I've hiked many times, I'm always discovering something I hadn't noticed before. This summer I am exploring the trails. Between writing and editing, I am taking to the hills. Some days are for running, some days are for beach walks, but other days I need a hike.

Nagoe Kiridoshi

Mandara-do yagura (cave tombs)

Mandara-do yagura with many gorinto

View of Kamakura

A neighborhood festival on the four-month anniversary

2011-07-16T18:56:00.000+09:00

Recently the four-month anniversary of the March 11 earthquake was marked with ceremonies, as well as assessments of the clean-up work and conditions for evacuees and survivors. Despite constant efforts, sixty percent of the tsunami debris remains to be cleared. The summer heat has been intense since the beginning of July, and conditions for volunteers and locals in Tohoku have been especially tough. Progress happens though, as one volunteer put it, bag by bag. Here is a wonderful account by a volunteer I met when I went to Tohoku with the NGO Peace Boat, and here are two blog posts showing what teams of volunteers can accomplish in just two days of work: before and after.

In my Kamakura neighborhood, the four-month anniversary coincided with the annual summer matsuri, a shrine festival dating back hundreds of years. Major events like the Kamakura fireworks have been canceled this year, but local festivals that celebrate community are still on.

Parading the mikoshi (portable) shrine through the streets

Child-size mikoshi

Four mikoshi tied together and carried in tandem through the streets

Throughout the weekend, the theme was helping Tohoku and encouraging Japan. The lottery featured many products from Tohoku.

A woman waves a fan with a winning lottery number

Turnout for the festival was higher than in past years, with far more families and individuals participating than usual. The culminating event was Bon Odori dancing on the grounds of the small shrine, founded in 1082.

A dance group leads off Bon Odori

In the lantern- and moonlight, men and women, young children and older people, danced round and round a huge old tabu no ki tree. Just a few joined in at first, then more, and more, and more. Last year we were a trickle. This year, instead of a single ring, we were multiple rings, a neighborhood throng circling that tree.

No one wanted the dances to end. Each time the music stopped there were calls for more. Round and round that great old tree, a huge circle of community seemed to be saying, "Together we can do this."

A student's words on Fukushima

2011-07-05T23:56:00.001+09:00

Teaching is tough some days. Not because of the marking and prep work, but because of the deep emotions and pain sometimes shared by students.

In some of my courses, teams of students lead discussions; they come up with a topic, prepare readings, and create pre-reading and discussion questions. One of today's discussions was on food safety in post 3/11 Japan. During these student-led discussions, I participate as if I were a student, and in my food safety group today, a student from Fukushima spoke up--poised, thoughtful, but clearly anguished. Here are her words:

"I'm from Fukushima. My grandfather is a farmer in western Fukushima. He grows rice and vegetables like eggplant, tomatoes and cucumbers.

"Of course I eat food from Fukushima. I eat my grandfather's food. I have to support people from Fukushima since I'm from Fukushima. But I'm suspicious. Is it really safe?

"People say Fukushima is dangerous. Did you hear him just now? [referring to a student across the room] He just said Fukushima is dangerous. Everyone thinks all of Fukushima is dangerous.

"Here's a true story: My aunt drove down to Chiba to shop and buy groceries at a supermarket about a week after the earthquake. When she came out of the supermarket she found Fukushima e kaere [go back to Fukushima!] written on the car window... and no cars parked nearby.

"My father's friend died in the tsunami. His wife is suffering from severe depression. There have been suicides.

"I want to know how this could happen. Nuclear power is not safe, but TEPCO told us, 'It's safe! It's safe!' Why did this happen?

"I want an explanation from the government. And most important, I want the government to be honest."

We listened. We asked her questions. She asked us questions. We shared our hopes for Fukushima and her grandfather.

And after class I sat in my office in aching silence.

Books for Tomorrow Project and other initiatives for Tohoku

2011-07-04T08:00:00.002+09:00

On Saturday I went to Tokyo for the wonderful Charity Lectures: Writers Talk about the 3/11 Disaster and the Books for Tomorrow Project. The Books for Tomorrow Project (in Japanese あしたの本) is a joint initiative by the Japan Board on Books for Young People (JBBY), Japan P.E.N. Club, the Japan Publishers Club (JPC), and the Japan Publishing Foundation for Culture (JPIC). The mission of the Books for Tomorrow Project is to support children affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami through books. As stated on the JBBY website, "By working to put books in the hands of children, the Books for Tomorrow Project seeks to provide sources of comfort and enjoyment that will bolster their strength as they cope with the fears, anxieties, and uncertainties they face. The project involves a variety of activities centered on books and book-related programs."

The event was held at in Osaki at Gate City Osaki Hall along with the exhibit of children's book illustrations for the Books for Tomorrow Charity Auction. Before and after the event, participants wandered through the gallery area viewing the donated artwork, all still open to bidding online. There are so many great illustrations, including several donated by SCBWI Tokyo members.

Viewing Akiko Hayashi's artwork showing the beloved Kon and Aki characters

The talks were moderated by Akira Nogami, director of the Japan P.E.N. Club, and the first speaker was International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) president, Ahmad Redza Ahmad Khairuddin, visiting Japan for a week and on his way up to Tohoku. He mentioned that the Books for Tomorrow Project exemplified the fact that often the best of people comes to the surface in bad times.

IBBY president Ahmad Redza Ahmad Khairuddin with interpreter

Following Ahmad Redza, Eiko Kadono, author of Majo no takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service) spoke of her experience reading to children in Tohoku. She also recalled her return to Tokyo a couple years after World War II and that on her arrival Akihabara the smell of burnt wood still permeated the air. She likened the landscapes of the tsunami-hit coasts of Tohoku to post-war Japan. She urged us each to take responsibility to help Japan forward.

Sachiko Kashiwaba, author of Dai obasan no fushigina reshipi (Great Aunt's Mysterious Recipes) and many other titles, spoke of the frightening night of 3/11 in Iwate, and their fear and worry for all the people on the coast. She spoke of meeting with teachers and the principal of a school in a tsunami-hit town, of listening to their harrowing tales of escape, and of the monumental challenge of helping children process their experiences when there are so few counselors in Tohoku. And she urged people to visit and support Iwate Prefecture.

Author Sachiko Kashiwaba

Author Jun Saito spoke about the Ehon Project, begun by children's book editor and founder of Suemori Books, Chieko Suemori, and how the call for books led to mountains of books and that now the task lies in delivering them via their mobile libraries. Manga artist Machiko Satonaka talked of the desire to help through manga and the resulting Manga Japan group's charity auction (Japanese language). Atsuo Nakamura, actor and writer spoke of environmental issues, the destruction to the environment through nuclear power dependency, and the unfortunate manner in which the dangers have been hidden from people in Japan.

Wrapping up the event, novelist Eto Mori shared her struggle to discover what she could do to help. She recalled being asked to write pieces immediately after the earthquake, but she explained that authors are the people walking behind everyone else, the ones left pondering after everyone else has left the scene, and that she needed time to process the disaster. She went to Tohoku to volunteer but was discouraged that she didn't have more physical strength to offer to clean-up operations. She came to realize there were other ways she could help and decided to focus on rescuing pets from the affected areas.

After the talks, participants were invited to view the Books for Tomorrow mobile library (toshokan basu), which heads up to Tohoku later this month.

I chatted with Kiyoshi Nakaizumi of JPIC by the bus, decorated with fair-weather clouds and favorite children's book characters. He said that they would first take this mobile library to the hard-hit cities of Rikuzentakata, in Iwate Prefecture, and Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture.

Author Eiko Kadono has a closer look

The Books for Tomorrow Project welcomes donations. For those in Japan see JBBY's Books for Tomorrow Project bank transfer info and for those outside Japan see the IBBY Appeal for Japan page.

What an inspiring day full of creative, book-related messages of hope for Tohoku!

Early Summer

2011-07-02T10:49:00.010+09:00

I love this time of year in Kamakura.

Drums sound in the evenings as children of various neighborhood associations prepare for festivals.

Lanterns go up.

Dashi floats are rolled out.

Festivals begin.

Tanabata decorations wave in the wind...

for the seventh day of the seventh month.

Lotus leaves fill ponds.

Buds rise from the water.

And the flowers are good.

May some of this joy find its way north to Tohoku.

Announcing Tomo--A YA Anthology of Japan-Related Fiction

2011-06-18T15:48:00.000+09:00

I am so happy to make this news official today! Tomo 友, an anthology of young adult fiction set in or related to Japan will be published in print and digital formats by Stone Bridge Press in Spring 2012. I will be the editor of this anthology, and the call for submissions is on my new Tomo blog. Please visit the Tomo blog for submission guidelines, sign on as a follower, and spread the news to writers with a connection to Japan by heritage or by experience. The submission deadline is August 15, 2011.

Tomo 友, which means friend in Japanese, is a benefit anthology to support teens affected by Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. The publication of Tomo will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated vast areas of northeastern Japan and resulted in loss of life and livelihood for thousands in northeastern Japan.

Why Tomo? As I explain on the Tomo blog, so many teens in Tohoku have lost parents, siblings, relatives, friends, homes, schools, and huge swaths of their cities, towns and villages. Their teen worlds have been upended. Many will suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome. Many will need financial support to complete their education.

Proceeds from the sales of the Tomo anthology will go to organizations that assist teens in the quake and tsunami hit areas. Tomo will link writers of young adult fiction with readers worldwide and the teens in Tohoku in need of their support.

Stone Bridge Press, with its focus on books related to Japan and Asia, is a perfect fit for this project. It is a pleasure to be working with the Stone Bridge team again.

The Tomo blog will feature news about the anthology, interviews with contributors, and information about the teens, locations and organizations that Tomo will support.

I am so excited about this new venture, to be in the editing role for a collection of Japan-related young adult fiction, and to be setting in motion a project that will benefit teens in the quake- and tsunami-affected areas who are coping with layer upon layer of loss. May their days ahead be full of promise... and friends from near and far.

Singapore's Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC)

2011-06-02T19:38:00.000+09:00

I recently returned from a few days in Singapore where I attended the Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC). Like last year, the 2011 AFCC conference sessions were held at the 200-year-old Arts House, Singapore's first Parliament House, near Raffles' Landing Site, a riverside location in the midst everything.

Boat Quay, Raffles' Landing Site

the quay opposite the Arts House area

entrance to the Arts House

On the evening before the conference there was a kickoff panel presentation on the Kidlitosphere and YA Blogosphere with the amazing trio of Tarie Sabido (Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind, Into the Wardrobe and Color Online), Myra Garces-Bacsal (Gathering Books) and Corinne Robson (PaperTigers).

Tarie Sabido, Myra Garces-Bacsal, Corinne Robson

SCBWI is one of the supporting organizations of AFCC, and president Stephen Mooser gave the opening keynote of the conference, somewhat dwarfed in the lofty parliament chamber.

SCBWI President Stephen Mooser delivering the keynote

AFCC is the brainchild of Dr. R Ramachandran in particular, and the conference has developed rapidly over the past two year thanks to the hard work of many individuals.

Kenneth Quek, SCBWI Singapore Regional Advisor; Jade Yong, National Book Development Council of Singpore; R Ramachandran, AFCC Festival Director; Kathleen Ahrens, SCBWI International Regional Advisor Chairperson

At AFCC, I gave two presentations, one on author/illustrator school visits, and the other on writing fiction for young adults, plus I moderated sessions by author Christopher Cheng, author/illustrator Yangsook Choi, and editor Neal Porter. Sessions for authors and illustrators were squeezed into two days this year, so I missed out on some great presentations I'd have liked to attend that were concurrent with mine or those I was moderating.

There were First Look and First Pages panel critiques for both authors and illustrators.

First Pages Panel Critiques with moderator Kathleen Ahrens, SCBWI International Regional Advisor Chairperson; Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary Agency; Stephen Mooser, SCBWI President; Sayoni Basu, Scholastic India

Chris Cheng presented on App and e-book development.

Christopher Cheng on Apps

During the conference, SCBWI members from around Asia and the Pacific gathered for a meeting and dinner...

SCBWI members from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, the U.S. Australia, and Canada

and it was great to meet members from some of the newer and rapidly growing SCBWI regions.

SCBWI Malaysia members with Stephen Mooser

The President of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste gave a special lecture and introduced Luis Soriano Bohorquez of Biblioburro, who started a traveling library with donkeys in Columbia. PaperTigers has a great blog post with video about his Biblioburro programs.

Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta and Luis Soriano Bohorquez

Three other SCBWI Tokyo members attended AFCC this year. See if you can spot them.

a few SCBWI Tokyo members with AFCC attendees from all over

In addition to the conference I squeezed in a couple international school visits where the students and librarians had created some great displays.


the librarian had even prepared bowls full of mikan

for Japan

wakame and U.S.-Japan culture work

There was a wee bit of time to visit some older neighborhoods...

Kampong Glam/Arab District

Sultan Mosque

Kampong Glam/Arab District

and to visit new neighborhoods...including Marina Bay Sands, approached from the Helix Bridge.

Marina Bay Sands and the lotus flower-like ArtsScience Museum

Double Helix Bridge

ArtScience Museum

Of course, I briefly checked out the infinity pool and Skypark, 57 stories high.

At the end of the day, I thoroughly appreciated the solar-powered, motion-sensor activated, strategically located cooling spots.

outdoor cooling fans

And thanks to a friend's urging, I tried a Singapore street cart delicacy...

can you guess?

a block of ice cream in a folded slice of sweet bread

Singapore was hot, some would say sweltering, every day--a nice change for me. The weather in Japan continues to be cool and rainy. But one of these days the sun will have to come out...right?

Mikan Blossoms

2011-05-21T00:06:00.000+09:00

Opening my study window lately has brought me the faint scent of mikan blossoms--the neighbor has a single mikan tree in her yard. Catching that aroma has made me long for mikan orchards, so I made a brief day trip down to the Nishiura district of northwest Izu this week. I've been meaning to visit since Orchards was released...but almost nothing has gone as expected in Japan this spring.

In Nishiura, my husband and I dropped in on the farm family that I worked with for 18 months. It was like visiting relatives you have missed, and I was finally able to give them a copy of Orchards.

The generations have shifted in the few years since I worked there: the grandfather and grandmother have both passed away, and the eldest son now has two young children. It is reassuring to know that the three-generation household continues.

We sat and chatted at the house for over an hour, catching up on family news and recent happenings. We talked about tsunami escape routes, nuclear power, and how what used to seem safe is no longer really safe. How years ago in the villages the houses were all set farther back from the bay but that gradually they have been built closer and closer to the water for convenience.

Then we drove up in the truck to the terraced orchards and parked in the grove where I'd done my very first thinning work.

the farmer with a copy of Orchards

And thanks to cool temperatures lately, flowering has been delayed, so that the mikan trees up at 160 meters are just now in full bloom. The fragrance wafts over the mountains and blows through the villages, a rich honey aroma like that of jasmine. I have so missed that scent, and in the groves I gulped lungs full of the sweet air.

mikan (Citrus unshu) blossoms

We looked closely at the flowers on the trees and tasted the nectar surrounding the tiny peppercorn-sized mikan inside.

examining the flowers

We talked about mold concerns. About how there haven't been enough bees this year. How the deer are becoming real pests, and that they will even eat ears of rice. How shinryoku (new green leaves) in the hills is even prettier than fall foliage. I was so glad to be back in the groves immersed in farm talk among the rows of trees, and I breathed in the heady scent of mikan blossom until I was nearly hyperventilating.

Eventually the farmer said, "Do you want to take some home?" and he cut two branches for me.

among the mikan trees with hills in new green

When we left village, the farmer and his wife gave us a bag of large natsu mikan (summer mikan, Citrus natsudaidai) and cans of jutaro mikan, the district's famous variety.

Before leaving the area we had a lunch at the farmer's cousin's restaurant Irie, 井里絵.

aji (horse mackerel) rice bowl lunch

We also stopped at the district hall to donate a copy of Orchards to the district library. Then we took a brief hike in the Darumayama area...

and enjoyed a quick hotspring bath in Shuzenji. Perfect.

All the way back to Kamakura in the car I breathed in mikan bloom. At home I set the branches in a vase. Now the breeze blows through the open windows. If I close my eyes, block my ears, I can imagine I'm back in the mikan groves.

cans of Jutaro mikan, branches of unshu mikan, plate of large natsu mikan

If you're thinking of volunteering in Tohoku...A Packing List

2011-05-18T22:00:00.004+09:00

As an epilogue to my week of posts about my week in Tohoku volunteering with the NGO Peace Boat in the tsunami-devastated city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, I would like to offer a few practical suggestions for those who plan to volunteer. Packing for a relief trip is a bit different from packing for most ordinary camping trips. Camping in a disaster area means camping with a limited water supply, and there's little water for cleaning dishes, cooking, and washing yourself. Camping in a relief area also requires some extra precautions in that volunteers need to be prepared with enough food, water, means of communication, clothing, etc. should an aftershock disrupt services further.

At the Peace Boat orientation sessions offered on Saturday evenings in Tokyo, participants receive packing lists and information about the volunteer work. Below is a list that includes Peace Boat suggestions mixed in with those of my team. The list of items is long and may seem like a lot of stuff to pull together, but keep in mind that most of these items are good to have on hand anyway in an earthquake-prone country like Japan.

camping gear
tent with tent fly, stakes, poles
ground sheet/tarp for under tent
sleeping mat
sleeping bag
cook stove for camping
gas for cook stove
windscreen for cook stove
mess kit--pans/dishes/cup
utensils for cooking and eating
matches/lighter
headlamp, LED, for use at campsite/going to toilet at night
small LED lantern with batteries for inside tent
tiny, folding camp stool if you have one
plastic sheet (to sit on or for boots, etc.)
padlocks for tent doors
clips, S hooks, rubber bands

clothes and gear for volunteer work
helmet if you have one (if not, Peace Boat has these)
waterproof suit--lightweight, breathable
safety boots (anzen nagagutsu)
metal insoles for your boots if you can find them
socks that fit well with your boots
full roll of gum tape for taping boots to pants
     (so water/debris can't enter boots)
headlamp, LED
     (a second one that you can keep taped to your helmet is nice)
safety goggles
masks--the types worn by construction workers
leather gloves
latex rubber gloves for inside leather gloves
     (keep hands dry, warm, protected)
rugged rubber gloves with long arms for wet work
towels--onsen size, for neck to keep out dust, for drying off
wet wipes/hand sanitizer
tissues (toilets at work sites might not have paper)
bandanas/tenugui for wrapping head
     (keeps hair/head clean, helps helmet fit)
T-shirts--dry-type for wicking sweat
lightweight warm layer to add in the morning/at end of work day
water bottles
day pack to hold lunch, water, camera, different gloves, wipes, etc.
Swiss Army knife/Leatherman multi-tool is helpful

camping clothes
underwear, socks
lightweight, warm top layers
jeans
slip-on rugged shoes or sneakers
sleepwear/leggings/hooded sweatshirt
jacket for cold evenings
hat for cold evenings
thin gloves for cold evenings

food and water
4-6 liters of water
     (Peace Boat provides a water truck for refilling water bottles)
funnel for filling water bottles from water truck hose
granola bars, soy joy, calorie mate
nuts
dried fruit
muesli or granola
powdered milk
onigiri for the first few days
hearty bread or stay-fresh Delba bread
peanut butter
salami
dried fish
instant noodles (especially the eco pack cup noodles)
small canned items like beans or tuna
dried vegetables (good with noodles)
curry in single-serving retort pouches (good with noodles)
instant miso soup and fixings of dried wakame, tofu, etc.
other instant meals, MREs, zosui in retort pouches
chocolate
sweets to share
tea/herb tea/instant coffee/cocoa
zip-close bags
plastic wrap (to set inside dishes for waterless clean up)

other items
hand sanitizer
body wipes
facial wipes
small tissue packs
no-water alcohol shampoo
toiletries including nail clippers, cotton swabs, eye drops, lotion,
     sunscreen, some shampoo
basic first aid items--antibiotic ointment, bandages, fever reducer, etc.
hot water bottle--small (for inside sleeping bag on cold nights)
adhesive body warmers (for cold nights)
inflatable pillow (for overnight bus and tent)
camera (and extra battery if necessary)
radio--small, battery operated, in case of emergency, news
cell phone (there was reception in all areas our team visited)
cell phone charger--battery or solar power
     (try to find a charger not just an emergency battery)
extra batteries for everything
laundry hanging apparatus, small--for drying gloves, towels, socks
extra trash bags--to keep things dry, to separate smelly clothes, etc.
folding umbrellapens and permanent marker for labeling
small notebook and journal
money for bus, small purchases, and in case of emergency
health insurance card
foreign registration card/copy of passport
Japanese driver's license if you have one
phone numbers for emergency contact
     (in case of cell phone service disruption)

Luggage
large backpack (or suitcase)
daypack to take to worksite
small bag
folding luggage cart for easy lugging of tent, etc.

Here are a few photos that may be helpful:

clockwise from top left: tenugui, work masks, safety goggles

latex gloves and leather gloves

clockwise from top left: cook stove, wind screen, mess kit, untensils, Leatherman multi-tool

clockwise from top left: adhesive body warmers, LED headlamp, small lantern, camp stool, drying apparatus, small hot-water bottle

clockwise from top left: combination padlock, inflatable pillow, radio, emergency cell phone battery, batteries

Wishing you a safe and fulfilling volunteer experience!

Ishinomaki Day 8

2011-05-17T17:58:00.001+09:00

Following is Day 8 of my week in Tohoku volunteering with the NGO Peace Boat in the tsunami-devastated city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.

I rose at 4:45 when the rattle of pots and pans from others in the campsite woke me up. It was a damp, foggy morning. After a quick breakfast, like everyone else I began the task of packing up.

packing up

We had to have our tents down and belongings off the site and into a storage area by morning meeting at 7:30.

by 5:50 many tents are already down

My tent pole repair had held up...barely.

tape, PVC pipe, a sock...

We packed everything up and placed our bags and gear in a container area.

slightly lighter load

We attended our last morning meeting and performed our last rajio taiso exercises. One international volunteer led a team shout as a closing to the week and to celebrate the productive team spirit. We gave a huge round of applause to Peace Boat staff for an incredibly well-run week, and they urged us to come back soon.

last morning meeting...team shout out

We were given some simple campsite assignments to complete over a leisurely two hours. Some teams volunteered for toilet cleaning.

toilet cleaning detail

Our team picked up litter around the campus.

easy litter detail...behind us are the tents of volunteers staying on

And we enjoyed the cherry blossoms.


team 57

Even Mr. Wada's showers were being dismantled.

hot-water showers

The water truck arrived for the day as usual.

drinking water for volunteers

Peace Boat staff members were busy in the supply warehouse...

Peace Boat supply warehouse for relief goods, equipment

and welcoming the new batch of volunteers.

the new set of volunteers

The new recruits were fewer in number and many of us Golden Week volunteers wished we could have stayed another week.

Soon we were loading our gear onto the buses.

boarding the buses

And all too quickly, it seemed, we were on our way back to Tokyo.

yes, those are chandeliers in our bus

I know that many of us who volunteered with Peace Boat during Golden Week will return to help again. The experience of working as teams, meeting volunteers from all over Japan and the world, working directly with very appreciative locals, and seeing progress day by day was life changing. We are keenly aware that many hands make, if not light work, lighter work, and that continued help and support is desperately needed in Ishinomaki, and in the many cities and small towns up and down the coast of Tohoku.

If you are able-bodied, live in or can visit Japan, please consider volunteering with Peace Boat. Tohoku definitely needs your help.