Writers in Kyoto had its annual writing contest for a piece 300 words or less.Here is my submission! I won just by entering! I won just by writing, because it's so healing and so much fun! I am grateful to my Sensei Masasihi Nakamura for these adventures in Japanese philosophy and nature! Part of my … Continue reading Birthday at Kyoto Gyoen
The irony that my family was persecuted by the Japanese during World War II and spent years in concentration camps, yet in the 21st Century, it’s the United States that is doing the persecution and making the concentration camps, and I’m living in Japan for a higher quality of life! While on home leave here … Continue reading Witness for the Prosecution – Homestead, Florida For-Profit Child Concentration Camp: In Photographs
Just as Chase Bank enabled Nazi Germany during World War II to do its nefarious deeds, Truist Bank, formerly SunTrust and BB&T Bank in America enables a for-profit child concentration camp to exist in Homestead, Florida.
It’s a new era, and just as Sen no Rikyū shook up the tea ceremony in the 16th century, WANOBI - Beautiful Japan Foundation seeks to showcase tea-related traditions and Japanese artisans with a modern interpretation at the Takenaka Carpentry Tool Museum in Kobe June 29 - July 28, 2019.
Recent stories of refugee athletes by NHK International Affairs Producer Mariko Iino.
"I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive." - Joseph Campbell When I was a theatre major at the University of Colorado at Boulder there was an Asian professor whose specialty was Noh Theatre. I was 18 and couldn't understand … Continue reading Getting To Noh The Present Moment with Noh Theatre at Yamamoto Nohgakudo
It's plum-blossom time in Japan. My history-buff, Classics major son is visiting us for Spring break, so we wandered around to view some late blooming sites, including Osaka Castle Park. A big secret to view some gorgeous plum blossoms without the massive crowds is to head to the Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses in … Continue reading Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses in Osaka
The NHK World Radio Piece that I was interviewed for Peace Through Kamishibai work and about my family's history with World War II at the hands of the Japanese has aired and is available for your peace-making listening pleasure! Please share and have a listen! Links are listed below! Never again Hiroshima! Never Again Nagasaki! … Continue reading Peace Through Kamishibai On NHK World Radio in 17 Languages
Osaka's historical roots is as a port city of trade, fishermen and merchants. One of the biggest festivals in honor of the patron deity of commerce, luck and fishing, Ebisu, is held annually on January 10 in the streets of Osaka with a giant parade and ritual activity as the locals wish for business success and prosperity in the New Year.
A few weeks ago I was in Tokyo again for the First World Kamishibai Day for peace. I told the story Nidoto by Eiko Matsui about the atomic bombings and the need for peace. In English it's titled Never Again. The day before Eiko Matsui and her sister, Asako and I had visited with the … Continue reading Healing the Ancestors With Story and Kamishibai To Prevent Another War and Japan’s Re-Militarization
