History of Tokyo 1867 – 1989 From EDO to SHOWA: The Emergence of the World’s Greatest City

Tokyo is part of my past, my present and my future. I lived in Mejiro from 2002 – 2004 and attended Waseda university just a few stations south near the fun to say Takadanobaba. My family returns to Japan for the summers and I spend a few days on my own in Tokyo drinking beer,…… Continue reading History of Tokyo 1867 – 1989 From EDO to SHOWA: The Emergence of the World’s Greatest City

Hostess’s Song – Saijō Yaso　西條八十

I am a bar flowerThat blooms by night.Rouged lips,Gauze sleeves,Mad dancingBy neon light,A flower watered by tears. I am a bar flower, A sad flower,By evening a girl.By day a mother.Tear-dampened sleevesConcealing the past.They are heavy as the nightwears on.And not with dew. These are the first two stanzas of the Hostess’s song by Saijō…… Continue reading Hostess’s Song – Saijō Yaso　西條八十

Reflections on the Summer of 2021 – Ohio, Beach Boardwalk, Wineries and Yosemite

It is 7:52 AM on Monday, Labor Day, of September 6th 2021. I’m writing from my favorite new perch, my standing desk on the second floor overlooking the street. The sun is almost to the point where I must roll my desk to the small wall space between two windows so it is not shining…… Continue reading Reflections on the Summer of 2021 – Ohio, Beach Boardwalk, Wineries and Yosemite