No comments about The Sound of the Wind.

No comments about Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball.

3 comments about On Familiar Terms: To Japan and Back, a Lifetime Across Cultures (Kodansha Globe).

1. Donald Keene's personal story on his life-long devotion to the study of Japanese never fails to attract those interested in Japanese and Japan.

   I find his accidental first encounter with a strange language, Japanese, quite amusing. A mistake to put a record on a player has eventually led young Keene to dare to learn Japanese and finally to write one of the most comprehensive history of Japanese literature several years ago. My vivid memory is that on a new-year TV program Keene and a notable Japanese poet talked about Japanese literature. The Japanese poet was never equal to Keene on topics in Japanese literature. It might be true that Keene's profound knowledge and appreciation of Japanese literature has no rival even in Japan, maybe except Dr. Jinichi Konishi, Professor Emeritus of Tsukuba University.

   In this work, Keene puts an exciting and enchanting account of mishaps, adventures, good luck with Japanese which fascinated and nurtured the author as a distinguished Japan scholar.

   I especially love to read his struggle and clever strategy of how he finally reached Tokyo and then, without staying there for even a night he took a night train for Kyoto from which his literary quest originated.

   I believe we can enjoy reading detailed episodes that reveal his solid dedication and patience in learning Japanese and Japan. The author's well-thought-out expressions often help us discover the best way to describe in plain English some peculiar aspects of Japanese culture.




2. As someone living in Japan I enjoyed reading this book. Donald Keene is one of the great scholars on Japanese literature and equally at home in it's many facetted culture. The work Dr. Keene has delivered with this autobiography has the feel of many years of being submerged in a fascinating as well as a, for a Westerner, incredibly complex literary culture written in a wonderfully easy to understand style. Not only for those interested in Japanese literature and culture, but also for those who just want to have a good read. While traveling or before going to sleep. Nothing deep, but personal and a joy to read!



3. Donald Keene is not only one of the WestÕs great literary and cultural translators of Japan, he is an important figure in the history of modern Japanese literature. In this readable and inspiring autobiography, Keene succinctly recalls his experiences with Japan, its language and its culture, and the numerous academic and literary figures he has encountered.

   Keene, like many early Japan scholars in the United States, was initially trained by the military for intelligence work during World War II in the Pacific. Most of the book deals with his life between the war years, when he first struggled with the Japanese language, through the 1960s, when he was at the height of his associations with such famous Japanese writers as Yasunari Kawabata, Kobo Abe and Yukio Mishima. Keene was a great fan of Mishima, who is probably the most legendary Japanese writer in the West. Keene knew him well professionally, and openly discusses his efforts to lobby for a Nobel Prize for Mishima. He also talks about the dejection that overtook Mishima for never winning. Keene relates his own sense of loss at the suicides of both Kawabata and, especially, Mishima, and even finds fault with himself for not recognizing sooner the trajectory of MishimaÕs demise.

   Keene's autobiography is highly recommended to anyone interested in the literature or scholarship of Japan, as well as to anyone interested in the life of an unusual and inspiring individual.

No comments about A Zen Life in Nature: Muso Soseki in His Gardens.

No comments about Lost Names: Scenes from a Boyhood in Japanese-Occupied Korea.

3 comments about Korematsu V. United States: Japanese-America Internment Camps (Landmark Supreme Court Cases).

1. Government Argument 1: Korematsu should not be allowed to challenge internment at all because he did not raise the issue at his original trial. The government charged Korematsu only of being in a military area after the date set by the Army to evacuate. Separability requires that all complaints must arise in the initial trial and cannot surface later during appeals. Korematsu did not bring up the internment part of the program during his initial trial and the defendant loses the right to raise it during a later appeal.
   
   Korematsu planned on leave for Nevada and marry his girl friend, but when she began having second thoughts about leaving her family, Korematsu remained in the military area. Korematsu took up residence at a hotel, changed his name, and claimed to be Mexican - Hawaiian ethnicity. A patron, who recognized Korematsu, notified the police and the police arrested him for violating law 503. The court did not reverse Korematsu case. Instead, Korematsu was sentenced to five year of probation. Upon Korematsu's release the Army detained and interned him to Tanforan with the rest of his family, a person now with a criminal record and force internment.
   
   The government argued that internment was necessary step for evacuation. Japanese in the military area were considered "the enemy" and a danger to industrial production necessary for the war effort. Historical suspicion and distrust of the Japanese had been a problem: denial of citizenship for all Japanese born immigrants, denial of property ownership, and denial of marriage to Caucasians. The government claimed lack of ability in determining which Japanese were Loyal and disloyal.
   
   The government said it could compromise national security if Korematsu were allowed to disobey the evacuation order because of what he felt was an unconstitutional internment order. The only issue for Korematsu was detention; did the government have the right to detain him for violation of law 503.
   
   In 1983, Korematsu was shown research evidence indicating that the Japanese people would have remained quiet and there was no threat of violence or danger. The case was reverses.
   
   Government Argument 2: Internment was not even an issue in Korematsu's case. The court said that internment removed the Japanese away from aircraft factories.
   
   Government Argument 3: Evacuation and internment were simply used as a way of keeping safety and order on the West Cost. The army provided the most orderly and efficient means of moving a 120,000 Japanese to ten internment camps in a short period of time. The government claimed the Japanese were safer in internment camps because the state police could protect them against hateful racism and violence.
   
   Government Argument 4: The War Power Clause of the United States Constitution allows special measures in order to win a war. The fourteen amendment of equal protection of the law did not apply to the Korematsu case.
   
   Korematsu Argument 1: Constitutional Law comes from Deity. Constitutional law protects God given rights of liberty and cannot be suspended and the Courts cannot support any law that goes contrary to constitutional law. An unconstitutional law cannot be support nor enforcement with punishment. Law 503 is such a law. Equal protection of the law should protect Korematsu and he should not be treated different by the law because of race. The equal protection of the law does not allow the courts to take away from any racial group unless the law meets two conditions: 1. an extremely important reason for the law must exist 2. The rules have nothing to do with discrimination. DeWitt's detention justifications failed too establish an "extremely important reason".
   
   Korematsu Argument 2: The government did not prove a connection between evacuation and the goal of win a war.
   
   The Japanese Americans were loyal citizens; the Japanese American sent their children to American Universities for a better life; the Japanese American did not want too complain for fear of greater persecution; the Japanese American was a hard working, skilled, and industrious; the Japanese American felt no loyalty to the emperor and consider America their home, not Japan; large numbers of Japanese Americans lived in America for more than a decade. The Japanese community did not expect an intrusion and disruption upon their personal and business lives. Rumors, lies, slanders about spying, and false pending invasion reports were being used as substantive false evidence against Japanese Americans. The doctrine of confinement is a false doctrine and confinement does not create increased security.
   
   
   Korematsu Argument 3: Congress granted the military judicial exercise in determining Korematsu guilt or innocence. Korematsu was released by the court but immediately imprisoned by the Army. The power of the court to free Korematsu was suspended, $500,000 in bail funded by the ACLU of no value, and Korematsu forced into internment. Public Law 503 was an unconstitutional transfer of power to the army and specifically to DeWitt. The courts cannot have law making power passed or delegated to the army.
   
   Korematsu Argument 4: Korematsu should have a trial to determine his loyalty and proof should be presented demonstrating his disloyalty.



2. I am an educator and have read several books in this series and I highly recommend it. A lot of Americans seem to be unaware of the extent of the Japanese internment during WWII. For example that not only were many of them US citizens but many others would also have been citizens were it not for the Exclusion Act. The author points out that while there were curfews for those of German and Italian decent they were not singled out as traitors who deserved internment. Many of the statements made against Japanese Americans by high ranking goverment officials were very racist, but at the time expressed popular sentiment. Those who were interned were forced to sell their all of the property with about a week's notice and general for pennies on the dollar.
   
   This book is basically a brief presentation of the facts. The author tries to present all sides. Dates and names of court decisions are given. Legal jargon is explained. The subject is followed from the eve of WWII right up to the Reparations Act of 1988. There is a final chapter about prejudice in general in which the author gets a bit emotional uses inductive reasoning. I also got a bit confused reading the dissenting judges' opinions and the index could have been a bit more inclusive, otherwise it's an excellent book.



3. This book is valuable, not solely for it's specific court case, but also for its abundance of beginner information on Japanese internment camps. "Korematsu" is definately written for young readers, but if anyone older can look past the very simple language, it is great for an introductory book. Especially since books on this subject are so rare. Really, it left me thirsting for more advanced information on the subject of Japanese internment camps. This book could definitely be a productive teaching tool for students of elementary school through junior high school.

3 comments about A Healing Family.

1. My first book by Kenzaburo was Silent Cry. Recently I read A Healing Family and found that I really liked it a lot. Yukari's illustrations were beautiful. This book made me feel closer to Oe's family. It is very heart-warming.

   At the time I read it, I was in the process of deciding whether to get my wisdom teeth extracted by a dentist or an oral surgeon. I heard that my face would be bruised and swollen, my jaws unhinged, etc. after the surgery. It was quite unnerving just to think about it. Then I read that Hikari has to make weekly visits to the dentist, and that his epileptic pills make his gum terribly swollen. I felt that I am in a much much better situation than some people. It was a consolation to read this book.

   One thing I don't quite like about most of Kenzaburo's books is that he refers to a lot of other European writers and their works, which I find hard to understand. Well, that's just my ignorance.




2. Kenzaburo Oe, the Japanese novelist who won the 1994 Nobel Prize for Literature, was 28 when his son, Hikari, was born. This event was the most important in Oe's life. Born with a herniated brain, Hikari has needed almost constant care since birth. "A Healing Family" is Oe's first non-fiction attempt to make sense of Hikari's life and the effect it has had on the people around him, most importantly his family.

   This beautiful book shows the profound love, affection and pride the Oe family take in Hikari's accomplishments and happiness. From the age of five, Hikari has been obsessed with classical music, and eventually began to compose pieces for piano and violin. Much of "A Healing Family" concerns Oe's attempts to understand his son through music.

   "A Healing Family" is a book everyone should read. Finely crafted, perceptive, intelligent and moving, it shows us again that compassion and empathy can make all the difference in the world.




3. Hard to believe that no one else has written a review of this book because it is excellent... Oe's manner of dealing with his son's affliction and the effects it has on his family is truly amazing... His manner is truly one of love and serenity.... Without any reservations, I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about "heart"...

No comments about Darwin's Origin of Species: Books That Changed the World.

2 comments about Girocho: A Gi's Story of Bataan and Beyond.

1. Girocho: A Gi's Story of Bataan and Beyond
   
   I had a special interest because John Henry Poncio is/was a relative, but even more because he bore no enmity for the Japanese. That still amazes me. The story of what our troops endured should be required reading in our schools.



2. Poncio's story from Bataan to Hirohata, written with total context of the war. An outstanding and complete story.

   Every so often, one discovers a "POW" book that is not only accurate, but well written. Each line, each paragraph, each page weaves a complete tapestry of a Prisoner's life under the Japanese. Add to this, one sees beautifully crafted typography that makes this a classic. Of the more than 1000 books w have on the subject, this book ranks in the top ten.

   Poncio adds depth and meaning to the history of our POWS, especially the guerilla and public support by foreign nationals and Filipinos. His is one of the rare books that even acknowledges the support from the legendary Madame Utinsky, a heroine who deserved the Medal of Honor. No phase of the experience is slighted nor any detail ignored as the writers weave a tapestry of horror endured yet an inspiring and unending battle to survive and sabotage the Japanese war effort. Poncio's description of desperate hunger alone is worth the price of the book. On a scale of one to five stars, Poncio's book deserves seven extra large stars.
   Center for Research
   Allied POWS Under the Japanese

3 comments about A Sheep's Song: A Writer's Reminiscences of Japan and the World.

1. I found this autobiograhpy to be an interesting view into the life struggles and journey of Kato Shuichi. I feel the translation was done quite well and was deeply moved by the details and insight the author put into his autobiography.



2. I found this book surprisingly flat. It was an enjoyable enough read, but Kato seems to be more interested in dropping names than building stories. Chang's copious footnotes demonstrate this aptly -- she adds information on writers that you never "hear" from again. I would have enjoyed hearing more story-building details from him about his friends, life abroad and in Japan, career, marriage.



3. I would have given 'A Sheep's Song' five stars if I hadn't expected something much different. But what I got was refreshing and at times philosophically profound. It is difficult to recommend the autobiography of a person you have probably never heard of, and even more difficult because I expected a concise look at Japan over the last seventy years through the eyes of one of that country's great thinkers. Little did I know how much he yearned to be away from Japan, if for no other reason, to learn to appreciate it more through his absence. What Shuichi Kato provides is an in depth look into his reasoning for wanting to be away from Japan and a detailed account of his life and in the process gives the reader a taste of Japan's contemporary history and the adventures of a Japanese abroad throughout Europe. Of particular interest is Kato's perspective on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This section is worth reading the whole book for. While not for everyone, 'A Sheep's Song' is recommended for those looking for a world perspective that is intriguing and entertaining.