Yokohama Navy Exchange was where?

The information I learned about Japan...this was in early '68 when I was there, was obtained from other servicemen/women who had been living there for a while. There were no structured briefings or classes by the brass.

I did have a E5 who took me under his wing, and was helpful to a point.

I recall when I was first there that he was giving me the "low down'on places to see from Yokohama. He told me that there was this Big Buddah in a town called Kamakura that was not far from Yokohama. I didn't really have the heart to tell him but our sights were already set way beyond that.
He meant well.

I was surprised at some of the information that they didn't tell you, and you had to find out on your own.

I think that now they have a more formal mentoring program.

Todays haiku

The leaves are turning....

Soon they must fall....

Not again !!!


Hi Guys;

Not especially inspired but I am trying.

Haiku challenge;

Post your own haikus. Lets see who is Haiku " Master" .

There is a blog dedicated to all servicemen and women who served in Japan during the Vietnam War, that you might be interested in: www.military.unltd.com. And then click on Topical Blog.

Note: I wrote this off-line some time ago and it occurred to me to post it here. I signed in and saw that Peter Saunders had just recently posted a haiku and I want to make it clear that this is not in any way directed at Peter S.; it is coincidental that I am posting it in close proximity to his haiku. Let me apologize also for sounding stuffy. You Japan hands are not the original intended audience for this mini-essay, so I perhaps over-explain for this group.

ON THE DIFFICULTY (IF NOT IMPOSSIBILITY) OF WRITING HAIKU IN ENGLISH

The Japanese haiku form consists of a three-line verse in which the lines consist of 5, then 7, then 5 syllables. There is also supposed to be some allusion to one of the seasons of a year. Additionally, there should be a "cutting" word to set off two distinct concepts in the verse.

Many people, me included, have attempted to write haiku in English. There are a great number of differences between the Japanese and the English languages, among them the definition of a syllable. One syllable in an English word may require several Japanese mora (�gsyllables�h) to represent. For example, the word �gbreak�h can be represented in kana as �gbu-re-i-k-ku.�h That�fs five syllables. Cat? �gK(i)-ya-t-to.�h Four. Using Japanese definitions, which seems perfectly reasonable for this quintessentially Japanese verse form, it is almost impossible to write a haiku in English. Such an attempt might require one word, then perhaps as many as two, then one, in order to come up to 5-7-5.

Here is a possible �ghaiku�h attempted by a speaker of English hoping to fulfill the 5-7-5 and �gseason�h expectations for haiku (but not showing the "cutting" expectation):

A slender tendril
the smoke of thinning grasses
autumn atmosphere.

But let me count that out in mora.

Ei surendaa tendoriru
ze sumokku abu shinningu gurassessu
oatammu atomosuf(u)iaa.

(This is based on the words as they would be pronounced as a speaker of English and transcribed by a Japanese non-English speaker, rather than English pronunciation as Japanese teachers of English suppose it to be.)

That comes out to 12, 18, 13 �gsyllables.�h

Therefore, it seems to me that aspiring haiku poets in English have these choices:

* Use English syllables and ignore the representation in kana or Japanese syllables. This amounts to ignoring the fundamental stricture of haiku writing. Whatever this aspiring poet writes, it is not really haiku.

* Learn Japanese and write in Japanese, using Japanese rules.

* Try to write in English words that would come out to 5-7-5 if transcribed in kana. This will probably be incredibly difficult. But it would be a very Japanese-like undertaking.

* Or, my personal favorite. Write short poems on a variety of subjects, but don�ft call them haiku. Among the trillions of things that such efforts are not (they are not chemicals, or alligators, or gamma waves, or internal combustion engines), they are, additionally, not haiku.

I would like to thank wata giru
for the very constructive lesson on Haiku in English. I will have to read it several times to more fully comprehend all of the subtleties and admit freely that the "zen" of haiku [and its attendant "rules" ] is something that I am probably the last person to comprehend. Haiku in its true form is pretty deep stuff, and I am but a stone skipping on the water. Far from being "stuffy" I am glad that there is someone that can shed some academic seriousness on all of this.

Some things are only barely translatable
and do little justice to the true haiku in Japanese. For my own part I keep hacking away
with semi-conscious disregard for the rules in order to just try and do something neet
and fun.

Waiting for perfection...
Takes a long time....

My Haiku challenge still stands.

Perhaps you can show me how its done in English.

Your "it"...

Peter, that is my "haiku" in the previous post. But it is not a very good one, so I think I will not enter your contest. :)

Oh how short sighted of me..its beautiful.

Perhaps I would like to think of this as "our" friendly competition. After your insightful explanation perhaps you might be the judge ? Perhaps better yet, a "contest" is maybe far to harsh for something as subtle as this.

This link is my dad and his friends.
He worked Yamate, Isezaki and Seya police station.

http://lumixclub.panasonic.net/smart/album/disp.html?aid=all&lifelog=0...

Sorry, try again;

http://photozou.jp/photo/top/3125106

Yes, I remember your dad on patrol in our old Sannotani neighborhood when I was growing up, an Army Brat in 1950s Japan. I got several rides in your dad's "Jeep" while making my way to the International School up on the bluff.

Yokohama International School will celebrate its 90th year next month.

Thank you, Eric-san

September 7 is my dads birthday.
If he is alive, he will be 88 years old.
And you found my family ten years ago.
It is a miracle.

Hello, there

This picture is Eric-san of a Yokohama international school.

He is wearing a hat and bow tie. He is smiling pretty boy.

http://photozou.jp/photo/show/3125106/210618949

Hey Eric

Cute photo !

So...whats with the hat ?

Do you remember the photo shoot and the other members of your class ?

Kaoru-san where did you dig up this ?

Hello, Peter-san


My family came home from the "Itou" on Wednesday evening.
The next week Monday is a holiday of Respect for the Aged Day, and Japan is consecutive holidays.

The picture was found from the links celebrate the 90th anniversary of Yokohama international school.

Kaoru-san

I think it is nice to have a respect for the aged day.

So, on that day I will have respect for Wally-san, unlike all other days when I give him a hard time.

Oh, and this doesn't apply to me ..or..hmmmm

The picture was taken sometime in 1958 or '59. There was a party at YIS and Mike Potter (knee socks) brought his little sister.
There were Americans, kids from the UK, a New Zealander and some others I don't remember. I was 10 or eleven years old.

Peter, there may be a defect in one of the four (independent) haiku below, depending on how many syllables one counts in "curled."

FOUR AUTUMN HAIKU

Crisp air sweeps southward
Slipping gold onto the leaves
Silver into her hair.


Branch and twig reflect
In slow water bearing one
Brown curled leaf away.


Crashing waves foretell
Angry ice yet to appear
When blue sky turns ash.


Butterfly flutters
last of her thousand sisters
then she too is still.

Really very beautiful.

some are almost chilling.

wata geiru, are these yours ?

Thank you, Peter. Yes, I wrote them. So, are you going to try the 5-7-5 haiku form?