tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34974238159879796612024-03-16T10:09:53.124+09:00Tomo 友Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen StoriesHATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-41142839704163857482022-03-12T20:03:00.002+09:002022-03-13T00:10:06.868+09:00Tomo Anthology 10th Anniversary! Words from Contributors<p>Believe it or not, the <i>Tomo Anthology </i>has turned 10!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2A5Gi8syKoAlqzRcd36Cq1wMWePnV3WQFXM6s7WMUeSvmFpE_GDT3zt-MdFVlDA8aJCt48pvqaGsHYo4-ztwybRnhFG8MEuHhKQQ4w5vhC4BPuduSfx6xnqrwDPxC5MBOO4nQfRkV6MeX3Axp26ZXDWK9wNoGrQf5zX6IWw9TWgSgyMterrNjeJcl=s500" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="500" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2A5Gi8syKoAlqzRcd36Cq1wMWePnV3WQFXM6s7WMUeSvmFpE_GDT3zt-MdFVlDA8aJCt48pvqaGsHYo4-ztwybRnhFG8MEuHhKQQ4w5vhC4BPuduSfx6xnqrwDPxC5MBOO4nQfRkV6MeX3Axp26ZXDWK9wNoGrQf5zX6IWw9TWgSgyMterrNjeJcl=w400-h365" title="Tomo launch card with illustration by contributor Debbie Ridpath Ohi" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Launch card with <i>Tomo </i>cover with silhouettes by John Shelley and side illustration by Debbie Ridpath Ohi</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the first few weeks after the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, so many writers, illustrators and translators living in or connected to Japan wondered what they could do to help the tsunami- and nuclear disaster-ravaged communities of Tohoku in meaningful ways. I was just one of those individuals. And within a month of the tsunami I'd made two commitments that shifted my way of being in this world. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">One commitment was to join volunteer teams in cleanup efforts in Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture, which resulted in resets of my appreciation of disaster aid, community and the importance of being fully present in our daily lives and in interactions with others. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The second commitment was to create an anthology of short fiction that would help support teens in Tohoku in the challenging years ahead. And thanks to the heroic efforts of so many talented and dedicated individuals, this commitment resulted in the <i>Tomo Anthology: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Fiction </i>published by <a href="https://www.stonebridge.com/" target="_blank"><b>Stone Bridge Press </b></a>in March 2012. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Compiling this anthology was a breathless volunteer sprint--36 stories to select, edit, finalize; over 40 contracts to be signed; cover design and illustrations to be finalized; reader's guide to be created; blog site to be built; interviews with contributors to be done; publicity plans to be made. The </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Tomo Anthology </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">was completed on time thanks to the diligence of the more than forty contributing writers and translators; the generosity and patience of Stone Bridge Press publisher Peter Goodman; the hard work of the Stone Bridge Press editorial, design and publicity team; the intricate cover illustrations (can you match each silhouette to its story?) created by John Shelley; and all the other individuals working in the background to enable this anthology to be imagined, compiled, edited, printed and published in under one year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">While the <i>Tomo Anthology</i> is no longer in print, the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tomo-Friendship-through-Fiction-Anthology-ebook/dp/B007NJPHUO/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15OG4D5VNK31D&keywords=Tomo%3A+Friendship+Through+Fiction&qid=1646807011&sprefix=inside+the+verse+novel+writers+on+writing%2Caps%2C234&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><b>Kindle E-book</b></a> lives on--perfect for middle school and high school libraries and classrooms, reading groups, and gifts to friends. We hope you'll continue to support <i>Tomo. </i>All proceeds from the <i>Tomo Anthology </i>go to programs that support teens in 3/11 impacted Tohoku areas.<span> </span></span></p><p>Yesterday marked the eleventh anniversary of the Tohoku triple disaster, and people of the three hardest hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima and throughout Japan paused for a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m. We will not forget. </p><p>Below, for this tenth anniversary of this anthology, we'd like to share some words from the publisher, editor, and some of the many creative contributors to <i><a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><b>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</b></a>.</i></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></i></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBJz4wxi-v3rDmpFh9P6HmJ_zRkidx1jvd3QkodqeC-wdAJ3DUIgKPXfxuPbRUCewJ8aZLyZfGhWVaO4f4g7Xywp1zO1uRfObYbr0IxBEs3zCnXztOJPLAlGopzq2eRVJISzl78M3bG0VGohlFUN5RA9HMjiU7z6-R0kfHZAgpBtGUy3mI9avFMnkf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="144" height="69" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBJz4wxi-v3rDmpFh9P6HmJ_zRkidx1jvd3QkodqeC-wdAJ3DUIgKPXfxuPbRUCewJ8aZLyZfGhWVaO4f4g7Xywp1zO1uRfObYbr0IxBEs3zCnXztOJPLAlGopzq2eRVJISzl78M3bG0VGohlFUN5RA9HMjiU7z6-R0kfHZAgpBtGUy3mI9avFMnkf=w69-h69" width="69" /></a> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><i><span> </span>Holly Thompson, Editor </i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Peter Goodman, Publisher, <a href="https://www.stonebridge.com/" target="_blank">Stone Bridge Press</a></b>: As publisher of the Tomo anthology I am grateful to all the writers and translators and especially to Holly Thompson for entrusting us with the important mission of helping to create a bond among young adult readers in Japan and around the world. People who understand each other are inclined to help each other, and I’m sure the Tomo spirit will endure as many Japanese now step up to provide relief and compassion to others in distant lands.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://www.hatbooks.com/" target="_blank">Holly Thompson</a>, Editor; author of foreword: </b>Growing this <i>Tomo</i> anthology with all the contributors and Stone Bridge Press has led to lasting friendships, and visits up and down the Tohoku coast. I continue to learn from those I meet in Tohoku--survivors, returnees, volunteers who stayed, newcomers and visitors. My hope is that <i>Tomo</i> will continue to encourage readers of all ages to take their own steps to support communities in need--those nearby, as well as those more distant.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #222222;">Fumio Takano (高野史緒)</span><span style="color: #222222;">, author of "Anton and Kiyohime</span><i>"</i></b>: Over the past decade, not a day has gone by when I have not thought back on everyone's friendship. Not just the donations the book has generated, but the friendships, too, have been a real source of moral support. Thank you! I love you! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b>Hart Larrabee</b></span><span style="color: #222222;"><b>, translator of "Anton and Kiyohime"</b>: </span><span style="color: #222222;">In summer 2012, I attended a translation workshop where participants, working with author Hideo Furukawa, collaboratively translated excerpts of his book about returning to his native Tohoku after 3/11. Regarding our rendering of one passage, he challenged us to “convey the essence of a tsunami through a sudden textual assault that leaves an uncanny tranquility in its wake.” The workshop changed the way I think about writing, and about the physicality of language. The essay I wrote about the workshop, the book, and 3/11 for the Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators can be found <a href="https://swet.jp/articles/article/spirited_away_translating_hideo_furukawa/_C30" target="_blank">here</a> on the SWET website.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://katrina.goldsaito.com/" target="_blank">Katrina Goldsaito</a>, author of "I Hate Harajuku Girls"</b>: In these ten years since beloved Tomo, I’ve kept working with the subject of grief: publishing <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2016/09/08/the-sound-of-silence-goldsaito-kuo/" target="_blank"><i>The Sound of Silence</i></a>, set in Japan, which Maria Popova called "a serenade to the art of listening to your inner voice amid the noise of modern life"; a new book from Little, Brown on the Japanese concept of mono-no-aware; and our new global art experience <a href="https://reachyou.space/" target="_blank">ReachYou</a> which offers mindfulness in grief. Happy 10th Anniversary, Tomo! What a project to be a part of.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b><a href="https://www.averyfischerudagawa.com/" target="_blank">Avery Fischer Udagawa</a>, translator of "House of Trust" by Sachiko Kashiwaba</b>: </span><span style="color: #222222;">Since “House of Trust” appeared in Tomo, Iwate-born and -based author Sachiko Kashiwaba has continued to write spellbinding fiction for children and young adults, often with a touch of folklore, magic, or both. I had the honor of translating her novel <a href="https://restlessbooks.org/bookstore/temple-alley-summer" target="_blank"><i>Temple Alley Summer</i></a>, inspired by an antique map of Morioka, for publication in the U.S. in 2021. Recently, her novel Misaki no mayoiga (The House of the Lost on the Cape), first serialized in the Iwate Nippō newspaper’s Nippō Junior Weekly and set in post-3.11 Tōno, has reached new audiences as an award-winning animated <a href="https://misakinomayoiga.com/" target="_blank">film</a>.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b><a href="https://debbieohi.com/" target="_blank">Debbie Ridpath Ohi</a>, author of "Kodama"</b>: </span><span style="color: #222222;">I’ve become a fan of the <a href="https://uncannyjapan.com/" target="_blank">Uncanny Japan</a> podcast and only recently realized that Thersa Matsuura was a co-contributor to <i>Tomo</i>….what a wonderful coincidence!</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b>Misa Dikengil, translator of "The Dragon and the Poet" by Kenji Miyazawa</b>: Contributing to the Tomo Anthology was in many ways the beginning of my translation career and I am forever honored to be a contributor. The anthology brought together a wonderful group of writers and translators who all share a deep love for Japan. Personally, this project helped me feel like I could contribute in some way to the 3/11 recovery even from the other side of the planet and gave me an opportunity to translate a short story by Kenji Miyazawa, an author whose work greatly shaped how I viewed the natural world as a young adult. May Tomo continue to keep the events of 3/11 in the hearts and minds of all who read it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://www.anntashislater.com/" target="_blank">Ann Tashi Slater</a> , author of "Aftershocks"</b>: <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;"><span>My </span><i>Tomo </i><span>story "Aftershocks" was published in Scholastic's SCOPE magazine in February 2020. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I'm thrilled that the story was introduced to a wide audience of educators and young readers and that they could learn more about the 3/11 disaster. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Charles De Wolf </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(須田狼庵)</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>, author of "Borne by the Wind"</b>: I remember with admiration the response of the Japanese people and the world at large to the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Even amidst ongoing disasters, caused by both Nature and human folly, one can still find inspiration. I feel most privileged to have been able to contribute to TOMO and to enjoy the work of so many talented writers. I often reach to take the volume off a bookshelf repaired after being shattered eleven years ago and, leafing through it, continue to hope that it will attract ever more readers, young and old.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><a href="https://www.suzannekamata.com/" target="_blank"><b>Suzanne Kamata</b></a></span><span style="color: #222222;"><b>, author of "Peace on Earth"</b>: </span><span style="color: #222222;">Recent world events have reminded us of the importance of reaching across borders and helping each other, as well as the solace and kinship that we can find through the written word. I am proud to have been a contributor to this effort through the Tomo Anthology, and I believe that the book’s themes remain as relevant now as they were ten years ago. On a personal level, I have been sustained by stories at the worst of times. The Tomo Anthology is an example of the best that we as writers and translators can do.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b>Margi Napper, author of "The Lost Property Office"</b>: I’d like to say that I have been traveling in time like the hero of my story in “Tomo”…. Perhaps I have! I’m back in England now, but I seem to have left a bit of myself in Tokyo. </span><span style="color: #222222;">I saw a Shiba-inu yesterday and the owner said that people here didn’t recognize them. But I did and it took me from a path in Cornwall directly back to Tokyo. I was so delighted I spoke to the dog in Japanese. Probably didn’t understand me, but its presence made me wonderfully homesick for a brief moment.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="https://www.wendytokunaga.com/" target="_blank">Wendy Tokunaga</a>, author of "Love Right on the Yesterday"</b>: Since “Tomo” means friend, it's fitting that I connected with many new writer friends by being in Tomo. A writing community is a powerful thing. And literature and friendship can make for a better world. Happy Anniversary!</span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Sako Ikegami</b></span><span style="color: black;"><b>, translator of "Hachiro" by Ryusuke Saito</b>: Ten years since <i>Tomo </i>publication and now I work at a psychiatric clinic amidst another far-reaching disaster. The pandemic-imposed isolation, drastic societal changes, and the loss of school life have hit teens hard. Kokoro no care (psychological care for the heart and soul) in PTSD, hesitantly introduced after the Great Hanshin Earthquake, was common sense by the aftermath of the Tohoku Earthquake. Then, mental health professionals gathered to care for long lines of people no longer ashamed to admit they were struggling. Today, thankfully, youths can access mental health clinics on their own—Japan’s health insurance services for minors makes it possible.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><a href="https://minamimuki.com/" target="_blank"><b>Deborah Iwabuchi</b></a></span><span style="color: #222222;"><b>, translator of “The Law of Gravity” by Yuko Katakawa</b>: I</span><span style="color: #222222;">n the years since I met her in person at the wonderful <i>Tomo</i> launch event, Yuko Katakawa has finished up veterinary school and is in practice with her husband in Ichinomiya, Aichi. She is still writing novels for young people as well as articles on raising pets. </span><span style="color: #222222;">In 2015, my husband and I finally made a trip from Gunma to Miyagi to see with our own eyes what had happened four years previous. I especially wanted to see Onaya, a town we’d visited in 1981 with my parents. Back then we’d arrived on a train that ran up the water’s edge. We’d stayed in a minshuku inn run by a family who used to be whalers. Nothing remained of the coastline or the train. We had no way of knowing what had happened to these lovely people who had fed us seafood so fresh it was still moving on the plate, who handed their own toast and hot coffee to my parents who were struggling through a Japanese-style breakfast.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b>Louise George Kittaka, author of "Just Wan-derful</b>": </span><span style="color: #222222;">The story I submitted to the Tomo Anthology (Just Wan-derful) was inspired by my own children. They are the same generation as the first readers of <i>Tomo</i>, along with the teenagers whose lives were disrupted by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. All these young people have now reached adulthood and are making their way in the world. As we look back on a decade since the publication of <i>Tomo</i> and Japan breathes in a brand new spring, I wish these resilient, empathetic young people a bright future, and I look forward to seeing their contributions to society.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheGLH85IILjfkxJHA3d6TD43PHRLS8XNRgZd2-uhbC0t4N7XSX49hq6ddkLwAwJd0gjnZAowF6ITyUdWjH6ojpBdgxkj-kaWKAxqsXUCnPEyHtScl1BAWHxIvuQHt_2GaqmQ2rrAgu1OGOZ1CvvBQuKYhBy8SjUo2ZojwdvwN-4N-TSzCB3_9mJTK9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="144" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheGLH85IILjfkxJHA3d6TD43PHRLS8XNRgZd2-uhbC0t4N7XSX49hq6ddkLwAwJd0gjnZAowF6ITyUdWjH6ojpBdgxkj-kaWKAxqsXUCnPEyHtScl1BAWHxIvuQHt_2GaqmQ2rrAgu1OGOZ1CvvBQuKYhBy8SjUo2ZojwdvwN-4N-TSzCB3_9mJTK9=w156-h156" width="156" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p><br /></p>HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-40832655777030652332021-03-11T11:17:00.009+09:002021-03-11T12:52:42.114+09:00Ten Years After the March 11 Tsunami<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeAmxfN7dNu0pb8k1fpJb1StGsNwAsYCckdfyOB4t03te7szmGKDW-DQhQtOSZID_yqkaF8AKhu3OHhdGh-NpPmY3hkW3O5xiEJ3teckBoOBDeNcrB_KjljIkl2lXVyL_T3zYeWg1Q5Y/s2048/IMG_4707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeAmxfN7dNu0pb8k1fpJb1StGsNwAsYCckdfyOB4t03te7szmGKDW-DQhQtOSZID_yqkaF8AKhu3OHhdGh-NpPmY3hkW3O5xiEJ3teckBoOBDeNcrB_KjljIkl2lXVyL_T3zYeWg1Q5Y/w375-h281/IMG_4707.JPG" width="375" /></a></div><p>On this spring day with clear skies throughout most of Japan, we mark the ten year anniversary of the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. </p><p>Last month's 7.3 magnitude quake of the coast of Tohoku served as a temblor reminder of this ten-year mark, and an urgent message to all of us, everywhere: be disaster prepared. For those of us in coastal areas, the recent quake was also a powerful reminder should a tsunami siren ever sound to follow Tohoku survivor advice and run farther, run higher. </p><p>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction: An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories was generously published one year after 3/11 in 2012 by <a href="https://www.stonebridge.com/" target="_blank">Stone Bridge Press</a> as a benefit anthology to raise funds for teens in the 3/11 disaster affected areas. The anthology is still available as an e-Book (<a href="https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Holly-Thompson-ebook/dp/B007NJPHUO/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tomo%3A+friendship&qid=1615425215&s=english-books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Holly-Thompson-ebook/dp/B007NJPHUO/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tomo%3A+friendship&qid=1615425089&s=english-books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Amazon Japan</a>). Please continue to purchase and share: the anthology includes 36 Japan-related stories, including ten in translation, grouped thematically. Proceeds support programs for teens in the tsunami affected areas of Tohoku as they continue to navigate the challenges of regional recovery and the individual and collective trauma in the region. Since 2020 proceeds were smaller than previous years, those funds are being held over until next year.</p><p>If you would like to know more about the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, NHK World has shared a number of <a href="https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/tag/great_east_japan_earthquake/?type=tvEpisode&" target="_blank">videos</a> related to the #311 disaster and recovery efforts throughout Tohoku. </p><p>This is a difficult day for many. This morning, I began with a beach stroll alongside the sea. Later I will visit a quiet temple here in Kamakura and light incense. May you all have a way to find hope on this day that stirs up much pain. </p><p>Here, I offer you the calming notes of survivor Teiichi Sato, author of <i>The Seed of Hope in the Heart</i>, playing Adagio by Tomaso Albinoni in his seed shop in Rikuzentakata in Iwate. </p><p>May those we lost rest in peace. May those who survived find peace and light in the coming days. May we continue to support recovery from the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in its many forms. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/12Q8Gr_KWVE" width="320" youtube-src-id="12Q8Gr_KWVE"></iframe></div><p></p><p> </p>HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-11614304378574690552020-03-11T05:32:00.000+09:002020-03-30T03:40:57.527+09:00Tomo Anthology Supports Kesennuma NPO Sokoage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
March 11, 2020 marks nine years since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and eight years since the <a href="https://www.stonebridge.com/" target="_blank">Stone Bridge Press</a> publication of <i><a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories</a></i>. Port cities along the coast are still in the midst of massive reconstruction projects and neighborhood development and revitalization, and this past autumn brought harsh new challenges to recovering areas of Tohoku with damaging typhoons. Typhoon number 19 (Hagibis) in October caused devastating floods resulting in nearly 100 deaths in Tohoku--the majority in Fukushima Prefecture. The Tomo Anthology community helped to spread the call for volunteers to help with inundation clean-up efforts.<br />
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As recovery from the 2011 Great East Japan triple disasters and recent typhoons continues, proceeds from sales of the Tomo Anthology still assist programs for teens in Tohoku. In 2019, the Tomo Anthology donated 100,000 JPY to the certified NPO <a href="http://sokoage.org/" target="_blank">底上げ</a> Sokoage in the city of Kesennuma in the northeast Miyagi Prefecture.<br />
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In October, I traveled up to Tohoku to participate in post-typhoon volunteer flood clean-up work in Miyagi prefecture, and was able to visit Kesennuma to meet with Takafumi Narumiya, one of Sokoage's four staff members, in Pier 7's waterfront Square Ship co-working space.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJiuWJkvM9ankzIqjSc4qcUV1TD62D9LGfqXO0lv4VN8Zk0OlAw26dVHYvPc5KWInvaRblECPdUsXHz8TAyDq3CMpD0L6Z6xnlvDDCf3rRp6hKIRL5CVbxQHkvuKXyKAIGGoGRXXtjmo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-03-11+at+16.19.55.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="784" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJiuWJkvM9ankzIqjSc4qcUV1TD62D9LGfqXO0lv4VN8Zk0OlAw26dVHYvPc5KWInvaRblECPdUsXHz8TAyDq3CMpD0L6Z6xnlvDDCf3rRp6hKIRL5CVbxQHkvuKXyKAIGGoGRXXtjmo/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-03-11+at+16.19.55.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Narumiya-san explained Sokoage's broad aims to provide opportunities for youth in the area, foster community, cultivate connections across generations, and support camps and programs for college students to engage with their Miyagi Prefecture communities from wherever they may be based.<br />
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The Sokoage <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sokoageJAPAN/" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> offers a glimpse at these programs and provides a sense of the spirit and dedication of the individuals at the heart of this NPO.<br />
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Your purchases of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NJPHUO/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1">Tomo Anthology</a> which include 36 Japan stories for teens, including ten in translation, will help us continue to support teen programs in recovering areas of 3/11 impacted communities in Tohoku. Thank you!<br />
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May the Tohoku cities and towns hard hit by the 2011 triple disasters continue to utilize their resilience and determination to come together to create vibrant Tohoku communities for generations to come.<br />
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Holly Thompson, Editor, Tomo Anthology, March 11, 2020</div>
HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-73356157031042623562018-12-31T16:52:00.001+09:002018-12-31T17:16:35.491+09:002018 Tomo Year-end Donations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On this December 31, I'm happy to report that <i><a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.com/">Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</a>--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories </i>published in 2011 by Stone Bridge Press continues to raise funds for teens in Tohoku areas affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Nearly seven years after publication, funds are still generated by this anthology that I compiled and edited in the months soon after the disaster. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This month <i>Tomo'</i>s<i> </i>publisher Peter Goodman of Stone Bridge Press made a donation of $<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">683.09 USD (</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">76,770 JPY) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">to the NPO </span><a href="https://www.tedic.jp/">TEDIC</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tedic.jp/">www.TEDIC.jp</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Based in Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">TEDIC provides support and counseling for youth, including those struggling with poverty, neglect, abuse, disability, truancy, illness, and social withdrawal. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">And today I made a donation of 100,000 JPY ($905.00 USD) to the NPO <a href="http://sokoage.org/">Sokoage</a> ソコアゲ (to which Tomo funds were also donated in 2017). You can donate via their website or via this <a href="https://donation.yahoo.co.jp/detail/5082001/">Yahoo! Japan Sokoage Fundraiser</a>. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sokoageJAPAN/">www.facebook.com/sokoageJAPAN/</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sokoage (底上げ means "raising up") is based in Kesennuma, also in Miyagi Prefecture. This NPO engages high school students in community building and problem solving by encouraging them to take initiative to become changemakers and by supporting their projects to create a vibrant society. Projects have included the creation of a gathering space near the high school for students and Sokoage staff members; holding monthly community meal events with guest speakers; guiding students in getting to know their community, as well as creating materials to promote the region and record experiences of 3/11; providing volunteer academic support in temporary housing sites and elsewhere; encouraging students who have graduated from high school to stay involved in Kesennuma issues and events; and holding supportive training camps for college students.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I wish everyone sweet <i>hatsuyume </i>dreams of eggplants, hawks and Mt. Fuji (all considered auspicious if sighted in dreams on January 1) and hope that the New Year brings peace and joy and the promise of bright futures to young people throughout the Tohoku region. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><i>Holly Thompson</i></span></span></div>
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HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-91254037095824065032018-01-05T17:15:00.001+09:002022-03-02T11:48:59.536+09:00Tomo Donation Updates: Sokoage and Penguins Art<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Happy 2018!<br />
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Six years ago, in 2012, the <a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.jp/" target="_blank"><i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</i> anthology</a> was going to press. In a period of just ten months from the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, I had proposed the anthology, <a href="https://www.stonebridge.com/" target="_blank">Stone Bridge Press</a> had agreed to publish, and I'd selected, compiled and edited the 36 stories,<i> </i>plus conducted interviews with most of the author illustrator and translator contributors. The aim of the <i>Tomo</i> anthology was to raise awareness outside of Japan about the need for longterm support for coastal communities in the Tohoku region by sharing Japan-related fiction for teens, and, most critically, to provide funding to NPOs serving teens in the hardest hit communities of Tohoku.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXYg3Hoj3sOWkw4H97syNTcD6R8OdrG9QOme-7zgN6V1k98627cbUmGMBHMqsZxPtcXorkrw_HCYtvcKF_n2EzssTRHl35o6CnDniNF4FdabWy7nNSYGJ7LRLUaH_k2lDsTynt2P0hABY/s1600/TomoCoverCBSD.tif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1036" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXYg3Hoj3sOWkw4H97syNTcD6R8OdrG9QOme-7zgN6V1k98627cbUmGMBHMqsZxPtcXorkrw_HCYtvcKF_n2EzssTRHl35o6CnDniNF4FdabWy7nNSYGJ7LRLUaH_k2lDsTynt2P0hABY/s400/TomoCoverCBSD.tif" width="258" /></a></div>
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Until 2017, <i>Tomo </i>proceeds went to the NPO Hope for Tomorrow Japan, which in addition to providing educational expenses (including university entrance exam fees, travel costs to exam centers, etc.) also provided mentoring, tutoring, and foreign language support to high school students in hard-hit areas of Tohoku. But in 2017, the NPO Hope for Tomorrow closed its doors after its planned five years of supporting teen education in Tohoku.<br />
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Now, although <i>Tomo </i>is no longer available in print, the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tomo-Friendship-through-Fiction-Anthology-ebook/dp/B007NJPHUO/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1515132587&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Kindle edition</a> is still available for purchase, and sales of <i>Tomo</i> still generate small sums of money for donations. Recently, additional funds were generated through adoption of <i>Tomo </i>material via the international Copyright Clearance Center for educational purposes.<br />
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So in 2017, I set out to find other NPOs to receive <i>Tomo </i>donations.<br />
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In late October, I drove north to Tohoku to visit the cities of Ishinomaki and Kesennuma in coastal Miyagi Prefecture, and Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture. My aim was to revisit some of the areas severely ravaged by the March 11, 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Such a trip is haunting, moving and painful, yet at the same time, energizing and inspiring. Signs of loss and devastation are evident in the violently scarred coast, in elevation markers for inundation levels even high in the hills, in remaining ruined structures and temporary housing, and in the massive seawalls and ambitious city reconstruction projects underway. The reach of the monstrous tsunami left cruel before-and-after, have-and-have-not markers throughout communities up and down the jagged coast. People are left coping with unspeakable trauma. Yet there is evidence of brave determination among so many citizens to nurture their communities into wellness and vibrancy, to take actions toward healing, remembering, learning and growing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Torï at Hiyoriyama Park in Ishinomaki</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXG0SzUb0ECJa4-rkdF3z3Q9PhXsxT2TJKj0qEK4PoFwlIyuvv6_5ktrN5OckigFBFkXjRVQn9qgJxsO_gDzGHy9R3wxgvHnfkT-h9B9o1YICYVx8CbSAco4JOksHssf53kgFua6YRkfBe/s1600/2017-10-26+16.26.30-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXG0SzUb0ECJa4-rkdF3z3Q9PhXsxT2TJKj0qEK4PoFwlIyuvv6_5ktrN5OckigFBFkXjRVQn9qgJxsO_gDzGHy9R3wxgvHnfkT-h9B9o1YICYVx8CbSAco4JOksHssf53kgFua6YRkfBe/s400/2017-10-26+16.26.30-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">From Ishinomaki's Hiyoriyama Park: a fence shows the view before 3/11 photo, and the current scene</td></tr>
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In Ishinomaki downtown streets, where in the spring of 2011 (see my <a href="https://hatbooks.blogspot.jp/search?q=peace+boat" target="_blank">Peace Boat blog posts</a>) I'd shoveled tsunami muck out of surviving shops, businesses and homes, a lively downtown is now evidenced with new and revived stores, restaurants, and community initiatives. Practically across the street from a soba shop I'd helped muck out in 2011, is the new <a href="https://www.penginscafe.jp/">Penguins Art Kōbō</a>, a studio where everyone is welcome to create, and there I joined a morning clay workshop.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Penguins Art clay workshop</td></tr>
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In the Ibarazu neighborhood where I'd helped gather tons of rotting fish that had been strewn with wreckage far inland from the destroyed fish market, new parks and houses had sprouted. The pristine new <a href="https://en.japantravel.com/miyagi/ishinomaki-fish-market/35143">Ishinomaki fish market</a> (Ishinomaki <i>uoichiba</i>) nearby is now the largest in Japan and visitors are welcome. I ate an incredible sushi lunch at Fukizushi (富喜寿司) near Ishinomaki Station. I made new, dear friends in Ishinomaki, and I dined and stayed at the NPO-run <a href="http://longbeachhouse.wixsite.com/lbh314">Long Beach House</a> not far from Ibarazu.<br />
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In Oginohama, where in 2011, I'd helped clean the Inari shrine grounds and assist with myriad tasks for a late summer festival, a new café sits opposite the sea below the <i>torī</i> leading to the steep set of stairs up to the hilltop shrine.<br />
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In <a href="http://www.city.rikuzentakata.iwate.jp/english/english.html">Rikuzentakata</a>, I paid a visit to the <a href="http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201703110009.html">Miracle Pine</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbcOaDYyA0zBwjomomeBLnuWJcmoi4NqdVAMDQf9nGLB3W91GuIFm-FEOPpaLaSGAZGlyNeYde93dCaBuKV0MpKOBa8fId14__4WAz9TGNn71adS6zm9xCLJEMsSRhQPnmRB6r-9csK3N/s1600/2017-10-27+13.06.37-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbcOaDYyA0zBwjomomeBLnuWJcmoi4NqdVAMDQf9nGLB3W91GuIFm-FEOPpaLaSGAZGlyNeYde93dCaBuKV0MpKOBa8fId14__4WAz9TGNn71adS6zm9xCLJEMsSRhQPnmRB6r-9csK3N/s400/2017-10-27+13.06.37-2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Miracle Pine in Rikuzentakata</td></tr>
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I watched the constant, mind-numbing parade of construction vehicles essentially reshaping the land into a new elevated city. I also spent time in the children's section of <a href="https://allabout-japan.com/en/article/5908/">Rikuzentakata</a>'s beautiful new library in the Abasse Shopping Center high up on <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/07/national/tsunami-hit-rikuzentakata-rebuilding-high-ground-hoping-thrive-anew/#.Wkxpx1T1WRs">raised ground</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid5PpSLF72Roi8h2bQ8FUEFqweCC-tJOBAK0rpXmWZglxi4m1Pcm1uxDmBVzcfxV6OdruPv5V6Psf0sVqFnXbKMpcBEs5Q2qCYVNfImuSwho7QT6a2ODKffjhRusNGvCovk_eRqIsTviSr/s1600/2017-10-27+13.50.47-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid5PpSLF72Roi8h2bQ8FUEFqweCC-tJOBAK0rpXmWZglxi4m1Pcm1uxDmBVzcfxV6OdruPv5V6Psf0sVqFnXbKMpcBEs5Q2qCYVNfImuSwho7QT6a2ODKffjhRusNGvCovk_eRqIsTviSr/s400/2017-10-27+13.50.47-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Rikuzentakata library</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTW46UOsvb8KdElpLXnxBwOxQ8rjS20VQD7dgFYj_sCkEQ9sBDynX36cu84ojNhbBvrRJV2A74s-vO9lDaB4BNtFl1wlFThoCI1-TtZlrYuZS5mdUVTHJNNQW4LPqmSaam9LMlxAlISVKy/s1600/2017-10-27+14.01.28-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTW46UOsvb8KdElpLXnxBwOxQ8rjS20VQD7dgFYj_sCkEQ9sBDynX36cu84ojNhbBvrRJV2A74s-vO9lDaB4BNtFl1wlFThoCI1-TtZlrYuZS5mdUVTHJNNQW4LPqmSaam9LMlxAlISVKy/s400/2017-10-27+14.01.28-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Rikuzentakata library</td></tr>
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And in <a href="https://kesennuma-love.com/">Kesennuma</a> I visited the <a href="http://rias-ark.sakura.ne.jp/2/">Rias Ark Museum of Art</a> for its contemporary art and local history exhibits, as well as the exhibits relating to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and tsunami history in Tohoku.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVwmnCFSZjX_qSy0eROFnuFNTIBybfQ9hJ_lsxGVNwsn592ZonWityx2uNw49FPKkXe1siVnOMEe2mAKuEvwB9NmcBB2ZVC3snhyphenhyphenag_139uq0v-FeQsKq5_9njvEpmIfoyvGDDuaw98Dz/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-01-05+at+4.00.25+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="1200" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVwmnCFSZjX_qSy0eROFnuFNTIBybfQ9hJ_lsxGVNwsn592ZonWityx2uNw49FPKkXe1siVnOMEe2mAKuEvwB9NmcBB2ZVC3snhyphenhyphenag_139uq0v-FeQsKq5_9njvEpmIfoyvGDDuaw98Dz/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-01-05+at+4.00.25+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photos from the Rias Ark Museum of Art website: http://rias-ark.sakura.ne.jp/2/</td></tr>
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My Tohoku visit led to more questions, more explorations and more NPO discoveries.<br />
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And now, at the start of 2018, I'm proud to share with you two NPOs that I have selected to receive <i>Tomo </i>funds.<br />
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In December 2017, a donation of 100,000 JPY (about 900 USD) was made to the NPO <a href="http://sokoage.org/">Sokoage</a>, based in Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqWAc7KLV-ovZYnzwCKXpAPSfL2eDInix8Q_odglqcmA4-N5fHvIz1UujBVST5vasAtKw0kkftpDoN7UF4tdn9TZkoZtTKNQUedBGYx7R7nlGwzGMQOdfljV8RVWRuhnpGqqqfpDHtY2z/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-01-05+at+2.47.11+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1334" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqWAc7KLV-ovZYnzwCKXpAPSfL2eDInix8Q_odglqcmA4-N5fHvIz1UujBVST5vasAtKw0kkftpDoN7UF4tdn9TZkoZtTKNQUedBGYx7R7nlGwzGMQOdfljV8RVWRuhnpGqqqfpDHtY2z/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-01-05+at+2.47.11+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Sokoage website photo: http://sokoage.org/</td></tr>
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Sokoage (底上げ) meaning "raising up" engages high school students in community building and problem solving by encouraging students to take initiative to become thoughtful changemakers and by supporting their projects to create a vibrant new society. Projects have included the creation of a meeting and gathering space near the high school for students and Sokoage staff members; holding monthly community meal events with guest speakers; guiding students in getting to know their community, as well as creating materials to promote the region and record experiences of 3/11; providing volunteer academic support in temporary housing sites and elsewhere; encouraging students who have graduated from high school to stay involved in Kesennuma issues and events; holding supportive training camps for college students.<br />
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And in early January 2018, a donation of 30,000 JPY (about 270 USD) was made to the <a href="https://www.penginscafe.jp/">NPO Penguins Art Kōbō</a> (ペンギンズアート工房), based in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgm0-lbKCNzAXWCNwmH5_NqHPgb1SS9RMK_S48BAZLUhH9-SrVRe4zcA4hS_acgYhwLwm0fXDT_L2mPIYdP1BaYNvzlOLk9bsRdK3itgvgzVIFykGpa8yxafDaAdi6SKdrppCCFM8Whq5/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-01-05+at+2.48.54+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="1600" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgm0-lbKCNzAXWCNwmH5_NqHPgb1SS9RMK_S48BAZLUhH9-SrVRe4zcA4hS_acgYhwLwm0fXDT_L2mPIYdP1BaYNvzlOLk9bsRdK3itgvgzVIFykGpa8yxafDaAdi6SKdrppCCFM8Whq5/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-01-05+at+2.48.54+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Penguins Art Kobo website: www.penginscafe.jp</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvB-hd8S7EpgExKvmewqi8bY98h1IuRDAu9UTOSWa5C8WJAnWUXDrbD4BJQBXlWJ_Abm9vfqpFKuT0zCMz3Kv8UG5gbp5gCoHOSJPXB6hYn1ByFx5lX081y0P5uhKsv82trRmhn1ygBvDe/s1600/2017-10-28+12.13.42-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvB-hd8S7EpgExKvmewqi8bY98h1IuRDAu9UTOSWa5C8WJAnWUXDrbD4BJQBXlWJ_Abm9vfqpFKuT0zCMz3Kv8UG5gbp5gCoHOSJPXB6hYn1ByFx5lX081y0P5uhKsv82trRmhn1ygBvDe/s400/2017-10-28+12.13.42-2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Kazuko Miyakawa, Directory of Penguins Art Kobo</td></tr>
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Penguins Art Kōbō is housed in an Ishinomaki downtown studio with a charming penguin logo on the shop shutter. Penguins Art aims to foster artistic expression in differently abled children, to create exhibition opportunities for them, and to enable group art experiences for all individuals in greater Ishinomaki. Established by former art teacher Kazuko Miyakawa, Penguins Art Kobo is a warm, supportive and welcoming oasis for everyone to explore creative expression.<br />
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I hope you'll visit the websites of these NPOs now receiving Tomo support.<br />
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Thank you to all of the <i>Tomo </i>contributors and friends, wherever you may be. May the <i>Tomo </i>anthology continue to create friendships through fiction as together we strive to support teens in Tohoku, Japan.<br />
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Tomo Anthology Editor Holly Thompson<br />
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HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-32688948597808452162017-03-11T23:36:00.003+09:002017-03-15T15:57:19.851+09:00Tomo Anthology Update, Six Years After<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today marked the sixth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> (東日本大震災 </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Higashi nihon daishinsai</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">), and </span>the subsequent tsunami that ravaged the Tohoku region's Pacific coastline followed by the triple meltdown of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Throughout Japan, a moment of silence was held today at 2:46 pm, the time the quake struck on March 11, 2011. <br />
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This month also marks five years since the publication of <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories. </i>Proceeds from sales of <i>Tomo </i>have for five years been donated to the Japan-based NPO Hope for Tomorrow (<a href="http://hope-tomorrow.jp/">hope-tomorrow.jp</a>)<i>. </i>Hope for Tomorrow has for five years provided much-needed support to high school students in the form of financial assistance to enable students in the hardest hit areas of Tohoku to take costly university entrance exams. Having succeeded at what they set out to do, Hope for Tomorrow will cease operations at the end of this Japanese academic year (at the end of this month). Thank you to Hope for Tomorrow for providing a unique form of support to high school students in Tohoku during the most difficult years after 3/11.<br />
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The<i> Tomo </i>anthology has recently gone out of print, but the book is still available as an ebook in Kindle format. Future proceeds will be donated to other organizations that support youth in the areas of Tohoku still struggling six years after. Please continue to read, give and recommend <i>The Tomo Anthology--</i>a collection of 36 stories including 10 in translation--so that we may continue to offer our friendship and support to teens in Tohoku. May we remember that many thousands in Tohoku are still displaced, that reconstruction and the delicate work of rebuilding lives continues, and that many thousands still reside in prefab "temporary" housing in Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate--the three hardest hit prefectures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUx3nmiMWCRCEG0t8kf4w7ufA5DYXbmem62ofYPFowRnHkA1CAgIwNJf-To6V5wlIQvL_K7tep_9wFYFHKgpIHC0EJM7KyZPUKDKuCfCcYmt_0OzFFW7x5mVUbRuYDqlSFmJ988BeMoc/s1600/TomoCoverCBSD.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUx3nmiMWCRCEG0t8kf4w7ufA5DYXbmem62ofYPFowRnHkA1CAgIwNJf-To6V5wlIQvL_K7tep_9wFYFHKgpIHC0EJM7KyZPUKDKuCfCcYmt_0OzFFW7x5mVUbRuYDqlSFmJ988BeMoc/s320/TomoCoverCBSD.tif" width="207" /></a></div>
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Here are a few articles to read on this six-year anniversary:<br />
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SIX YEARS AFTER: <a href="http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201703110042.html">34,000 people in Tohoku region still in makeshift housing units</a> <i>Asahi Shimbun </i>March 11, 2017<br />
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<a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2017/03/10/editorials/six-years-311-disasters/?utm_source=Daily+News+Updates&utm_campaign=d4bd9a1e59-Saturday_email_updates11_03_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c5a6080d40-d4bd9a1e59-332781225#.WMPr-BJ96Rs">Six years after the 3/11 disasters</a> <i>Japan Times </i>editorial, March 11, 2017<br />
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<a href="http://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00305/">A New Shopping Center for a Tsunami-Struck Town</a> Nippon.com March 11, 2017<br />
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Destroyed by the Tsunami, <a href="http://www.spoon-tamago.com/">JR Onagawa Station is Rebuilt </a>by Shigeru Ban and Hiroshi Senju from <i>Spoon & Tamago </i>March 10, 2017<br />
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<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-fukushima-bullying-idUSKBN16H074">Six years on, Fukushima child evacuees face menace of school bullies</a> by Thomas Wilson and Minami Funakoshi, Reuters, March 9, 2017<br />
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Wishing peace to all on this anniversary day.<br />
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HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-78797040012672597152016-03-11T11:03:00.002+09:002016-03-11T11:03:50.953+09:005 Years After 3/11<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is the fifth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake (東日本大震災 <i>Higashi nihon daishinsai</i> ) on March 11, 2011.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buddhist Lantern Ceremony, Kōmyōji, Kamakura<br /> March 10, 2016</td></tr>
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<i><a href="http://www.stonebridge.com/catalog/Tomo">Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</a>--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories </i>(Stone Bridge Press) continues to raise money by donating royalties from sales of the book.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXfOdxvQ3can636x1BNVr6BG0udwd12lGqs9JbaLWpgTwtat8k4UJVRFGXMNJkqWmHwFxnsmFcezMiDNFcznq8PvElp3ZbhT-vCGUtUGVMlgtTLNqhFwvLFWxnP8D4aIfOUIxdQoor6E/s1600/11+TomoCover2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXfOdxvQ3can636x1BNVr6BG0udwd12lGqs9JbaLWpgTwtat8k4UJVRFGXMNJkqWmHwFxnsmFcezMiDNFcznq8PvElp3ZbhT-vCGUtUGVMlgtTLNqhFwvLFWxnP8D4aIfOUIxdQoor6E/s320/11+TomoCover2.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
The donations from <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</i> support high school students in the earthquake and tsunami affected areas via the N.P.O Hope for Tomorrow. In December, <a href="http://hope-tomorrow.jp/aboutus/index-e.html">Hope for Tomorrow</a> announced the most recent allocation of funds as follows:<br />
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The 2015 Educational Support Program will be allocated to the following five high schools:Haramachi High School (Minami Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture), Ishinomaki High School (Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture), Kesennuma High School (Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture), Ofunato High School (Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture) Takata Senior High School (Rikuzentakada City, Iwate Prefecture; temporarily located in Ofunato City).</blockquote>
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Individual recipients are selected through their schools, and grants are awarded to students each February.<br />
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Five years have passed since the earthquake--both quickly and slowly. Recovery proceeds in Tohoku, but problems abound, and of course, after trauma of such magnitude, grief and pain are ongoing. In Japan, it is customary to keep true feelings to yourself, to mute your complaints, to suffer in silence. After the tsunami, a homeowner in the town of Otsuchi in Iwachi Prefecture wisely set up a telephone booth in his garden, placed a disconnected rotary dial phone inside, and invited people to step inside and speak to the loved ones they'd lost in the disaster. Called the <i>kaze no denwa </i>(風の電話) -- wind phone -- the booth has drawn over 10,000 visitors (see a reblogged version of a Mainichi Daily article <a href="http://sanichiichi.tumblr.com/post/80042094470/phone-booth-in-garden-helps-bereaved-talk-to">here</a> and NHK coverage in Japanese <a href="http://www.nhk.or.jp/ohayou/marugoto/2014/07/0718.html">here</a>). NHK recently featured a poignant documentary (<a href="http://www6.nhk.or.jp/nhkpr/post/trailer.html?i=04271">trailer</a>) on the phone and its power to enable individuals to speak words of deep pain. One segment featured a family of a mother and her three children who'd lost their father with all of them visiting the wind phone after the eldest child bravely did so.<br />
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Yoko Imoto has written and illustrated a children's picture book called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%81%8B%E3%81%9C%E3%81%AE%E3%81%A7%E3%82%93%E3%82%8F-%E3%81%84%E3%82%82%E3%81%A8%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%93/dp/4323024517/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457658039&sr=1-1&keywords=%E3%81%8B%E3%81%9C%E3%81%AE%E3%81%A7%E3%82%93%E3%82%8F">Kaze no denwa</a> </i>(The Wind Telephone). <i> </i>This book and one other are featured on the SCBWI Japan Translation Group Blog: <a href="http://two%20stories%20for%20children%20commemorate%203.11/">Two Stories for Children Commemorate 3.11</a> in a post by Deborah Iwabuchi (translator of the <i>Tomo </i>story "The Law of Gravity" by Yuko Katakawa) with links to English-language readings.<br />
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For readers of all ages, today is a also good day to re-read the SCBWI Japan Translation Group post by Sako Ikegami (translator of the <i>Tomo</i> story "Hachiro" by Ryusuke Saito): <a href="https://ihatov.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/hamaguchi-gohei-a-living-god-by-lafcadio-hearn/">The Tale of Hamaguchi Gohei and the Tsunami</a>. Kimiko Kajikawa's picture book <a href="http://www.amazon.co.jp/Tsunami-Kimiko-Kajikawa-x/dp/0399250069/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1457658894&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=tsunami%2C+kajikawa" style="font-style: italic;">Tsunami</a>, written before 3/11, is based on the same tale. <br />
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Wishing compassion and the comfort of words and stories to all those affected by the disasters of March 11, 2011.<br />
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HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-26835099237717755802015-06-06T02:38:00.000+09:002015-06-06T02:38:54.279+09:00Tomo Still Giving<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">All proceeeds from sales of the book <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories</i> are donated to support teens in the 3/11 tsunami- and earthquake-affected areas of Tohoku. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently another 20,000 yen was donated to the Japanese NPO <a href="http://hope-tomorrow.jp/index-e.html">Hope for Tomorrow</a>, which is providing educational support grants to high school students in the three hardest hit prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWnWjb9_gLOxy9KELp40maSVmgcYmxNeZy9CocYiZfHCL-bhNVa25PiEkPz5HD2LvQThALGaCNUCkmVT9fyfRI0yzTUcpdxebnF8-C3F4UvmUTGud9_ehy7HWUgMRKszvx1ec4PS3D1w/s1600/512px-Japan_Tohoku_Map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWnWjb9_gLOxy9KELp40maSVmgcYmxNeZy9CocYiZfHCL-bhNVa25PiEkPz5HD2LvQThALGaCNUCkmVT9fyfRI0yzTUcpdxebnF8-C3F4UvmUTGud9_ehy7HWUgMRKszvx1ec4PS3D1w/s400/512px-Japan_Tohoku_Map.png" width="337" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: Wikimedia commons</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2014, educational support grants went to 127 students in the following schools:</span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.5999984741211px;">Fukushima Prefectural Haramachi High School (Minami Soma City)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.5999984741211px;">Miyagi-ken Ishinomaki High School (Ishinomaki City)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.5999984741211px;">Miyagi-ken Kesennuma High School (Kesennuma City)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.5999984741211px;">Iwate Prefectural Ofunato High School (Ofunato City)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.5999984741211px;">Iwate Prefectural Takata Senior High School (Rikuzentakata City; temporarily located in Ofunato City)</span></li>
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<span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.5999984741211px;">Thank you to our publisher, <a href="http://www.stonebridge.com/">Stone Bridge Press</a>, and to everyone who continues to purchase copies of <i>Tomo </i>either in print or as an ebook. Your purchase does make a difference to teens in Tohoku. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.5999984741211px;">We hope that the stories in <i>Tomo</i> offer windows and mirrors to our many readers. </span></span></div>
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HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-48753772522348840562015-03-11T08:04:00.000+09:002015-03-11T13:36:25.590+09:00In the Wake of 3/11<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Today, March 11, 2015, marks the four-year anniversary of 3/11, the date of the massive earthquake and tsunami that caused tremendous devastation in northern Japan, particularly in Tohoku. There is still much struggle and hardship in the region, and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tomo </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">has continued to support teens in Tohoku through the NPO <a href="http://hope-tomorrow.jp/aboutus/index-e.html">Hope for Tomorrow</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmhB3Q5zqvvguR1bg80OBFzP_lCRzTXWnJlYDtisK6WRaiah-9Hmew2jwh1JBfkzdnptBlxNkf64ngvvnGY94k0lmLaKzIaj_uy12eDhaKDTZIEuQkrYQQQLgEWBBkB_0j3NEP3M0CBI/s1600/CIMG7285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmhB3Q5zqvvguR1bg80OBFzP_lCRzTXWnJlYDtisK6WRaiah-9Hmew2jwh1JBfkzdnptBlxNkf64ngvvnGY94k0lmLaKzIaj_uy12eDhaKDTZIEuQkrYQQQLgEWBBkB_0j3NEP3M0CBI/s1600/CIMG7285.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ishinomaki, May 4, 2011 (photo by Holly Thompson)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Have you read the 36 stories in the <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>anthology? On this Tomo Anthology blog is an extensive <a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_8.html">Readers' Guide</a> to the anthology, as well as many, in-depth <a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.com/p/contributors.html">interviews</a> featuring author and translator contributors.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Below are some articles that may be of interest on this fourth anniversary, two of them by Louise George Kittaka, a <i>Tomo </i>anthology contributing author:</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/03/02/issues/putting-foreign-face-311-recovery-effort/#.VP9qHHZvZ1I">Putting a foreign face on the 3/11 recovery effort</a> Japan Times</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/02/27/national/artist-delivers-heartfelt-tribute-to-311-cleanup-workers/#.VP9qn3ZvZ1I">Artist delivers heartfelt tribute to 3/11 cleanup workers</a> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Japan Times</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/03/08/issues/labor-love-left-wither-die-fukushima/#.VP9nYnZvZ1I">Labor of love left to wither and die in Fukushima </a> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Japan Times</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/03/01/how-tos/lycra-online-foreigners-bit-tohoku/#.VP9pL3ZvZ1I">In lycra and online, foreigners are doing their bit for Tohoku</a> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Japan Times</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/03/08/how-tos/ngos-looking-little-lives-wake-311/#.VP9oE3ZvZ1I">NGOs looking out for little lives in the wake of 3/11</a> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Japan Times</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/tag/Tohoku%20Update" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Various Tohoku stories</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> TimeOut Tokyo</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><a href="http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/05/07/tohoku-man-honors-brother-killed-in-tsunami-with-hundreds-of-blue-carp-streamers/">Tohoku man honors brother killed in tsunami with hundreds of carp streamers</a> Rocket News</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150311_03.html">Japan marks 4th anniversary of 3/11 disaster</a> NHK</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And below is a free webinar to be held on April 15 by the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia featuring works in two concurrent exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://nctasia.org/course/great-wave-hokusai-great-wave-3-11-japanese-artists-responses-nature/">The Great Wave of Hokusai and the Great Wave of 3/11: Japanese Artists' Responses to Nature</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wishing all in Tohoku love and wellness--from the Tomo Anthology community of authors, translators, illustrators and the generous publisher Peter Goodman of <a href="http://www.stonebridge.com/">Stone Bridge Press</a>. </span></div>
HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-89213875931244104942015-02-18T00:28:00.000+09:002015-02-18T00:28:41.215+09:00Artistic and Activist Responses to 3/11<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Soon the four-year anniversary of the March 11, 2011 Great Eastern Japan Tsunami and Earthquake will be upon us. Sales of <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories </i>published by Stone Bridge Press continue to support teens in the tsunami and quake affected areas--teens impacted by the Tohoku Triple Disaster--via the <a href="http://hope-tomorrow.jp/index-e.html">NPO Hope for Tomorrow</a>.<br />
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The <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>Reader's Guide continues to provide guidance for book groups, teachers and students, and is supported by the many in-depth contributor interviews featured on this blog.<br />
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This month Asia-Pacific Journal (Vol. 13, Issue 6) focuses on artistic and activist responses to the 3/11 disaster.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9y_THr5teHd6FrxVrqZGXAMfCIXPAfdTs-Qg9I-NGJj3l3x8qfgk-82oV7r_FsQEOZukXnf5-KsYnikiMKju1uaXYMt1Y3XrtsVm5EMCgLrT_q0FEtA-q82SJF0ybxNxOxYAfiayUQe8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-17+at+9.37.03+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9y_THr5teHd6FrxVrqZGXAMfCIXPAfdTs-Qg9I-NGJj3l3x8qfgk-82oV7r_FsQEOZukXnf5-KsYnikiMKju1uaXYMt1Y3XrtsVm5EMCgLrT_q0FEtA-q82SJF0ybxNxOxYAfiayUQe8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-17+at+9.37.03+AM.png" height="400" width="338" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Alexander Brown and Vera Mackie, </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">"Introduction: Art and Activism in Post-Disaster Japan", </em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">The Asia-Pacific Journal</span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">, Vol. 13, Issue 6, No. 1, February 16, 2015</em></span></td></tr>
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The <a href="http://www.japanfocus.org/-Alexander-Brown/4277">introduction by Alexander Brown and Vera Mackie</a> contains a footnote with recommended reading that includes <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>and serves as an excellent reading list:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In addition to the extensive coverage in </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, see, </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">inter alia</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, Jeff Kingston, ed., </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Tsunami: Japan’s Post-Fukushima Future</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, Foreign Policy Magazine, Washington D.C., 2011; Jeff Kingston, ed., </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Natural Disaster and Nuclear Crisis in Japan: Response and Recovery after Japan’s 3/11</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, Routledge, Oxford, 2012; Holly Thompson, ed., </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Tomo: Friendship through Fiction: An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories, </em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley; David Karashima and Elmer Luke, eds, </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">March was Made of Yarn: Reflections on Japan’s Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Meltdown</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, Vintage, New York, 2012; Lucy Birmingham and David McNeill, eds, </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Strong in the Rain: Surviving Japan’s Earthquake, Tsunami and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2012; Mark Willacy, </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Fukushima: Japan’s Tsunami and the Inside Story of the Nuclear Meltdown</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, Pan Macmillan Australia, Sydney, 2013; Hiroshima City University 3/11 Forum, </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Japan’s 3/11 Disaster as Seen From Hiroshima: A Multidisciplinary Approach</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, Sanseidō, Tokyo, 2013; Roy Starrs, ed., </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">When the Tsunami Came to Shore: Culture and Disaster in Japan</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, Global Oriental, Leiden, 2014; and </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Japan Forum</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, Vol. 26, No 3, 2014.</span></blockquote>
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In this <a href="http://www.japanfocus.org/home">Asia-Pacific Journal</a> focus, there are eight articles in addition to the introductory piece, all tackling some aspect of artistic and activist response to the 3/11 disasters. The series makes for important reading regarding the profound effect of the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disaster on the lives of people in Tohoku and throughout Japan. May we never forget. </div>
HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-5172400832582745422014-03-26T12:02:00.000+09:002014-03-26T12:02:18.454+09:00Three Years After, Tomo Keeps Giving<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
March 11, 2014 marked the three-year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.<br />
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Recently the 2013 earnings from sales of <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>plus the Stone Bridge Press publisher donation--a total of 50,000 yen--was transferred to the Japan-based NPO <a href="http://hope-tomorrow.jp/aboutus/index-e.html">Hope for Tomorrow</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXgy_lx766YiIuwKf5hTCMAgOYtoBma3BsOMxh2-0zs9Sn6PPQsQphat6oBayYOG3Qf_3QaIfvmVY3jd1DeI7hytTG1WaNfJIt6LcUtori6g2fRpJ5oQmGGsiDrnq1a2ssjZo-oumRE0/s1600/11+TomoCover2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlXgy_lx766YiIuwKf5hTCMAgOYtoBma3BsOMxh2-0zs9Sn6PPQsQphat6oBayYOG3Qf_3QaIfvmVY3jd1DeI7hytTG1WaNfJIt6LcUtori6g2fRpJ5oQmGGsiDrnq1a2ssjZo-oumRE0/s1600/11+TomoCover2.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
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Hope for Tomorrow continues to provide meaningful much-needed support to teens in the quake and tsunami affected areas of Tohoku in northern Japan.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuA72qCEiRRFcFGxpCpNz-0gkWgSYnZEhoCEYqbGSmfO94VHInAXuhIhaBu2R3UXJHMTGy_L9VbG-9wHujZoMog2A_1tDpQjmfNuhJmBVat5TPq0H2ejH-KzWqzgYAxsdpxBHcG92Nw4M/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-25+at+10.56.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuA72qCEiRRFcFGxpCpNz-0gkWgSYnZEhoCEYqbGSmfO94VHInAXuhIhaBu2R3UXJHMTGy_L9VbG-9wHujZoMog2A_1tDpQjmfNuhJmBVat5TPq0H2ejH-KzWqzgYAxsdpxBHcG92Nw4M/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-25+at+10.56.23+PM.png" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
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Your purchase of <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories </i>really does make a difference to teens in Tohoku. Consider donating a copy of <i>Tomo </i>to your school or town library, suggesting it to book groups, and purchasing copies as gifts.<br />
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See <a href="http://hope-tomorrow.jp/index-e.html">Hope for Tomorrow's website</a> to learn about this small NPO with a big heart and their commitment to longterm education-focused aid for young people in Tohoku.</div>
HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-83610053343987754352013-09-20T12:22:00.000+09:002013-09-20T15:39:29.611+09:00Tomo Travels---to Wichita, Kansas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>This summer <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>was featured in Wichita, Kansas. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Hear more from <i>Tomo</i> contributor Avery Fischer Udagawa:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This summer, the <i>Wichita Eagle</i>
newspaper listed <i>Tomo</i> as one of the
top-selling titles at <a href="http://www.watermarkbooks.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Watermark Books and Cafe</span></a>, a local independent bookstore.
Watermark’s majority owner <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/business/media/24indie.html?_r=0"><span style="color: blue;">Sarah Bagby</span></a> has spoken on behalf of indies to the <i>New York Times</i>, and Newbery
Award-winning author <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/books/11stonewall.html"><span style="color: blue;">Clare Vanderpool</span></a> thanks the store in her latest title <i>Navigating Early</i>.</span><br />
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<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSCOjacQ0Nh6xTZqKyLh-kPf79Fm7kJ-Wk7lwNjuOJySRGGT2MB9PKnueyrQWuV-X0OceGQ3IOy1QY-COISYP7zFFNHdD7fppqGAITo1mZAtCSn0e2cGfYxVqNmfrJapVc0TjLFCrEZo/s1600/photo-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSCOjacQ0Nh6xTZqKyLh-kPf79Fm7kJ-Wk7lwNjuOJySRGGT2MB9PKnueyrQWuV-X0OceGQ3IOy1QY-COISYP7zFFNHdD7fppqGAITo1mZAtCSn0e2cGfYxVqNmfrJapVc0TjLFCrEZo/s400/photo-3.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How
did <i>Tomo</i> end up at Watermark? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
had the pleasure to speak there in mid-July about translating <i><a href="http://www.j-boysbook.com/"><span style="color: blue;">J-Boys</span></a></i>,<i> </i>a novel by <i>Tomo</i>
contributor Shogo Oketani, and “House of Trust,” the short story by Sachiko
Kashiwaba that appears in <i>Tomo. </i>My
Kansas-based family drummed up a terrific crowd of listeners, and Watermark
boosted inventory and included <i>Tomo</i>
in its media offerings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5I7ej4bb3wFfoK-9M7UGXLeiWqUWw9MmPlYCNOTZ7xUDoJKmpzecvZiIa4ySxx4w6gxUD5Vo1Qhzg1vLFF9FqkVXW9pAjoGSnSKEH0Ttrq-ZpWPQMArre5plAIo0ggiCTrl1YrhzBIxU/s1600/IMG_1116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5I7ej4bb3wFfoK-9M7UGXLeiWqUWw9MmPlYCNOTZ7xUDoJKmpzecvZiIa4ySxx4w6gxUD5Vo1Qhzg1vLFF9FqkVXW9pAjoGSnSKEH0Ttrq-ZpWPQMArre5plAIo0ggiCTrl1YrhzBIxU/s400/IMG_1116.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was amazing to see Watermark support <a href="http://www.watermarkbooks.com/event/avery-fischer-udagawa"><span style="color: blue;">a talk on translation</span></a> and an anthology
focused on Japan. I am grateful also to Wichitans who took interest in <i>Tomo</i>, buying books to benefit teen
survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAOtVLzzxIpaD7kzSWOnCC9f5t1XOxaMGFK4luc3sGFHGZ8_2YEbQA2WPE9wpxcwJX1964ck_xCBN2EvfgpfktUrFcH6DAvSFeMDCSZ05SJOfqawkxCchyphenhyphenyIQi1PX2uPhhMMMZyZQaIE/s1600/IMG_1123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAOtVLzzxIpaD7kzSWOnCC9f5t1XOxaMGFK4luc3sGFHGZ8_2YEbQA2WPE9wpxcwJX1964ck_xCBN2EvfgpfktUrFcH6DAvSFeMDCSZ05SJOfqawkxCchyphenhyphenyIQi1PX2uPhhMMMZyZQaIE/s400/IMG_1123.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
plan to include <i>Tomo</i> in future talks
at bookstores, libraries, conferences and schools and know other contributors
will do likewise. What a terrific avenue it gives us to spread the word about
Tohoku! Interested readers are everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Thank you, Avery!</b></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>So, do you have a story or photos to share about <i>Tomo</i> travels? Contact editor Holly Thompson: tomoanthology (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks!</b></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-56839247239924166902013-05-27T20:38:00.000+09:002013-05-27T20:38:49.839+09:00Talking Translation--TOMO in the AFCC Translation Seminars<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC) is a conference in Singapore with various tracks, workshops and seminars. This year, for the first time, a translation track was offered during the day of seminars, and the track of four seminars featured <i>Tomo </i>translator contributors Avery Fischer Udagawa and Alexander O. Smith, as well as editor Holly Thompson. In the individual talks and panel discussion, <i>Tomo </i>came up again and again--the nature of the project; the nitty-gritty aspects of translation; the search for and selection of stories; the correspondence between editor, translators and authors; the editing process, and publication and promotion.<br />
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Here is translator Avery Fischer Udagawa talking at AFCC about the Boston launch of <i>Tomo</i>, to which author Sachiko Kashiwaba and daughter wore kimono with the obi tied in the same way as depicted in the story.<br />
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Avery spoke of sharing these photos with students during school visits in Japan and Thailand, thereby making a local event travel the world.<br />
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The AFCC translation panel also featured Harvey Thomlinson, publisher from Hong Kong, and Mohd Khair Ngadiron, CEO Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia. It was great to see the translation seminars well attended by authors, translators, publishers and editors from around Asia, all eager to see more stories from Asia translated into English.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AFCC Translation Panel</td></tr>
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And it's been so nice to see <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>being snapped up by attendees at the conference. Here are a few excited fans of the book, which is still helping to provide longterm support for teens in Tohoku. Thank you!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young writers Afi Noor and Hemizah from Malaysia and author Evelyn Wong of Singapore</td></tr>
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HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-45091390077191566792013-04-30T22:03:00.000+09:002013-04-30T22:03:35.998+09:00Tomo in the World Literature Classroom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>is making its way into school libraries and classrooms and is being adopted as a textbook in some schools. I was happy to hear from teacher Lee Karpa from Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School in Massachusetts about how <i>Tomo</i> was used in a new World Lit elective. Here are Lee's words:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">"Recently our English Department embarked on a new
endeavor, offering a World Literature elective course in addition to the
general four-year required English classes. The one-semester elective was
launched in September of 2011 and was successful enough for the course to be
offered again in the 2012-2013 school year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">"In this Contemporary World Literature elective, students are asked to read and write beyond the rather challenging demands of
their required English classes. I began the year with the study of Japan, its
literature, film, and culture. We began reading selections from <i>Tomo</i> which gave students manageable
reading chunks. Not only were the selections accessible, they were enjoyed by
all of the students. I began by assigning a few short stories to the entire
class, then having students choose a selection which was later shared with the
rest of the students. Based on the students’ reviews, each student chose
another story to read. Finally, students who had read the same story met to
discuss. In this way, the majority of the stories were covered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">"The <i>Tomo</i>
stories in verse were shared primarily in class, with students reading the
poetry aloud, followed by discussion. A couple of the longer poems were read by
each student reading one stanza. The students loved this manner of reading
poetry, feeling that the verse came alive and became approachable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">"Tomo</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"> was the perfect vehicle for beginning a World Literature
class."</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: #0400;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you, Lee, and thank you to all schools, book groups and classrooms that use <i>Tomo. </i>Thank you for being friends to Tohoku through fiction. </span></div>
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HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-45694831810651340252013-04-01T01:30:00.000+09:002013-04-02T01:56:04.620+09:00YARN Visits Japan--with a Tomo Story Lesson Plan <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Young Adult Review Network (YARN) shared a <a href="http://yareview.net/2012/02/love-right-on-the-yesterday-from-tomo/">sneak peak at </a><i><a href="http://yareview.net/2012/02/love-right-on-the-yesterday-from-tomo/">Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</a> </i>last year that featured the <i>Tomo </i>story "Love Right on the Yesterday" by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga, and now YARN has developed a lesson plan to go with this story.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXczDX6ymm9VsxB7nGOG0YTp4XB22R1lUiRNaQ-kvI3W3oi2D3HGC55Y8pbm0ufzF2mwEpMEkk6uZk8YLW97pe0cr9svrjLflsOd1z3YQfgcixg25TKIQtSo1EzPzrLsbdGdAtvZ6XQs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-03-31+at+12.19.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXczDX6ymm9VsxB7nGOG0YTp4XB22R1lUiRNaQ-kvI3W3oi2D3HGC55Y8pbm0ufzF2mwEpMEkk6uZk8YLW97pe0cr9svrjLflsOd1z3YQfgcixg25TKIQtSo1EzPzrLsbdGdAtvZ6XQs/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-03-31+at+12.19.45+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Have a look at this <a href="http://yareview.net/2013/03/yarn-visits-japan-writing-with-a-sense-of-place/">YARN post</a> which features two Japan-set stories and a lesson plan and assignments to accompany them. The lesson focuses on writing with a sense of place. Thank you to YARN for this excellent teaching post.<br />
<br />
Also, check out the Reader's Guide to <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</i> <a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.jp/p/blog-page_8.html">here</a> which has discussion questions and writing prompts for the entire <i>Tomo </i>anthology as well as for each individual story. Proceeds from <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>go to organizations that benefit teens in Tohoku affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1a0k7hHQ2PT1SCCDLcWESzxX59R3gmPXcyzxI_EhaJ5bWrPWmk3pOBYRin8j-ZmcbP-AVleGVryhpB2-bdqijWo4tHECWiRV1LkfmyHlKFLjugkEBY8t5TyVDrUVgC1Tdj6KZN-NT9c/s1600/11+TomoCover2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1a0k7hHQ2PT1SCCDLcWESzxX59R3gmPXcyzxI_EhaJ5bWrPWmk3pOBYRin8j-ZmcbP-AVleGVryhpB2-bdqijWo4tHECWiRV1LkfmyHlKFLjugkEBY8t5TyVDrUVgC1Tdj6KZN-NT9c/s400/11+TomoCover2.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
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HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-68983530456909753312013-03-01T13:25:00.001+09:002013-03-01T13:25:58.275+09:00Tomo Story in Cricket Magazine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This month Part 1 of Marji Napper's short story "The Lost Property Office" which is published in <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</i> appears in <i><a href="http://www.cricketmagkids.com/new/march-2013">Cricket Magazine</a>, </i>with full color illustrations<i>. </i>Also featured in this issue, "a Japanese delight" according to the editors, are other stories stories related to Japan, so if you can get your hands on a copy of the magazine do have a look.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBY8OgMefhLhllgj-gdhgwfBIADnPfYRpL0ZNJ5XmzlfLDz2W3UtTCB3NXHI2ehTULIuOGHjCcknYey0qun2zExDRoTB-c3-R5WclFWXf5EoaJUXRJNYZofulFB6vUUzQPKSesnXkUeQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-03-01+at+1.03.50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBY8OgMefhLhllgj-gdhgwfBIADnPfYRpL0ZNJ5XmzlfLDz2W3UtTCB3NXHI2ehTULIuOGHjCcknYey0qun2zExDRoTB-c3-R5WclFWXf5EoaJUXRJNYZofulFB6vUUzQPKSesnXkUeQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-03-01+at+1.03.50+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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For an interview with the story's author Marji Napper in the Contributors and Interviews section of this Tomo Blog, click <a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.jp/2012/02/interview-with-tomo-contributor-marji.html">here</a>. And for discussion questions relating to "The Lost Property Office, download the free <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i><a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.jp/p/blog-page_8.html">Reader's Guide</a>. </div>
HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-88269016102799126352012-12-02T14:00:00.000+09:002012-12-02T14:00:54.765+09:00Giving through Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--2012 Donation to Hope for Tomorrow<i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories</i> is a benefit anthology of young adult fiction, and it is a pleasure to announce the first donation resulting from the sales of this collection of Japan-related stories. As explained in previous Tomo Blog posts (<a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.jp/2012/01/tomo-support-for-japan-npo-hope-for.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.jp/2012/02/hope-for-tomorrow-site-in-english.html" target="_blank">here</a>) the first donations from the sales of <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>will go to Hope for Tomorrow <a href="http://hope-tomorrow.jp/index-e.html" target="_blank">(hope-tomorrow.jp</a>), the Japan-based NPO that provides three methods of support (Educational Support Program, the International Exchange Support Program, and the Foreign Language Support Program) to high school students in areas of Tohoku hardest hit by the major tsunami and earthquake of 2011.<br />
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A donation of 100,000 yen (at the current exchange rate about 1,200 USD) was made today to Hope for Tomorrow. This money includes royalty earnings for the first half of 2012 (<i>Tomo </i>was published in March 2012) plus Stone Bridge Press publisher donations for that same period (rounded up with an additional 727 yen from the editor for a total of 75,000 yen), as well as editor's advance money (25,000 yen). Note that the editor's advance has otherwise only been used for printing <i>Tomo </i>publicity postcards, and a small amount has been set aside to enable more cards to be printed.<br />
<br />
A huge thank you to all the <i>Tomo </i>authors and translators for donating their
stories and their time. Also thanks to Peter Goodman at Stone Bridge Press for the
generous publisher donations and for making this project possible. And thank you
to Hope for Tomorrow, for providing much needed long-term support for
teens in Tohoku.<br />
<br />
Please continue to support this project--tell your friends about <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction. </i>Tell teachers and librarians about the <a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.jp/p/blog-page_8.html" target="_blank"><i>Tomo</i> </a><i><a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.jp/p/blog-page_8.html" target="_blank">Reader's Guide</a>, </i>which is full of discussion questions and writing activities, and remind them about the extensive cache of author, illustrator and translator <a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.jp/p/contributors.html" target="_blank">interviews</a> on the <a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tomo Blog</a>. And consider purchasing copies of <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>as holiday gifts--order through your local bookseller, your favorite online bookseller, or through <a href="http://www.stonebridge.com/shopexd.asp?id=326" target="_blank">Stone Bridge Press</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd249twcdsxOSQQ-gUc8NnftYfmtp22_kSlJUegSN4c72rdyjlBw7LmKIXp6ETqV4BdY1IthfoU6u3oBSriBu8ClQJ_94Zy8LbFCtydkwDSWkUymVhYvbKWqG_MYWrsvMJ0Dl1thCMwnY/s1600/CIMG2362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd249twcdsxOSQQ-gUc8NnftYfmtp22_kSlJUegSN4c72rdyjlBw7LmKIXp6ETqV4BdY1IthfoU6u3oBSriBu8ClQJ_94Zy8LbFCtydkwDSWkUymVhYvbKWqG_MYWrsvMJ0Dl1thCMwnY/s400/CIMG2362.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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The teens in Tohoku need our long-term encouragement and support. HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-40549704775711311892012-10-08T22:47:00.002+09:002012-10-08T22:47:27.120+09:00The TOMO Reader's Guide--Now Available <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</i> is a rich collection of 36 stories relating to Japan, ideal for classrooms, libraries and book groups. Now the Tomo Reader's Guide is available for download. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_G5OuGyfzjgTDB6cpPBvS0U0XaKKuYLr3UwMf4fHAipMpkrKxdNOiS3c0fQf_PADplZ7-IVmf6Pp0q9sWt0d9LfvYNn0FpklaM8dv9FKjBDcXe-SzhFxsO3oE6SKPrW4GPbj3HkNw120/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-10-08+at+10.25.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_G5OuGyfzjgTDB6cpPBvS0U0XaKKuYLr3UwMf4fHAipMpkrKxdNOiS3c0fQf_PADplZ7-IVmf6Pp0q9sWt0d9LfvYNn0FpklaM8dv9FKjBDcXe-SzhFxsO3oE6SKPrW4GPbj3HkNw120/s320/Screen+shot+2012-10-08+at+10.25.00+PM.png" width="233" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To download the PDF of the Reader's Guide click <a href="http://www.hatbooks.com/files/Readers_Guide_Printable_121008.pdf" target="_blank">here</a> or visit the <a href="http://tomoanthology.blogspot.jp/p/blog-page_8.html" target="_blank">Reader's Guide</a> section of this Tomo Blog. Included in the Reader's Guide are writing activities (creative writing, translation and academic writing) and discussion questions, both general and story by story, to accompany the <i>Tomo </i>anthology. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>is a benefit anthology, with proceeds going to benefit teens in the Tohoku areas of Japan affected by the 2011 tsunami and earthquake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feel free to share feedback about the Reader's Guide, as it will be periodically improved and updated. Thank you!</span>HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-29076000476541504702012-09-19T15:41:00.000+09:002012-09-19T15:42:06.720+09:00Eye on Stories features Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The August issue of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.river-f.com/english/eyeai/"><i>Eye-Ai </i></a>magazine</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> featured <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction </i>in </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the Eye on Stories section</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, and magazine editor Terri Nii has sent us the PDF of the article. Written by <i>Tomo</i> contributor Louise George Kittaka, the article includes background of the <i>Tomo </i>project and features interviews with editor Holly Thompson and contributors Trevor Kew, Ann Tashi Slater and Juliet Winters Carpenter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Printed out, the article provides a great introduction to the <i>Tomo </i>anthology for libraries, book groups, teachers and students. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a link to <a href="http://www.hatbooks.com/tomo__friendship_through_fiction__an_anthology_of_japan_teen_stories_112455.htm">Holly Thompson's Tomo page with the PDF file link</a> located below the Tomo cover image. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here's a sneak peek of the two full magazine spreads:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vYEAs2h6Z9QUiSmyxpT9mLMGID7szgthky_gXHhulo2WBNF24GJ9zM28897nTkD8OkRwpucI7-lJL1RT0At0ibNY-tevJ9Ztv_SEABVE24_iEN5UGajPILaxoZhRiLeuU2E-2_T5tEs/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-09-19+at+3.38.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vYEAs2h6Z9QUiSmyxpT9mLMGID7szgthky_gXHhulo2WBNF24GJ9zM28897nTkD8OkRwpucI7-lJL1RT0At0ibNY-tevJ9Ztv_SEABVE24_iEN5UGajPILaxoZhRiLeuU2E-2_T5tEs/s400/Screen+shot+2012-09-19+at+3.38.03+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you, Louise and thank you, <i>Eye-Ai</i>!</span></span><br />
HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-52604943756741221122012-08-15T18:20:00.000+09:002012-12-02T21:20:05.631+09:00Kenji Miyazawa’s Poem “Ame ni mo makezu”--Interview with TOMO Translators David Sulz and Hart Larrabee<style>
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlSGzed0zFSXrAuo30GNTkMZpkiWoJVWDbRr3l4xt4DE7Zwn7X7Q7dKr0VdGl9xlktsHjS0l-yBvwxSPhP-ntd21PTAgZauTqVg14E_RWbuQX7uV0CZHsnZVIzgbQl-5UR6bbVqyYs9Gs/s1600/DavidSulz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlSGzed0zFSXrAuo30GNTkMZpkiWoJVWDbRr3l4xt4DE7Zwn7X7Q7dKr0VdGl9xlktsHjS0l-yBvwxSPhP-ntd21PTAgZauTqVg14E_RWbuQX7uV0CZHsnZVIzgbQl-5UR6bbVqyYs9Gs/s200/DavidSulz.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Sulz</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">David Sulz</span></b><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"> (translator of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tomo </i>epigraph “Be Not Defeated by the
Rain” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ame ni mo makezu</i>) is a
librarian at the University of Alberta. He spent four years in the nineties on
the JET program in Miyagi (Sendai and Towa-cho) and tries to return often to
visit the kindred spirits there who remain among his closest friends. Other
translations include Jiro Nitta’s Phantom Immigrants (Mikkosen suian maru), Kenji
Miyazawa’s “The Poison Powder Police Chief</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">,</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">” and</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">
</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">lyrics from
</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">songs performed by </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Miyagi friends</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">.</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtI3V6vY2uqgGVkEzTlCkFT0OB8FmzAOqNa_sCpESdr9vOTiX5skAW5v5AvLicV-EwyZ5Kxq-4byxXbLBprNhC2y9fyJrhQhiJvp3yecDu23BQzl07VTT1DjJNq3CB6s_Qvn7RMMzgcQ/s1600/CIMG9701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtI3V6vY2uqgGVkEzTlCkFT0OB8FmzAOqNa_sCpESdr9vOTiX5skAW5v5AvLicV-EwyZ5Kxq-4byxXbLBprNhC2y9fyJrhQhiJvp3yecDu23BQzl07VTT1DjJNq3CB6s_Qvn7RMMzgcQ/s200/CIMG9701.JPG" width="129" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hart Larrabee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Hart Larrabee</span></b><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"> (translator of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tomo </i>story “Anton and Kiyohime”) was
born in New York State and majored in Japanese at Carleton College in
Minnesota. He also earned postgraduate degrees from the University of
Pennsylvania and University of Hawaii. A
full-time freelance translator, he currently lives with his family in Nagano
Prefecture.</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Both David Sulz and Hart Larrabee have </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">translated
</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">the famous Kenji Miyazawa poem <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ame ni mo makezu. </i>An excerpt of Sulz’s
translation appears in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tomo </i>as the anthology’s
epigraph. </span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Below is the original poem in
Japanese, followed by the Sulz and Larrabee translations, which are fascinating
for their differences. Following the poems, each translator discusses his
approach to the poem and the resulting translation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Here is
how the original poem </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">would have looked if written horizontally. Miyazawa
used <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">katakana </i>instead of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kanji </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hiragana </i>writing for much of the poem. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">雨ニモマケズ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">風ニモマケズ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">雪ニモ夏ノ暑サニモマケヌ丈夫ナカラダヲモチ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">欲ハナク</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">決シテ瞋ラズ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">イツモシズカニワラッテイル</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">一日ニ玄米四合ト</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">味噌ト少シノ野菜ヲタベ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">アラユルコトヲ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ジブンヲカンジョ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Reference Sans Serif";">ウ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ニ入レズニ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ヨクミキキシワカリ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ソシテワスレズ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">野原ノ松ノ林ノ蔭ノ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">小サナ萱ブキノ小屋ニイテ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">東ニ病気ノコドモアレバ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">行ッテ看病シテヤリ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">西ニツカレタ母アレバ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">行ッテソノ稲ノ束ヲ負イ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">南ニ死ニソ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Reference Sans Serif";">ウ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ナ人アレバ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">行ッテコワガラナクテモイイトイイ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">北ニケンカヤソショ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Reference Sans Serif";">ウ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ガアレバツマラナイカラヤメロトイイ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ヒデリノトキハナミダヲナガシ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">サムサノナツハオロオロアルキ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ミンナニデクノボートヨバレ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ホメラレモセズ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">クニモサレズ</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ソ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Reference Sans Serif";">ウ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">イ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Reference Sans Serif";">ウ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">モノニ</span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Microsoft Tai Le";"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: DFP勘亭流;">ワタシハナリタイ</span><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "MS ゴシック"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">This is
how the poem was discovered written in Kenji Miyazawa’s notebook:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJdZB1QWFuiAziOuPdHS3HxUNX5yqXwozT14p38QE_nZc9bo81KdciB2UpziYL5fWZQ7oeYI3S-L2WQZmM5OPVidozcTxmEkF6I8axweByizpqZlY0Ya6FCsBbWevrJz0BoZX8yqX0-o/s1600/miyazawa%E9%9B%A8%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A2%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B1%E3%82%B9%E3%82%99%E6%89%8B%E5%B8%B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJdZB1QWFuiAziOuPdHS3HxUNX5yqXwozT14p38QE_nZc9bo81KdciB2UpziYL5fWZQ7oeYI3S-L2WQZmM5OPVidozcTxmEkF6I8axweByizpqZlY0Ya6FCsBbWevrJz0BoZX8yqX0-o/s320/miyazawa%E9%9B%A8%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A2%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B1%E3%82%B9%E3%82%99%E6%89%8B%E5%B8%B3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">courtesy of the Daimaru Museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Following is David
Sulz’s translation of Kenji Miyazawa’s poem <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ame
ni mo makezu</i>:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Be not defeated by the rain. Nor let the wind prove your
better.<br />
Succumb not to the snows of winter. Nor be bested by the heat of summer.<br />
<br />
Be strong in body. Unfettered by desire. Not enticed to anger. Cultivate a
quiet joy.<br />
Count yourself last in everything. Put others before you.<br />
Watch well and listen closely. Hold the learned lessons dear.<br />
<br />
A thatch-roof house, in a meadow, nestled in a pine grove's shade.<br />
<br />
A handful of rice, some <i>miso</i>, and a few vegetables to suffice for the
day.<br />
<br />
If, to the East, a child lies sick: Go forth and nurse him to health.<br />
If, to the West, an old lady stands exhausted: Go forth, and relieve her of
burden.<br />
If, to the South, a man lies dying: Go forth with words of courage to dispel
his fear.<br />
If, to the North, an argument or fight ensues: <br />
Go forth and beg them stop such a waste of effort and of spirit.<br />
<br />
In times of drought, shed tears of sympathy. <br />
In summers cold, walk in concern and empathy.<br />
<br />
Stand aloof of the unknowing masses:<br />
Better dismissed as useless than flattered as a "Great Man".<br />
<br />
This is my goal, the person I strive to become.</span><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Following is Hart’s Larrabee’s translation of Kenji Miyazawa’s
poem <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ame ni mo makezu</i> :</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Unbeaten
by the rain</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Unbeaten
by the wind</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Bested
by neither snow nor summer heat</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Strong
of body</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Free of
desire</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Never
angry</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Always
smiling quietly</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Dining
daily on four cups of brown rice</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">miso</i> and a few vegetables</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Observing
all things</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">With
dispassion</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">But
remembering well</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Living
in a small, thatched-roof house</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">In the
meadow beneath a canopy of pines</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Going
east to nurse the sick child</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Going
west to bear sheaves of rice for the weary mother</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Going
south to tell the dying man there is no cause for fear</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Going
north to tell those who fight to put aside their trifles </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Shedding
tears in time of drought</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Wandering
at a loss during the cold summer</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Called
useless by all</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Neither
praised</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Nor a
bother</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">Such is
the person</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 平成明朝;">I wish
to be</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial;">Translator Q & A</span></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">What inspired
you to translate this poem?</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">David Sulz:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> I had a professor who once told us that after
studying Chinese for four years at university, he had no idea what to do next. He
sent $50 to a bookstore in Hong Kong and received many boxes of Chinese books. Overwhelmed,
he chose the thinnest book and started translating it. Through various
coincidental twist and turns, that serendipity led to his becoming a world
expert on a particular Tang dynasty Chinese poet.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">In general, anything I try to
translate is a combination of serendipity and personal connections. For
example, a historical novel based in places I lived and songs, nature art activities,
and travel TV shows created by close friends with whom I could discuss the
meaning. A good friend with whom I often had deep philosophical conversations
happened to visit Kenji World in Iwate prefecture and brought me a copy as a
souvenir. So this falls into both categories: serendipity and personal
connection.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Hart
Larrabee: </span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I live in a little town called Obuse in northern
Nagano Prefecture. A local sake brewery hosts a monthly lecture series,
inviting accomplished people who are passionate about what they do to give a
talk followed by an evening of conversation fuelled by the brewery’s delicious
sake and seasonal cuisine. For a number of years I regularly translated or
edited the English portions of the bilingual summaries of each session for
publication by the brewery.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Designer Taku Satoh,
perhaps best known for product and packaging designs, came to speak in August
2004. Satoh is also</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> art director for </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Nihongo
de asobo </span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">(Let’s Play in Japanese), a wonderful NHK
educational program on which <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ame ni mo
makezu</i> is a recurring theme, and he concluded his talk with a reading of
the poem.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">A bit of Googling quickly
turned up a couple of existing versions, but I wanted to avoid infringing on
anyone’s copyright </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">and</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> there was little time to arrange permissions.
Since I was already reasonably familiar with the poem from the old Hibbett
& Itasaka textbook I had used years before in college, I decided to
retranslate the poem myself. The version here is a slightly edited version of
the one I produced then.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Can you
explain your approach to the poem and discuss your translation? </span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Hart Larrabee:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Particularly
given the poem’s posthumous discovery in a private notebook, I see it more as a
meditation than a moralizing exhortation or socio-political commentary. I
wanted to amplify by simplifying, and tried to draft</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">
something straightforward and direct</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> without anything extraneous. The poem itself
is pretty lean, and I wanted to resist the temptation to expand and explain in
the translation.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">David Sulz:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> I did this 15 long years ago, and I didn’t know
much about translation ideas and expectations back then and I really just
wanted to understand the poem and have interesting discussions about its
meaning (I also remember being quite bored at work with lots of spare time). I
had no concerns about translating it “correctly” or “appropriately” because I
wasn’t doing it for marks or recognition. This was before the Internet became
so widespread (believe it or not) so I had no expectation that anyone other
than family and maybe some close friends would read it. I suppose I could have
looked into publishing it in a journal or book or anthology somewhere but
posting it on “the world of Kenji Miyazawa” website was as far as I got. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">In another coincidence, I had
just been given a thick book of Alexander Pope’s poetry and especially loved
his “Essay on Man.” I think much of the wording, phrasing, language, and so
much else in my translation was influenced by his 18<sup>th</sup> century,
English style (well, maybe not the heroic couplets for which he was renowned). English
poetry experts might not see anything of Pope in my translation and I’ve seen a
few comments that it does not accurately reflect the style in which Miyazawa
wrote in the context of his time. Miyazawa’s version is very simple for an
educated man because, despite his education, he supposedly felt more in tune
with the rural folk so wrote in a simple, unpretentious style. Someone
commented that his style might be compared to e.e. cummings who wrote poems in
English without capital letters. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Admittedly, my translation is anything
but simple, straightforward, current English but this wasn’t an intellectual
exercise. The style and words just happened and that probably was a result of
many small influences at that particular time. I wonder what would happen if I
was somehow able to forget my previous translation and try translating it again
now. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">What are
some of the challenges in translating this particular poem? What were your
problem/challenge spots?</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">David Sulz:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> Honestly, all of it was a challenge! I don’t want
anyone to think I sat down and translated this in an afternoon all by myself. I
had lots of advice and explanations from many people even if, unforgivably, I
don’t remember exactly who anymore. I remember several passages that caused lively
debate among my Japanese friends which, by the way, is something any good poem
or idea should do. Specifically, I remember two parts taking a long time and that
I probably took liberties with in translating. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">One is the part about shedding
tears during a drought and walking in concern in cold summers. The connection seems
to be the anxiety one should feel for friends and neighbours, in this case
farmers, who will have a lean winter because their harvest won’t be plentiful.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Another tricky part was why it
would be “better dismissed as useless than flattered as a “great man.” It’s
hard to come up with other ways to explain what I think it means but I’ll try.
Flattery is insincere and manipulative so a “great man” doesn’t know what
others really think of him and he might be talked into doing things that others
don’t want to take responsibility for themselves. Conversely, it doesn’t really
matter if some people think you are useless as long as you (and those closest
to you) know your own worth – you are free to be yourself with less pressure.
Perhaps it is so hard to grasp Miyazawa’s meaning because it is completely
opposite to what we are normally led to believe – that it is better to be
considered great than useless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">After finally understanding the
meaning, of course, the biggest challenge was finding words and phrases in
English that preserved the Japanese meaning and character but allowed rhythms
that sounded harmonious and lyrical in English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In other words, making it sound right.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Sadly, my Japanese ability these
days isn’t good enough to easily go back to the original poem and reconstruct
the challenging points but I think those spots can be deduced by comparing where
various English translations have different interpretations.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Hart Larrabee: </span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I was always bothered by the use of the conditional
“if” in translations of the section listing the four directions</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">, even though it appears
formally faithful to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">areba</i> in the
original.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> To me it
suggests a rigid logic, an image of a protagonist who, alerted somehow to the
existence of a sick child or a weary mother somewhere, only then dashes into
action. In the original, though, the conditional just seems part of a
rhetorical structure designed to indicate that the protagonist would show
compassion toward all wherever he might find them. So I was pleased to dispose
of the “ifs.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">In reviewing my translation for this interview, I
decided to take another stab at the third and fourth lines from the bottom,
which I originally rendered as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unpraised
/ Unnoticed</i>. This translation bothered me because the protagonist would
certainly have to be noticed before he could be called useless, but I couldn’t
come up with anything better at the time. I probably also originally
misunderstood </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA;">ku ni sarezu</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA;">, which I now feel is more at “not seen as a pain in
the neck” than “not paid attention to.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">What do
you think of other translations of Ame ni mo Makezu?</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">David Sulz:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> I love reading various translations of this work,
it is a great example of the complexity of translating between two languages
whose grammar and style is so completely opposite and whose worldview is quite
different. I don’t think there is any way to capture in English how the
elegance of Miyazawa’s writing appeals to Japanese readers and, at the same
time, make the profound meaning accessible in English. It seems a translator
has a dilemma with this poem - accurate but choppy or rhythmic but sacrificing
accuracy. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Hart Larrabee:</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">A poem is a puzzle with many solutions, and I like
bits and pieces of all of them given their respective approaches. Some versions
introduce a third-person “he” or reveal the first-person subject early, but I
think the immediacy of the poem is lost in the former approach while the latter
gives too much away. I’m sure I saw David Sulz’s version back in 2004, and
remember also <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">being influenced by Steven
Venti’s (See: www.bhk-limited.com). Another source, one I only discovered
recently, (See: japanfocus.org/-Hiroaki-SATO/2526) contains numerous treatments
of the first section, which can then be used to track down full versions by
translators such as Makoto Ueda, Donald Keene and Roger Pulvers. It’s amazing,
really, how many ways even such a short poem can be rendered, and with such
different results. Beyond the issue of explanatory additions I mentioned above,
even little decisions like which article to use or whether a noun should be
plural or singular can really change the sense of the translation.</span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">What do
you particularly like about this poem?</span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">David Sulz:</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> I love the human vs. nature struggle. It is not
about defeating nature, or escaping into your basement/car/office/mall, or
coming up with technology make yourself immune to nature. It’s about accepting
nature, dealing with nature on its own turf,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and becoming mentally strong enough to not only endure but also enjoy it.
Maybe this poem has influenced me embrace winter in one of the coldest winter
cities on earth, Edmonton, where walking to work in -40 degrees or playing
hockey outdoors or cross-country skiing is even more satisfying an achievement
than in warmer climes.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I also like the idea that one can
be both humble and strong at the same time. Humility isn’t weakness and
strength isn’t aggression. A satisfied and good person doesn’t have to be
ostentatious with big houses and fancy meals. Courage also comes from small acts
that seem easy on paper but are difficult in real-life such as convincing
people to stop quarrelling or helping someone with a heavy load when lots of
other people are watching. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Finally, I appreciate the last
line—“this is my goal, the person I strive to become.” Miyazawa is not telling
anyone else how to act or be except by his own example—which is very Buddhist,
I think. He is saying, here’s what I think it takes to be human, I’m going to
try to achieve it, you can try too if you’d like but you don’t have to. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Hart Larrabee: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">On its own, I like it as a
spare and deeply personal meditation on right living. As a phenomenon, I am
fascinated by the way it has been employed post-3/11 to convey a kind of stoic
resolve in the face of tragedy. I can’t help but wonder if Satoh’s use of the
poem on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nihongo de asobo</i>—recitations
of the poem in regional dialects from around Japan are one of my favorite parts
of the show—helped lay the groundwork for the poem’s resurgence.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">And to
conclude, <a href="http://kizuna311.com/contents/reading14/">here</a> is actor
Ken Watanabe reading the poem in Japanese.</span></b></div>
HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-32187995485418135632012-07-04T01:15:00.000+09:002012-12-02T21:18:22.838+09:00Interview with TOMO Contributor Hart Larrabee<style>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Hart Larrabee </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">(translator of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tomo </i>story “Anton and Kiyohime” by Fumio
Takano) </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">was born in New York State and majored in Japanese at
Carleton College in Minnesota. He also earned postgraduate degrees from the
University of Pennsylvania and University of Hawaii. He has lived primarily in
Japan. A full-time freelance translator, he currently lives with his family in
Nagano Prefecture.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hart Larrabee (right) with author Fumio Takano </td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Tell
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I started college in 1985. I had decided to go to Carleton
College in Minnesota, which had both a foreign language proficiency requirement
and a strong emphasis on off-campus study. Although I had studied French in
high school I never really took to it, something I attributed in part to the
many English cognates that enabled me to stumble through by speaking as if I
had marbles in my mouth. While planning what college courses to take, I decided
I should find a language as far removed from English as possible, and preferably
one with a different writing system to deprive myself the temptation of such
shortcuts. It was the 40th anniversary of the end of WWII so Japan was in the
news a lot, and since Carleton didn't offer Chinese at the time I decided to
take Japanese. A fall semester course in Japanese aesthetics taught by an
American designer of Japanese gardens, David Slawson, hooked me on the culture
and I really enjoyed the puzzle of the language itself. I ended up spending my
junior year in Kyoto, majoring in Japanese, and then spending more time in
Japan immediately after graduation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">What
led you to work in translation?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">After spending a couple of years as an artist's apprentice
in Kyoto, I returned to the US to study communication at the University of
Pennsylvania and then got an MBA at the University of Hawaii. Through an
internship, this led to work with the organizing committee for the 1998 Olympic
Winter Games in Nagano, then the Japanese Olympic Committee, and then the
organizing committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Along
the way I had picked up translation jobs here and there. When I decided to get
married in 2002 and move to Nagano to live near my wife's family, freelance
translation became my main occupation (although I have continued to work with
international sporting events when the opportunity arises).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">What
attracted you to this story of Takano’s? Do you have experience with Japanese
dance or Nagauta or Russian culture? Are you familiar with Ueno Park and some
of the Tokyo settings in this story?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyoko Ibe's production of <i>Dojoji: A Forbidden Journey</i> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The artist with whom I apprenticed in Kyoto, Kyoko Ibe,
worked primarily in paper, especially handmade paper produced in Tokushima. Her
studio produced a range of products (lamps, jewelry, stationery) as well as
large-scale installations and other works of art. During the time I was there
she embarked on a theatrical project: an experimental reworking of the <i>Dojoji
</i>story in collaboration with a Norwegian dancer and a Japanese noh actor
for which she created the sets, props, and costumes. I stitched together
the paper kimono and long court trousers worn in the role of the <i>shirabyoshi
</i>dancer, and went along on the Scandinavian tour as interpreter, stagehand, and
one of two costumers to help dress the noh actor. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noh actor Akira Matsui in <i>Dojoji: A Forbidden Journey</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">So the <i>Dojoji</i> story is one that
resonates deeply with a formative experience from my early years in Japan and I
was very interested in translating it when the opportunity arose. I hesitated,
though, and by the time I responded the story had been offered to another
translator. Fortunately for me, that translator was ultimately unable to take
part so I got a second chance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">This
was a challenging story to translate for a number of reasons. What were some of
the trickiest aspects?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Although the language used is pretty straightforward (with
the notable exception of the <i>nagauta</i>), there is a lot going on. There is
the love affair between Anton and Kiyohime, with its passion and betrayal,
alternate realities, time travel experiments, Latvia-Russian relations, and
even a little bit of Tokyo travelogue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">One of the biggest challenges is that as originally
published in Japanese, the story was about twice as long as Tomo space
restrictions would allow. The author, Fumio Takano, reworked the story to fit
the space constraints, but we were pushing the limit and I needed to be acutely
conscious of space limitations throughout. Holly Thompson, Sako Ikegami and
particularly Lynne Riggs helped me tighten things up and offered numerous
solutions more elegant than what I had originally come up with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Finding a voice for Olegs was also tricky. In the original,
he speaks Japanese fluently but in an adult or classroom register, not the
voice of a typical teenager. There was really no good way to convey this nuance
in the translation, and in my early drafts he seemed unnaturally stiff. I tried
to loosen up his dialogue in the sections where he speaks with his uncle, but I
suspect that any contrast with the way he talks when speaking with Kyuan is
barely perceptible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The <i>nagauta</i> sections were also fun to work with. The
text itself comes straight from the Kabuki version of the Dojo-ji story, so I
was able to find some existing translations and commentaries on the web that
helped me confirm that I understood the original well enough. Since this wasn't
an academic translation I was free to leave out bits that were distracting and
try to shape the translation to best fit the story within the general framework
of what was in the original.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Can
you describe the translation process with this particular story?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">It was an enormous benefit to be able to consult with Takano
about how to interpret particular passages, and to have her review the
translation and make suggestions about how to address areas where I had
questions. She was very engaged and I felt it was important to keep her
informed of changes to the translation as it evolved. It was a very hands-on
process, and it cannot have been easy for her to have other people mucking
about with her story—especially given the need to make some adjustments for a
younger readership and to carve away another 10% or so from the translation as
our deadline approached. </span>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Do
you have any message for teens in Tohoku?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have really struggled to find something to say. I cannot
possibly know what it is like to be you, in the aftermath of such upheaval. But
I hope you won't let the disaster define you. It shouldn't dictate how you see
yourself. The rest of the world may be quick to use the disaster as a
convenient shorthand for deciding what to think, but I hope you won't let them
set the terms. You can decide for yourself what your experience will mean in
your life. Trust your family, trust your friends, and trust yourself.</span></div>
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HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-20224492123443670162012-06-29T05:10:00.000+09:002012-12-02T21:25:07.890+09:00Tomo--Distributors in the U.S. and AbroadTomo was recently on display at the huge ALA (American Library Association) annual conference in Anaheim--in the booth for <a href="http://www.cbsd.com/">Consortium</a> Book sales and Distribution. Consortium is the distributor for <i>Tomo</i>'s publisher<i> </i>Stone Bridge Press.<br />
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Besides online booksellers, for distribution outside the U.S., check out the contacts on the Stone Bridge Press <a href="http://stonebridge.com/shopcontent.asp?type=distribution">Distribution</a> page, which includes info for distributors in Japan and Korea, as well as other parts of Asia.<br />
<span id="goog_1919391768"></span><span id="goog_1919391769"></span>HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-68662920668055396462012-05-12T08:00:00.000+09:002012-05-12T08:00:04.333+09:00Reviews for Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction!<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Two months have passed since the birthday of the benefit anthology <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories, </i>and the reviews have been solidly positive. Below are some review excerpts and links. Click on the link for the full review. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reviews for <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">"A big but consistently engaging pro bono anthology of authors with direct or indirect Japanese 'heritage or experience.' </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">A
broadly appealing mix of the tragic and droll, comforting, disturbing,
exotic and universal, with nary a clinker in the bunch." --<a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/holly-thompson/tomo-friendship-through-fiction-anthology-japan-te/"><i>Kirkus Reviews</i> </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"<i>Tomo </i>is </span><span style="font-size: small;">an excellent story collection, presenting a rich and varied immersion in Japanese culture from a teen perspective." --<i>VOYA</i> (print only)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"With
slices of Japanese language, folklore, history, popular culture, and
other ethnic references, Tomo, which means friend in Japanese,<b> </b>offers a unique and wide-ranging taste of Japanese life." </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>--Booklist</i> (print only)</span><br />
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"The thirty-six stories. . . cover a wide range of genres (prose, verse,
graphic narratives) and feature nine stories translated from the
Japanese. With the exception of Graham Salisbury and Alan Gratz, most of
the authors, many of whom write for adults, will be new to American
teens." --<a href="https://www.hbook.com/2012/04/blogs/out-of-the-box/friendship-through-fiction/"><i>The Horn Book, Out of the Box</i></a> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"</span><span style="font-size: small;">The stories in </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Tomo</i>,
"friend" in Japanese, resonate beyond the confines of tragedy in the
Tohoku region to reflect a generation who will grow up indelibly marked
but not defeated by 3/11...There is sadness and suicide, loss and, yes,
the tsunami. But these stories equally cover everything important to
the younger generation as entrance exams, ghosts, J-pop, love, divorce,
baseball, gamers, ninjas and dragons coordinate to form a whole." --<a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fb20120304a1.html"><i>The Japan Times</i></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"This
collection of short stories and poems about Japanese teens is weird
and wonderful, studded with the unique color of Japanese teen pop
culture, as well as the impact of defining events from the twenty-first
century to the present: Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, the tsunami,
earthquake and nuclear disaster . . . . There's something fabulously
specific about the pop culture references that can make reading <i>Tomo: Friendship through Fiction</i> feel like a virtual tour of Japan." --<a href="http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/In-Brief/Tomo-Friendship-Through-Fiction/ba-p/7315"><i>Barnes and Noble Review</i></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"These
36 unique, heartwarming tales allow readers to feel Japan and its
culture, as well as identify with the characters and their experiences
during the sensitive teen years and the struggle to belong and to
mature. From historical times to modern day, from traditions to current
pop culture, from countryside to big city, from the country of Japan
to Japanese communities around the world, these stories can also
connect English-language readers with the heart of Japan." --<a href="http://www.chopsticksny.com/contents/whats-new/2012/04/8398"><i>Chopsticks NY</i> </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"</span>The teen protagonists are written with sympathy and intuition, and the stories are all executed with confidence. . . . this collection was divided into ones I liked, and ones I liked more." --<i><a href="http://www.asianreviewofbooks.com/new/?ID=1282#%21">Asian Review of Books</a></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"Tomo
crosses genres, and it crosses genres in more than one way. People
should take note of the fact that the book is not divided up into
stories that are prose, poetry, or stories that are made up of images.
Prose is mixed with poetry, poetry is mixed up with graphic art..." --<a href="http://digboston.com/think/2012/03/litscene-tomo-augusten-burroughs-and-john-elder-robison/"><i>Dig Boston</i> </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"This
collection of stories leaves the reader with an amazing sense of hope
for the future of Japan....This is not only a great book commemorating
the spirit of the Tohoku people, it is a darn good read, and the
English book I would recommend first to anyone who wants to dip their
toes into Japanese literature." --<i><a href="http://www.perogiesandgyoza.com/2012/03/tomo.html">Perogies & Gyoza</a> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"There is plenty for adults to enjoy here, too." -<i>-<a href="http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2012/03/19/jq-magazine-book-review-tomo-friendship-through-fiction-an-anthology-of-japan-teen-stories/">JQ Magazine</a></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"As
the winds blow through the tales and understanding blossoms in the
lives of teenage protagonists, a real live vision of hope, peace and
renewal is formed which brings a full circle to the meaning of
'Friend'...In this ripe time for healing just before the one year
anniversary of 3/11/2011, make a new friend--the book called <i>Tomo</i>." -<i>-<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_219061236">Japan Visitor</a></i><a href="http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=354&pID=2736"> </a></span><br />
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<br />HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-45484957506260613562012-05-10T18:00:00.000+09:002012-05-10T18:00:05.946+09:00Interview with Tomo Editor Holly Thompson<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<b>Holly Thompson</b> (author of the foreword and editor of <i>Tomo</i>) earned an MA from the NYU creative writing program and is the author of fiction set in Japan: the novel <i>Ash, </i>the picture book <i>The Wakame Gatherers, </i>and the verse novel <i>Orchards, </i>which received the 2012 APALA Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature. A longtime resident of Japan, she teaches creative and academic writing at Yokohama City University and is regional advisor of the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Visit her website: <a href="http://www.hatbooks.com/">www.hatbooks.com </a><br />
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Debbie Ridpath Ohi (author/illustrator of the <i>Tomo </i>story "Kodama") interviewed Holly Thompson for Debbie's Inkygirl.com website. See the full interview <a href="http://inkygirl.com/inkygirl-main/2012/5/9/interview-with-holly-thompson-editor-of-tomo-friendship-thro.html">here</a>; you can post a comment there for a chance to win a copy of the <i>Tomo</i> anthology. </div>
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Holly's message to Tohoku teens lies in the words at the end of the foreword to <i>Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction</i>:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holly Thompson doing tsunami cleanup work in Ishinomaki</td></tr>
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"May the hard-hit communities of northern Japan find the strength to move forward. May the young people of Japan cultivate a spirit of compassion and play key roles in reviving Tohoku. <i>Tomo </i>友 means "friend," and I am profoundly grateful to everyone who joins me in saying to the people of Tohoku: We are with you, we will help you, we will cheer you as you take your steps to recover." </div>
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<br />HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497423815987979661.post-20585482823958846942012-05-01T12:16:00.000+09:002012-12-02T21:19:04.869+09:00Interview with TOMO Contributor Alexander O. Smith<style>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Alexander O. Smith </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">(translator of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tomo </i>story “Wings on the Wind” by Yuichi Kimura) has been translating video games and novels from Japanese to English since graduating from Harvard University with a M.A. in Classical Japanese literature in 1998. He is the founder of Kajiya Productions Inc. and is now based in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. His work has received the ALA Batchelder Award for <i>Brave Story</i> (Miyuki Miyabe) and the Phillip K. Dick Special Citation for <i>Harmony</i> (Project Itoh). Visit his website: <a href="http://www.kajiyaproductions.com/">www.kajiyaproductions.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I became interested in the Japanese language after spending a few months of my last year in high school in a rural school in China, north of Beijing. My first exposure came, literally, via the menu on the airplane. I began self-study in the wilds of northern Vermont, culminating with a month-long homestay in Osaka during the summer before college. Fast forward six years to a 2-month internship at SEGA Entertainment in Tokyo while I was working toward a PhD in Classical Japanese Literature. I left grad school, and leveraged my internship and some subtitling experience into a localization position at the game company Squaresoft in Costa Mesa, CA in 1998. At the beginning of 1999 I transferred to the Square Co., Ltd. (now "Square-Enix") offices in Tokyo. I left the company three years later to found my own translation business, Kajiya Productions, by which time I had already branched away from games into novels, comics, and poetry.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">What are the challenges and rewards of translating a short work such as Wings on the Wind?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Similar to a poem, a piece like “Wings on the Wind” is a challenge because of its brevity, and the attention to word choice that implies. In a longer, prosaic work, you may have room to add in bits of imagery or wordplay that are lost in the translation process, but a short form piece does not provide the translator with the luxury of more words. Add too much, and you endanger the succinct clarity of the original. So, you must proceed with utmost caution, trying to wring every last bit of meaning from your words in an attempt to do justice to the piece.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">You have recently moved back to Japan. How does it feel to be back and what are you looking forward to?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Prior to this move I was in the US for five years, which is the longest I've been away from Japan as an adult. I'm looking forward to seeing those things that I had started to take for granted while living in Japan with fresh eyes: the people, the art, the language. I'd like to get back into reading Classical Japanese, which is something I haven't done since grad school, but I always enjoyed. Probably the thing I'm looking forward to most, however, is seeing how my kids rediscover Japan. They were both born in Tokyo, but have done most of their growing-up in the States. It will be a real adventure for them!</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Do you have any message for teens in Tohoku?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">At our local elementary school in Vermont, the kids made paper cranes to send to a charity that donated $1 to the Tohoku area for each paper crane they received. They received millions. I know that, for the kids here, learning about the disaster made a faraway place seem much closer, and making the cranes opened their eyes to how connected we are, and how easy it is to help each other. I hope their well-wishes—riding on paper wings—found you safely.</span></div>
HATBOOKS Author Holly Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16643437056887685901noreply@blogger.com0