Outlook, April 1987

Herewith, the latest selection from dusted-off published poetry and short fiction, circa 1970s vintage and beyond....

A Vignette From Tokyo

I am now a temporary resident of Tokyo, Japan, in a quasi-permanent way. Our posting here is for a four-year period - quite a chunk out of anyone's life. A removal of four years from all that's dear and familiar might appear more like apprehended misery than exotic adventure. But remember that positive frame of mind! You've got to tell yourself from the start that it's a great opportunity to observe another culture, to learn from the experience to be a more well-rounded citizen of the world. And if you don't, a lot of people around you will be glad to. You get the feeling that you'll be letting them down by not anticipating the best.

After all the excruciating details have been looked after, and you're still dealing bravely with your helpless ambivalence, you find yourself at your destination, Tokyo! This is one big city. With a staggering population which increases daily by two million commuters during the working week for a total of 12 million. The city pulses and teems with humanity, and all the manifestations of a huge modern metropolis in one of the most advanced industrialized computer-and-space-age countries in the world. Anything you can see anywhere in the world will come to Tokyo sooner or later. If it can move, and be transported, it'll wend its way here - Mohamed coming to the mountain, and the Kanto Plain on the Island of Honshu where Tokyo is located.

I have celebrated a myriad of fascinating experiences in this city and beyond. Having joined "Friends of the Earth" I've been privileged to go on mountain hikes. I've also become accustomed to occasional earth tremors. I've seen sculptures and paintings by Raphael and Michelangelo; watched Shakespeare's Henry VII in Japanese, and heard the mellifluous Shamisen play ancient music, while Kabuki and Noh theatre were enacting their ageless drama.

Just down the street from the Meiji (Shinto) Shrine where over five million Japanese prayed during the 1987 New Year period, Japanese teenagers play pulsingly raucous rock music and display the latest intricate dance steps.

You know you're in a different environment, since kimono-clad women are a common sight, mincing along on clogged feet.

c. 1987 Rita Rosenfeld
published in Outlook, 25th anniversary edition