YOISHO !!
Wonderful to chance upon this image of a silkscreen poster by Gail Aratani for a poetry and music event we put on in J-Town San Francisco in 1979. I don’t remember what poems I read there, but I remember I came up with the name for the event, and Gail liked it, understanding how it expressed our umph, our hard work and how we do it together, as Japanese. Still proud of our work, our connections, our dreams, all the people and their art.
what do you think?
a poem by Yuri Kageyama
what do you think?
it’s a trick question
what do you think?
with a right answer
what do you think?
not at all open-ended
what do you think?
as it might seem
what do you think?
it’s asking do you really love me?
do you truly understand?
what do you think?
the answer isn’t fixed
just a right answer, and a wrong
what do you think?
i love you so much
what do you think?
and long after we’re all gone
what do you think?
that big question is still there
what do you think?
what do you think?
My poem is published in this just out Spring 2025 issue of Ishmael Reed’s KONCH magazine.
My AP Stories for 2025
My AP Story May 20, 2025 on Honda delaying its electrification strategy to focus more on hybrids.
My AP Story May 21, 2025 on Japan’s trade data that show exports falling.
My AP Video Story May 13, 2025 on collectors’ cards being authenticated and evaluated in Japan.
My AP Story May 16, 2025 on Japan’s economy contracting.
My AP Story May 13, 2025 on job cuts at Nissan.
My AP Story May 14, 2025 on record profits at Sony.
My AP Story May 13, 2025 on profits falling at Honda.
My AP Story May 13, 2025 on SoftBank reporting a profit for the first time in four years.
My AP Book Review May 6, 2025.
My AP Story, My AP Photo and My AP Video April 23, 2025 on “Bullet Train Explosion.”
My AP Story May 9, 2025 on job cuts at Panasonic.
My AP Story May 8, 2025 on Toyota’s financial results.
My AP Story and My AP Photos May 1, 2025 on May Day around the world.
My AP Photos are part of this Gallery on May Day.
My AP Story April 22, 2025, a book review on a memoir.
My AP Story April 18, 2025 on a Star Wars event in Japan.
My Co-Byline AP Story May 5, 2025 about Trump’s trade demands.
My AP Story April 30, 2025 on the collaboration between Toyota and Waymo.
My AP Story and My AP Photos April 25, 2025 on the CEO-to-be of the 7-Eleven chain.
My AP Story April 24, 2025 about Nissan’s earnings forecast.
My AP Story May 2, 2025 about a minister’s comment on Japan’s U.S. Treasury holdings.
My AP Story April 17, 2025 on Japan’s trade data.
My AP Story April 15, 2025 about Japanese regulators accusing Google of monopolistic behavior.
My AP Story and My AP Photos April 10, 2025 on a machine that measures the fattiness of tuna.
My AP Story April 6, 2025 on a helicopter crash.
My AP Story April 1, 2025 on a major survey about sentiments on the economy.
My AP Story and My AP Photos March 26, 2025 on Nissan’s soon-to-be CEO.
My AP Story March 18, 2025, a book review.
My AP Story March 13, 2025 on 7-Eleven.
My AP Story March 11, 2025 on Nissan replacing its chief executive.
My AP Story and My AP Photos March 10, 2025 on Nissan’s driverless vehicles.
My AP Story and My AP Photos Feb. 22, 2025 on a city Toyota is building near Mount Fuji.
My AP Story Feb. 25, 2025 on Toyota trying to add diverse views to its board.
My AP Story and My AP Photos Feb. 19, 2025 on marketing Japan’s elderly.
My AP Story Feb. 17, 2025 on Japan’s economy.
My AP Story Feb. 13, 2025 on Nissan and Honda dropping their talks for a business integration.
My AP Story Feb. 5, 2025 on Toyota’s EV initiatives in China and the U.S.
My AP Story Feb. 4, 2025 on the appeals court ruling on the case of Nissan’s former executive Greg Kelly.
My AP Story Jan. 16, 2025 on a YouTube star with eyes now on a global audience.
My AP Story Feb. 3, 2025 on the partnership between SoftBank and OpenAI for smarter artificial intelligence.
My AP Story Jan. 30, 2025 on Nissan’s job and production cuts in the U.S.
My AP Story Jan. 24, 2025 on the Bank of Japan raising interest rates.
My AP Story Jan. 23, 2025 on Japan’s trade data.
My AP Story Jan. 16, 2025 on bank executives taking pay cuts after acknowledging an employee stole from customers’ safe deposit boxes.
My AP Story Jan. 13, 2025 on the quake that hit southwestern Japan.
My AP Story Jan. 7, 2025 on Nippon Steel determined to push its US Steel takeover.
My AP Story Jan. 5, 2025 about a Nagasaki bombing survivor, who has died.
My AP Story Jan. 4, 2025 on the death of the world’s oldest person.
My AP Story Jan. 2, 2025 on the well-wishers at the Imperial Palace.
I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Jan. 1, 2025, which started out as My last AP Story for last year.
“CONTINUOUSLY POETRY” My new book of poems
“CONTINUOUSLY POETRY” My new book of poems, a collaboration with Osaki HANIYA. Out as a real paper book January 2025. Please stay tuned for a big book party _ you are all invited to come celebrate poetry that knows no borders. Some poems shared on this site earlier became a part of the book: Continuously Poetry, Part Two and KELOID. I am very proud of this book. Special thanks to Shinsuke, who volunteered his time and love to put the digital data together so we could get it all nicely printed. So please come to the book party, but I already said that. Details coming soon.
REPORTER AT WORK PORTRAITS Photos by my colleagues over the years that are evidence I do my best as a reporter.
Photo during my interview of Japanese prosecutors for My AP Story March 8, 2023.
Photo during my interview of Yayoi Kusama for My AP Story Aug. 7, 2012.
At the FCCJ front row, brown hoodie for My AP Story April 12, 2023.
Photo during my interview of Akio Toyoda for My AP Story March 6, 2013.
My AP Story Sept. 23, 2016, when I spoke with a rock legend, who kindly called me “AP’s journalist of conscience.”
Sometimes my sources are a bit mechanical but cute. My AP Story July 13, 2015 on the Pepper robot when I am in an AP Photo, which is unusual.
Sometimes the photographer and I end up in pretty abandoned areas like the no-go zone in Fukushima. My AP Story April 29, 2014 that I filed from this trip.
And at other times, the photographer and I end up meeting extraordinary people who were hidden in their moments of glory. My AP Story May 18, 2014 when I interview Mr. Haruo Nakajima. My AP Obit Aug. 8, 2017.
A shot from the interview for My 2024 AP Story in the studio of the artist in Shikoku.
We also do 360 video and end up being in that circle. This is from My AP Story Nov. 16, 2017 at a Toyota plant. Turn your cursor in the video below to see a 360 degree view of the plant:
A Photo by Shizuo of Andy and myself interviewing a Nissan executive for My AP Story Sept. 12, 2017.
Takashi Murakami took this selfie after our interview for this AP Story Dec. 31, 2015.
From 2014 when I visited Nezu Museum, designed by Kengo Kuma, and speak with the curator for My AP Story about Japanese architects. I still like this story.
This poem is part of an upcoming book “Continuously Poetry,” co-written with Japanese poet Osaki HANIYA, and put together by designer Shinsuke Matsumoto. I like this poem, and I like this book.
KELOID _ a poem by Yuri Kageyama
A famous actor once told me
He wished he didn’t have a Face.
Oiwa in Yotsuya Kaidan asks:
Is this my Face?
Criminals feel free to do evil
Their Faces behind a mask.
I still remember I cringed in horror:
Her Face was covered with Keloid
But instead of being a vengeful ghost,
Or criminally insane,
She is just gently worried
Not blaming
Not frail
Not vain
This poem will be published in an upcoming issue of Ishmael Reed’s KONCH magazine.
SHIRO a poem by Yuri Kageyama
The first death I knew was our family Akita,
Born the same time as me;
A runt my father got, his ears never perked up,
His nose piglet pink, not shiny black,
Like a proper Akita.
^___<
A ball of fluffy white,
Shiro, which means “white” in Japanese,
Grew up to be big and strong,
Although his nose stayed pink
And his ears floppy.
^___<
Chained by a big dog house,
He barked at approaching strangers
But never at our neighbor,
A typesetter at the Asahi,
Walking home quietly at dawn.
^___<
He never growled, snapped or bit,
Noble and calm,
Like a proper Akita;
I would ride on him
Like he was a horse.
^___<
People said he was poisoned by a man
Who didn’t like his barking;
He was taken away in a cart,
Or maybe it was a little truck;
Still, beneath a blanket of straw.
I chanced upon this speech by Monique Truong at the Library of Congress in 2019, “The Pleasures of Not Being Lonely.” Below is what she says about my poem, “My Mother Takes a Bath.” I still like this poem. I’m proud and happy Monique likes my poetry _ and thank her:
“I want to share with you a poem by Yuri Kageyama, whose photograph in the anthology was a canvas of pitch black, with only her face, the waves of her hair, and a standing mic emerging from the darkness; her eyes are cast downward, focused on the instrument that is amplifying her voice. Her biographical statement identifies her as a “performer” who was born in Japan; grew up in Tokyo, Maryland, and Alabama; and now calls San Francisco her home. This poem is entitled “My Mother Takes a Bath,” and the body is at its center. This is how it begins:
My mother
Sits
In the round uterine
rippling green water
hazy vapor-gray dampness
soapy smelling
in the air—a circle cloud—above
the tub of a bath
the wet old wood
sending sweet stenches
sometimes piercing to her nose and sometimes
swimming in the hot, hot water
tingling numb at the toes and fingertips
when she moves too quickly but
lukewarm caught in the folds of her white white belly
Her face is brown-spottled
beautiful with dewdrop beads of sweat lined neatly where
her forehead joins her black wavy tired hair
and above her brown-pink lips
one drop lazily hangs, droops over,
sticking teasingly to her wrinkle
then pling! falls gently
playfully disappears into the water
She sighs
And touches her temple
high and naked
runs her fingers over the lines deep
Her hand
has stiff knuckles
enlarged joints crinkled and hardened
but her thick nails thaw in the water and
her hand is
light
against her face
and gentle and knowing
and the palm
next to her bony thumb
is soft
Her breasts are blue-white clear
with soft brown nipples that dance
floating with the movements of the
waves of the little ocean tub
slowly, a step behind time, slowly
She sighs again . . .
For me, the pleasure of recognizing a kindred body, a family of kindred bodies, was followed in quick succession by the pleasure of recognizing the kindred spirit.”
It turns out that Keiko Beppu also referenced the poem “My Mother Takes a Bath” in her 1981 essay, “Women in Contemporary Anglo-American and Japanese Literature: Of Cherry Blossoms, and Weeds.”
This is what she says:
“Throughout history woman as the eternal nourisher of life has given herself freely because it has been decreed as her sole function in life _ to give. More than two decades ago Lindbergh posed the question: but is it purposeful living? In the poem quoted above, an old Japanese woman asks the same question, and answers in the affirmative. The old woman forgets the passing of time and ages, ‘As she sits alone/With the water/singing koto strings in her ears.’ This is a twilight world of serenity and pseudo-contentment.”
My AP Stories for 2024
Link to My AP Stories for 2023 and previous years
Here goes for 2024, a year that I start out as a Winner for The Associated Press Best of the Week for my quake coverage. And I win The Associated Press Best of The Week again in September for My AP Story that’s part of a package about Chinese migration in the 21st Century. In November, an AP Series compiling spooky stories from around the world, which includes my contribution, wins Best of The AP Honorable Mention.
For the final one for the year, I contributed these paragraphs to the Dec. 31 AP Story (I’m repeating them here since they are unlikely to survive in full all the updates throughout the day):
Much of Japan has shut down ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning, including swatting floor mats called “tatami” with big sticks. The upcoming Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is heralded as one of rebirth — alluding to the reptile’s shedding skin. Stores in Japan, which observes the zodiac cycle from Jan. 1, have been selling tiny figures of smiling snakes and other snake-themed products. Other places in Asia will start marking the Year of the Snake later, with the Lunar New Year.
My AP Story Dec. 12, 2024 on Nissan’s management reshuffle meant to fix its money-losing business.
My AP Story Dec. 6, 2024 about Nippon Steel and its planned acquisition of U.S. Steel.
My AP Story Nov. 24, 2024 about a weasel taking kindergarteners’ shoes and the link to the Video.
My AP Story Nov. 19, 2024, an Obit on poet Shuntaro Tanikawa.
My AP Story Nov. 18, 2024 in which I interview the executive heading Uniqlo.
My AP Story Nov. 14, 2024 on sake hoping to win UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage recognition.
My AP Story Nov. 15, 2024 on Japan’s economy.
My AP Story Nov. 7, 2024 on Nissan slashing 9,000 jobs after sinking into quarterly losses.
My AP Story Nov. 6, 2024 on Nintendo and its Switch.
My AP Story and My AP Photo Nov. 2, 2024 about automated transport in Japan, where labor is short.
My AP Story Oct. 31, 2024 on how Hello Kitty is as cute and lucrative as ever at 50.
My AP Story Oct. 31, 2024 is part of a compilation of spooky stories from around the world that wins Best of The AP Honorable Mention.
My AP Story Oct. 8, 2024 on the Netflix series about a real-life professional wrestling legend Dump Matsumoto.
My AP Story and My AP Photos Oct. 2, 2024 on Japanese denim from my recent trip to Kojima.
My AP Story Oct. 19, 2024 on an attack on the ruling party headquarters.
My AP Story Oct. 2, 2024 on Japanese companies dropping out as Olympic sponsors.
My AP Story Sept. 19, 2024 on Greg Kelly’s appeal case, related to pay for former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn.
My AP Story Sept. 17, 2024 on the craft of temari.
I am one of the 12 journalists who won the Best of the AP award Sept. 14, 2024, the first year in my more than 30 years at the AP I win the award twice in a year. My AP Story and AP Photos that were part of the package:
My AP Story and My AP Photo Sept. 5, 2024 on Chinese choosing to live in Japan.
I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Oct. 27, 2024 about deforestation in Indonesia.
My AP Story Aug. 8, 2024, my debut Music Review, on Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Opus.”
My very first AP Book Review, My AP Story Sept. 9, 2024.
My AP Story Aug. 31, 2024 and My AP Photo below on Japan and the four-day work week.
My AP Story Sept. 6, 2024 on the parent company of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain turning down Couche-Tard’s takeover offer.
I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Sept. 3, 2024.
My AP Story Aug. 31, 2024 on Japan’s complaint over a Chinese ship in territorial waters.
I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Aug. 31, 2024.
My AP Story Aug. 22, 2024 about the world’s oldest person, a Japanese woman who loves bananas.
My co-byline AP Story Aug. 23, 2024 on Kiribati.
I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Aug. 25, 2024 on wearable devices.
My AP Story Sept. 1, 2024 on the storm.
My AP Story Aug. 31, 2024 on a storm.
My AP Story Aug. 21, 2024 on Japan’s trade data.
My AP Story Aug. 19, 2024 on graffiti at Yasukuni Shrine.
My AP Story Aug. 16, 2024 as evacuations are ordered over a typhoon.
My AP Story Aug. 17, 2024 as the typhoon moves away.
My AP Story Aug. 15, 2024 on Japan’s economy.
My AP Story Sept. 9, 2024 on the revised GDP data.
My AP Story Aug. 6, 2024 about Nissan’s “cool paint” with My AP Photo.
My AP Story July 31, 2024 on how a Sega game “Like A Dragon” is now an online series.
My AP Story Aug. 1, 2024 on how Nissan and Honda are working together to quickly catch up in the electrification age.
My AP Story Aug. 9, 2024 on Toyota’s promise to improve vehicle certification.
My AP Story Aug. 1, 2024 on Toyota’s earnings.
My AP Story and My AP Photo July 31, 2024 on Nissan’s sustainability efforts.
My AP Story July 12, 2024 in which I get close to Kabuki superstar Danjuro.
My AP Story July 3, 2024 on the new bills.
My AP Story and My AP Photos June 28, 2024 on what will become of the old Tsukiji fish market area.
My AP Story June 23, 2024 on the rice ball.
And I make my debut as AP’s recipe writer with My AP Story June 23, 2024.
My AP Obit June 19, 2024 on Japan’s “beat” poet Kazuko Shiraishi.
My AP Story June 19, 2024 on Japan’s trade data.
My AP Story June 18, 2024 on the Toyota shareholders’ meeting.
I’m a Contributor to this AP Story June 15, 2024 about the price of orange juice.
My AP Story June 12, 2024, an obituary on architect Fumihiko Maki.
My AP Story June 10, 2024 on Japan’s economy.
My AP Story June 16, 2024 on Toyota facing some unhappy shareholders.
My AP Story June 3, 2024 on Toyota apologizing for faulty tests on cars.
My AP Story May 30, 2024 in which I interview George Takei.
My AP Story translated into Spanish.
My AP Story May 29, 2024 on a working group under the U.N. issuing a report on human rights abuses in Japan.
My AP Story May 28, 2024 on Toyota’s talking about the ecological engine in the works.
My AP Story May 23, 2024 on Sony’s strategy centering around its creative businesses.
My AP Story May 22, 2024 on Japan’s trade data.
My AP Story May 19, 2024 on the bear attacks.
My AP Story May 16, 2024 on Honda’s EV strategy.
My AP Story May 16, 2024 on the economy.
My AP Story May 5, 2024, an obituary on Juro Kara.
My AP Story April 29, 2024 about a 1990’s TV reality show.
My AP Story April 25, 2024 on ramen noodles.
My AP Sidebar Story on an easy ramen recipe with My AP Photos.
My AP Story May 14, 2024 on Sony’s earnings.
My AP Story May 13, 2024 on SoftBank Group in the red for the fiscal year.
My AP Story May 10, 2024 on Sega Sammy selling a resort to a U.S. fund.
My AP Story May 8, 2024 on Toyota’s booming profit and investment for future growth.
My AP Story May 7, 2024 on Nintendo promising an announcement on a Switch successor.
My AP Story May 3, 2024 on Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel.
My AP Story April 22, 2024 on Japan’s antitrust body telling Google not to undermine competition.
My AP Story April 19, 2024 on a damages lawsuit filed by Japanese doctors against Google.
My AP Story April 17, 2024 on Japan’s March trade data.
My AP Story and My AP Photos April 16, 2024 on Nissan’s EV ambitions.
My AP Story and My AP Photo April 15, 2024 on a lawsuit accusing Japanese police of racial profiling.
My AP Story March 29, 2024 on “Oppenheimer” opening in Japan.
My AP Story April 6, 2024 on the Japanese prime minister’s visit to a semiconductor plant.
My AP Story April 1, 2024 on the Bank of Japan “tankan” survey.
My AP Story March 29, 2024 on the news conference by Japan’s prime minister.
My AP Story March 27, 2024 when I interview the designer of the Godzilla shoes.
My AP Story March 26, 2024 on Markets.
I’m a Contributor to this AP Story March 25, 2024 about North Korea saying Japan seeks summit.
My AP Story March 25, 2024 about Nissan’s aggressive electric vehicle push.
My AP Story March 21, 2024 on Japan’s trade data.
My AP Story March 19, 2024 on the Bank of Japan ending its negative interest rate policy.
My AP Story May 9, 2024 on Nissan’s earnings for the fiscal year.
My AP Story March 15, 2024 on Nissan and Honda working together on electrification and intelligence technology.
Watch the Video here.
My AP Story March 13, 2024 on the failed rocket launch by Space One.
My AP Story March 12, 2024 on Hayao Miayazaki and Japan’s Oscar wins.
My AP Story March 8, 2024 about Kyoto’s geisha district fighting over-tourism with keep-out signs.
My AP Story Feb. 25, 2024 on the opening of a semiconductor plant.
My AP Story Feb. 20, 2024, an obit on the founder of the Daiso 100-yen shop chain.
My AP Story Feb. 9, 2024 in which I interview Mika Ninagawa, and do Photos and Video.
My AP Story Feb. 3, 2024 on the Japanese Embassy’s message about Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl.
My AP Story Jan. 30, 2024 about a pig cafe.
My AP Story Jan. 31, 2024 on the Olympic trial, where the defendant denies the payments were bribes.
My AP Story and My AP Photos Jan. 29, 2024 on a lawsuit demanding a stop to “racial profiling.”
My AP Story Feb. 13. 2024 on a new president at a Toyota subsidiary fighting a scandal.
My AP Story Jan. 30, 2024 on Toyota’s Akio Toyoda stressing a global vision.
My AP Story Jan. 29, 2024 on Toyota apologizing for cheating on testing _ again.
My AP Story and My AP Photo Jan. 23, 2024 on a film that documents how single moms are poor.
My AP Story Feb. 15, 2024 about Japan, now the world’s fourth largest economy.
My AP Story Jan. 22. 2024 on a Toyota subsidiary cheating on vehicle safety tests.
My AP Story Jan. 19, 2024 on the poetry reading at the Imperial Palace.
My AP Story Jan. 18, 2024 on Uniqlo’s lawsuit against a rival retailer over a hit bag.
My AP Story Jan. 15, 2024 and My AP Photos of the men alleging sexual abuse by Johnny Kitagawa expressing dissatisfaction at the company response.
My AP Story Jan. 10, 2024, updated Jan. 11, 2024, on how people are dying after getting rescued from quake damage.
My AP Story Jan. 9, 2024 on a woman who runs a fish store telling us how determined she is to rebuild Wajima. The neighborhood cat below:
My AP Story Jan. 8, 2024 about the thousands of people who have lost their homes.
My AP Story Jan. 7, 2024 on the rescue operations in the snow.
My AP Story Jan. 6, 2024 on a miracle rescue.
My AP Story Jan. 5, 2024 on survivors being found beneath rubble.
My AP Story Jan. 4, 2024 on the losses people are enduring.
Click on the link below for heartbreaking video of the man in the photo above seeing the body of his wife.
https://apnews.com/64165a70a05c4d628681647d99acd202
My AP Story Jan. 4, 2024 on rescue efforts after the quakes in Ishikawa Prefecture.
The version that appeared Jan. 3, 2024 in The Stars and Stripes, without the updates that continued into the following day.
My AP Story Jan. 2, 2024 on the death toll from the quakes in Ishikawa climbing.
My AP Story Jan. 1, 2024 when the major quake and tsunami hit.
I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Jan. 1, 2024 that’s a global New Year’s roundup.