A little off topic, but.....

[GeorgeP]

This is a little off topic, but I wanted to share it with our forum community in case there is interest. It is about a book I read recently (and would recommend). The book is titled, “The Kobe Hotel” written by Saito Sanki (translated into English by Saito Masaya), a well-known haiku poet of the 20th Century. The book is a compilation of several short stories that are based on the life of Saito, who lived in Kobe during and after the war. Lots of small references to Japanese home front efforts during the war: Seeing off a friend who joined the IJN, references to the military and municipal police, the war in China, the bombing of Hiroshima, and Army of Occupation stories. There are also multiple references to the German sailors who were stranded in Kobe during the war since their submarines and ships were restricted in movement by the Allies. An interesting glimpse into the world of Japan’s home front. There are also several wartime haiku poems at the end of the book that Saito wrote. Although the translation certainly does not do the poems justice, here are a couple of interesting (although somewhat macabre) ones that he wrote:

A machine gun-
in the middle of the forehead
a red flower blooms.

and

In a trench
a sacred I.D. tag
gleaming.


Thanks for looking!


Tom

[Stu W]

That's a good topic/heads-up. Thanks for bringing it to our attention Tom.

Regards,
Stu

[GeorgeP]

Thanks, Stu, I appreciate it. I thought it was quite interesting to see the haiku about the tag.

Speaking of tags, I picked up a really nice one-looker Independent artillery mortar battalion tag a few days back. These units operated the 320mm spigot mortar. Will put up pics. later in the year.

Tom

[RussellM]

Thanks for the info Tom, I see it is available from Amazon. I'm always looking for interesting books about the period.

Regards

Russ

[GeorgeP]

Thanks, Russ. An easy read, but a little dark. I would be interested in hearing what you think about it if you pick it up.



Tom