Hiroaki Sato is a prolific, award-winning translator of classical and modern Japanese poetry into English. American poet Gary Snyder has called Sato" perhaps the finest translator of contemporary Japanese poetry into American English."Hiroaki Sato has received several translation prizes. Among them are the PEN America prize, with Burton Watson, for From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry (1981); the Japan-United States Friendship Commission translation prize for Breeze Through Bamboo: Kanshi of Ema Saikō (1997) and for The Silver Spoon (2015).He has written columns for a dozen publications, among them The Mainichi Daily News (“Here and Now—in New York”) from 1984 to 1989 and for The Japan Times (“The View from New York”) from 2000 to 2017.

"Japan Times and Mainichi Daily News columnist, Hiroaki Sato, has left us with a thought provoking, educational and entertaining anthology of his columns, ranging from 1984 to 2017."—Paul de Vries, Japan Forward"These pieces, most of which appeared originally as columns in the Mainichi Daily News and the Japan Times, have a conversational informality that allows for unexpected digressions and interjections. “I am prejudiced against golfing courses and golf courses,” he announces, and explains why. He quotes a scientist’s argument for limiting wild geese populations— “When you see geese, they’re eating or they’re defecating”— and immediately responds: “Isn’t that what we human beings do as well, too well?” The back and forth is continual, and continually energizing."—Geoffrey O’Brien

• Table of ContentsAuthor’s NotePart I: Wars & ConsequencesPart II: Birds and AnimalsPart III: Teachers and FriendsPart IV: Talking about Books and Such

Hiroaki Sato is a prolific, award-winning translator of classical and modern Japanese poetry into English. American poet Gary Snyder has called Sato" perhaps the finest translator of contemporary Japanese poetry into American English."Hiroaki Sato has received several translation prizes. Among them are the PEN America prize, with Burton Watson, for From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry (1981); the Japan-United States Friendship Commission translation prize for Breeze Through Bamboo: Kanshi of Ema Saikō (1997) and for The Silver Spoon (2015).He has written columns for a dozen publications, among them The Mainichi Daily News (“Here and Now—in New York”) from 1984 to 1989 and for The Japan Times (“The View from New York”) from 2000 to 2017.

"Japan Times and Mainichi Daily News columnist, Hiroaki Sato, has left us with a thought provoking, educational and entertaining anthology of his columns, ranging from 1984 to 2017."—Paul de Vries, Japan Forward"These pieces, most of which appeared originally as columns in the Mainichi Daily News and the Japan Times, have a conversational informality that allows for unexpected digressions and interjections. “I am prejudiced against golfing courses and golf courses,” he announces, and explains why. He quotes a scientist’s argument for limiting wild geese populations— “When you see geese, they’re eating or they’re defecating”— and immediately responds: “Isn’t that what we human beings do as well, too well?” The back and forth is continual, and continually energizing."—Geoffrey O’Brien

• Table of ContentsAuthor’s NotePart I: Wars & ConsequencesPart II: Birds and AnimalsPart III: Teachers and FriendsPart IV: Talking about Books and Such