Japan 2023

I have had a wonderful visit to Japan.  
May 11 to June 7, 2023.

I have reunited with friends from many years ago. 

I have met new friends. 

 
Here are some of the photos.  
For more photos, please click here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BuBrjAbt13vdNHvx6

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Some of the parishioners at Kasai Catholic Church, the Augustinian parish in Tokyo. 

Prayer Groups friends from 30 years ago: Kyoko and Shinsuke

The Ordination of Fr. Atsushi Kuwahara, OSA 
was the reason I chose this time to come to Japan.  

Heron and Turtle at Dazaifu Tenmangu in Fukuoka

With Mr and Mrs Motohashi and Ms. Manago 
at Dazaifu Tenmangu in Fukuoka

With Fr. Imada and the Secular Augustinians
at Shiroyama Church - the Augustinian parish in Nagasaki

Rev & Mrs Jack and Cathy Garrott
fellow missionaries in Nagasaki - friends for 40 years.

Rev Tomota - Shinto priest at Dazaifu Tenmangu in Fukuoka

Rev Senge Takamasa - Chief priest of Izumo Grand Shrine in Shimane Prefecture

Two of my new Shigin friends in Tokyo:
Keisei Sensei and fellow American Shigin student, Justin Bingham

Shigin friends from my Gakufukai - where I first learned Shigin in Nagasaki

Rev Fujii Masanori - until his recent retirement, the Chief priest of 
Saikoji Buddhist Temple in Nagasaki - a friend since the 1980s.

Roof feature from Izumo Grand Shrine

This memorial marks the spot below which the atomic bomb 

exploded over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, destroying much of 

the city and causing the deaths of 60,000 to 80,000 people. 

Fifteen minutes walk from the Church where I used to work.

With fellow Augustinian friars at Kasai Church in Tokyo
Brother Ide, Liam, Fr. Shibata, Fr. Charlie

Fr. Michael Hilden, OSA and Liam - May 2023 in Fukuoka

Fr. Michael Hilden, OSA and Liam - May 1975 in Tokyo

Singing a celebratory poem: "Mt. Fuji" by Ishikawa Jōzan

For more photos, please click here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BuBrjAbt13vdNHvx6

 

Most Recent Haiku - only a few

2020.10.25:

she stares up at me.
i wish i knew what she wants;
i never learned cat. 

#猫 #domesticshorthair


2020.11.27:

tonight I will smile.
not too much happened today;
'twas a lazy day.

#lazy #微笑み

2021.01.26:

Walk in Valley Forge;
fine rain permeates the air,
misting my glasses.

#散歩 #眼鏡＃glasses #walk

2021.07.05:

In Rye, New Hampshire
breezy cool day in July.
blue sky over sea.

#海辺 #青空 #RyeNH #beach


2021.07.29:

Friday 2 AM:
the truck empties the dumpster
right by my window.

＃深夜　#ゴミ収集 #Dumpster #ゴミ箱 #lemme_sleep


2022.01.14:

hard snow on edges
of paths and roads and gardens;
a pleasing crunch crunch. 

＃雪　#冬 #snow #winter

2022.07.23:

Had Chinese tonight,
but my cookie was empty. 
Sooo disappointed!

＃中華料理　#笑語餅 #fortunecookie

I took the photo last summer at Rye, NH. 
俳句 = "haiku"

Four recent FB mini-concerts.

February - WSOP

March - O Darling

April - I Miss....

   

May - Aquellos Ojos Verdes

一年間の俳句 Haiku from the past year (cat, garden and voting)

2019.12.07:

it's true: my cat snores.
i sit here writing sermon,
she sleeps peacefully. 

2019.12.20:

For special events
my favorite outfit is my
black formal hoodie. 

2020.06.26:

sudden raindrops bring
the dusty smell of ozone;
feet root in garden. 

2020.10.07

Looking at Jeoffry;
not yet old enough to vote,
she turned seventeen.

2020.10.12:

I voted today
in the library car park;
hope it gets counted. 

2020.10.15:

standing on my butt
at 5 AM; what's the deal?
her food bowl's empty! 

最近の俳句 Recent Haiku (2019) - Teal or Turquoise?

2019.08.11:

a true suicide? 
lots of rich and famous men
breathe sighs of relief. 


2019.08.20:

help me remember:
what was in my left pocket
before my smart phone?


2019.10.16:

am i colorblind? 
i can’t tell the difference
'tween teal and turquoise

Not many haiku in two years 俳句: 玉子だった? 本当?

2017.08.15:

how can his staffers
stand and silently condone
what comes from his mouth?

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #charlottesville #川普

2017.08.15:

what kind of mind sees
moral equivalency
in saturday’s groups?

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #charlottesville #川普

2017.08.30:

the innocent man:
“investigate all you want!”
not so the guilty.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句  #russia #川普

2017.11.07:

Off-year elections
don’t pull as many voters
but still important.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #GetOutTheVote

2017.12.02:

What happened last night?
Will they name the new tax law
“Reverse Robin Hood?”

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #SherwoodForest #税金 ＃共和党 ＃国会

2018.03.20:

Most my clothes are black.
Every place I go I bring
Evidence of cat.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #cat #猫 ＃black


2018.08.29:

Baseball game tonight
Phils hosted the Nationals
Left before the end

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #Phillies #野球

2018.12.08:

Really want to sleep
but don't want to go to bed.
What's that all about?

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #Uptoolate #睡眠不足


2019.07.02:

Just the right angle
sinking sun's light shining through
emerald green grass.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #sunset ＃草

2019.08.05:

Humpty Dumpty's fall:
Read the text! It does not say
that he was an egg.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 ＃卵 ＃玉子 #egg #Wall

Liam's Twitter QR code

Rocks of Bawn at Bill and Ella Denny's St. Patrick's Day party

Bill and Ella Denny threw a party on the Holy Day. Many participated and had a wonderful time. Bill asked me to sing. Thanks to April Denny for recording this. Spoiler alert: this is a very sad song.

2018 Augustinian Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Click HERE to see photos of our Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Friars sitting in cave near the spot where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount

Haiku in a Time of Transition 変更期の俳句

2016.12.06:

One more Sci-Fi film.

Perhaps I’ve had my fill of

too much CGI.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #SciFi #SF #CGI #映画 #toomuchcgi #DrStrange

2016.12.08:

He picks one by one:

New team seems like a case of

Wolves guarding hen house.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday  #henhouse #wolves #鶏小屋 #狼

2016.12.08:

Sometimes the beauty

is so intense and so fierce

I must shed a tear.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #beauty #intense #涙 #美

2016.12.10:

CIA reports:

Russian Hackers aided Trump.

Whom can we trust now? 

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #信頼 #CIA #trust #hackers

2017.01.22:

Now we’re three days in.

How did you think it would go?

Brace yourselves, people!

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #chaos #potus #hope

2017.01.27:

it has been a week.

how do you feel about all

that's been going on? 

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #chaos @potus #hope

2017.01.29:

this is so much worse

than i thought it might become

and much much faster

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #chaos @potus #NoWallNoBan

2017.02.04:

sun, sand, sky and sea;

such a pleasant afternoon

at Po’ipu Beach

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #Poipu #ポイプ #selfie ＃浜辺

2017.02.06:

fog, mud and cold air

dampened Waimea Canyon;

i turned back early.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #WaimeaCanyon #Kauai #渓谷

2017.02.13:

I’ll not soon forget

that tiled floor rushing so fast

up toward my face.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #2010 #Kauai #床 ＃顔

2017.02.18:

All the winged monkeys

working together to run

a well-tuned machine.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句  #EmeraldCity

2017.02.24:

rampant crocuses

along the roadside basking;

still february

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句  #roadside ＃道端 ＃クロカス ＃crocus

2017.03.04:

new crisis daily:

starting to feel the fatigue

trying to keep track.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句  #wiretap

2017.03.11:

花と見し 雪は昨日ぞ 元の水

　　　　　　　　　　吾山

Seemed like falling blossoms, yesterday's snow, now gone back to water. 

　　　　　　　　　　Gozan　　　　　　　　　　[Gozan’s haiku; my translation]

#haiku #俳句 #今日の一句 #snow ＃雪 #requiem

2017.03.23:

when i was a kid

we hid under our school desks

fearing the russians

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句  #Russia #ColdWar ＃ルシア #冷戦 #Manafort #Putin

2017.03.25:

it’s incoherent

how he prattles on and on;

forgets his own lies.

some should be serving

time behind bars of iron:

for cheating the poor.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #AHCAFAIL  #Obamacare

2017.03.28:

without my glasses

i’m groping trying to find

where my glasses are

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #glasses #メガネ ＃眼鏡  #οὐροβόρος  #ouroboros

2017.04.07:

everywhere i go

paper seems to multiply

miles high and miles deep

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #paper #紙

2017.05.09:

you think we’re in a

constitutional crisis?

may God save us all!

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #Comey #FBI





Please feel free to leave a comment below: 

最近の俳句 Recent Haiku (with #hashtags)

2016.11.01:

ID said “N.C.”

A swing state in November.

Answered in Spanish.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #NorthCarolina #GetOutandVote

2016.11.09:

Dear Rest of the World:

Sorry! We will do our best

not to mess things up.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #thedayafter

2016.11.09:

To Alec Baldwin:

Congrats! Job security

for the next four years!

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #thedayafter

2016.11.15:

 

I am really shocked

and I can't find my olives

where the hell are they? 

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #olive ＃地獄

2016.11.17:

The fear and anger

I perceive all around me:

only in Bryn Mawr?

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #anger ＃fear #怒り #恐れ

2016.11.19:

Humans: we hurtle

in pods of steel, glass, plastic

on concrete ribbons.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #cars ＃自動車 #concrete #高速道路

2016.11.24:

Nothing quite like it:

Monday’s martini Thursday

with threads of lime rind.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #Thanksgiving ＃ライム #飲み物

2016.11.25:

She won’t let me sleep

So I’m massaging her neck

as she lies purring.

#cat ＃猫 #haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #haikuoftheday #purring

2016.11.26:

I said to Jeoffry:

“What if we were to roast cats

instead of turkeys?”

#justkidding #cat ＃猫 #haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday  #Thanksgiving

2016.11.27:

I love pecan pie.

But there’s much too much sugar.

Just gotta say no.

#pecanpie #haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #砂糖

2016.11.27:

Mitt Romney for State?

I think he’d do a good job.

But can Trump forget?

#Trump #Romney #haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #トランプ #ミットロムニー

2016.11.28:

It’s such a nice thing:

thanks for an ancient kindness

long lost from mem’ry.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #感謝 ＃早期発症型認知症

2016.12.04:

He’s making it up

as he goes along, it seems.

It’s not a good sign.

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #不合理 ＃Creativity #創造性

2016.12.05:

On my daily walk

today my hands shout loudly:

“From now on with gloves!!!”

#haiku #俳句 #今日の俳句 #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday #散歩 #gloves  #手袋

2016.12.05:

From this point in time

I’ll ne’er be this age again.

And that’s a good thing!

#haiku #俳句  #今日の俳句  #今日の一句 #haikuoftheday  #人生  ＃life  #時間 #tempusfugit