Cargo Literary Magazine

Compelling stories of human development through the lens of travel

  • Home
  • Issues
  • Features
    • Creative Nonfiction
    • Photography
    • Poetry
    • Review
    • Visual Art
  • Submit
  • Blog
  • About Us
  • Contact

In Japan: 5 Anti-Selfies

Ellen Girardeau Kempler

Lured by Matsuo Basho, one of Japan’s best known haiku poets and the author of The Narrow Road to the Deep North, I traveled to Japan in search of insights that could be crystallized in simple words and images. During our 17-day trip, I took at least one smartphone photo to post with an accompanying haiku every day. This practice allowed me to routinely reflect on the contrasts between old and new that I found most striking in this place where tradition and technology collide: schoolgirls in demure uniforms boarding streamlined bullet trains, kimono-clad teenagers snapping selfies and a woman hiking to a mountain temple in high heels. It also helped me to focus on moments of joy in nature: seeing Japanese macaques for the first time near Nagano, capturing the nighttime reflection of white-lit Black Crow Castle in Matsumoto and watching herons land in rice fields along a canal-lined bike route near Takashima. It’s a writing/photography routine I’ve continued to follow every day since.

—Ellen Girardeau Kempler

 

Geisha by Ellen Girardeau Kempler

Silent geisha watch,
but can’t help navigate.
Born before Google.

. . .

 

 Ellen Girardeau Kempler

Shinjuku night lights
unfurl like neon banners.
Trains rattle and blur.

• • •

 Ellen Girardeau Kempler

In the Japanese garden,
rain rolls off hats peaked like roofs.
Work goes on.

• • •

 Ellen Girardeau Kempler

Umbrellas bloom in
Kanazawa.
A wedding party crosses the street.

. . .

 

 Ellen Girardeau Kempler

Genbaku Dome glows at dusk.
In Hiroshima Peace Park,
a bell rings.
. . .

 

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

About Ellen Girardeau Kempler

Ellen Girardeau Kempler's first poetry chapbook, "Thirty Views of a Changing World" (forthcoming from Finishing Line Press) is based on "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji,"  a series of woodblock prints by the 18th-century Japanese artist Hokusai. Her award-winning poems and travel articles have been published in numerous small presses, newspapers and magazines. She posts a haiku and accompanying photo daily as @placepoet on Instagram, tweets as @goodnewsmuse, writes a bimonthly newsletter, Wanderer's Weekly at Tiny Letter and pilots Gold Boat Journeys, a website for writers and other creative travelers.

Filed Under: Poetry Tagged With: Japan

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to to receive new issues and updates from Cargo Literary Magazine.

Tags

Africa Alaska Art Brighton England Canada Central America China Cuba Egypt England Europe France Germany Greece Guatemala Home Hungary India Israel Italy Japan Madrid Mexico Nepal New York City Niagara Ontario Oregon Paris Paris France Philippines Poland Puerto Rico Sahara Singapore South Korea Spain Syria Thailand Tibet travel Turkey Veranasi India Vietnam writing life
« Quieter Suns: An Expat Remembers Syria 2008-2011
A New Regime in Paris »

© 2023 · Cargo Literary Magazine · Website by SunriseWeb.ca