Song of War
July 2020
Kashiwa Shobo Publishing
About the book
Song of War (sensou no uta ga kikoeru) is a collection of stories and essays about WWII. It consists of three chapters: Pacific War, European Theater, and Forgetting & Remembering. It also includes essays about cultural differences relating to WWII.
In 2002 I began working at a hospice in the U.S as a music therapist. Music therapy is the use of music to meet the needs of clients. The first thing a music therapist must do is to assess what is happening to a client and what he/she needs. One way to do this is through listening with empathy, which has led many of my patients and their families to share their past with me including their experiences of WWII. The fact that I'm Japanese added another layer of complexity to therapy. I explored this in the book as well.
Chapters
Chapter 1. Pacific War
1. Good War and Bad War / "I killed Japanese Soldiers."
2. Living in Memory / "Please don't forget."
3. The Manhattan Project / "I'm not prond of it."
Chapter 2. European Theater
4. American Ideals and Reality / "We knew what we were fighting for."
5. Women's War / "He came back from the war as a different man."
6. Memory of Holocaust / "They're coming!"
Chapter 3. Forgetting, Remembering
7. What My Grandfather Didn't Tell Me
8. Forgotten Chinese People
Essays
Different ways each country calls WWII / How concepts of responsibility and apology vary in cultures / Identity and nationality / Japan's "history problem"
Cover Design and Illustration
The cover was designed by Ayako Nemoto and illustrated by Taku Bannai. The designer, the editor, and I wanted a simple cover that would draw people's eyes to obi, the band used in Japanese books. We also wanted the persons in the cover to be small and indistinctive.
Taku Bannai was a perfect fit for this design. His artworks remind me of Japanese woodblock in which people are often portrayed as a background and distinctive use of color catch your eyes.
Heart of the Dying
January 2017
POPLAR Publishing CO., Ltd.
About the book
Heart of the Dying (Shi ni yuku hito ha nani o omounoka) explores the emotional and spiritual changes of people who are dying and how we can help them. Over twenty case examples included in this book are the experiences of my former hospice patients and families - some are Americans, some Japanese. They’ve taught me that death, dying, and loss are universal experiences through which we can grow.
Chapters
Chapter 1. Emotional and Spiritual Changes
Isolation, Shock & Denial, Anger & Sadness, Anxiety & Fear, Hope
Chapter 2. How We Can Help
Resolving unfinished business, supporting a life review process, how to have honest conversations, understanding symbolic words, using music as a way of communication
Chapter 3. Grief
Understanding various symptoms of grief and complicated grief, how children grieve.
Cover Design
Since the book is a part of paperback pocket editions, the standard cover design was used. The picture of me working with a woman was taken in a nursing home in Yokosuka, Japan.
Last Song
December 2014
POPLAR Publishing CO., Ltd.
About the book
Music therapy takes place within the therapeutic relationship between the therapist and the client. Rapport is the most important aspect of any therapy, including music therapy. In order to help people understand that, I felt it was necessary to tell true stories of patients and their families and how I was affected by them.
In Last Song I wrote ten stories about memorable encounters with hospice patients and their families I had met in the U.S.
Dying people can tell you the most interesting things, if you really listen to them: Some live a fulfilled life, while others die with regret. Some die surrounded by love, while others die with anger. No matter what their stories are, I’ve learned a lot from them.
Last Song has been published in Japanese and Korean. It was also made into a NHK audio drama titled "Music Therapist."
Chapters
1. Hearing is the last sense to go: "Silent Night"
2. Last message: "What A Wonderful World"
3. What can't be described in words: "Love Me Tender"
4. What makes us live: "How Great Thou Art"
5. Death as a mirror: "A Thousand Winds"
6. Unforgettable love: "Unforgettable"
7. Dealing with pain: "Yashi no mi"
8. Children and grief: "The Rainbow Connection"
9. Last journey: "Over the Rainbow"
10. What it means to live: "Hana"
Cover Design and Illustration
The cover was designed by Masato Takayanagi and illustrated by Shuku Nishi. The illustration shows a tree with a shape of a harp, one of many instruments I use in therapy. The blue birds were added, as they appear in one of the stories with a song "Over the Rainbow."