Tokyo Yuricane Reading: Poetry by Yuri Kageyama with Taiko drums by Chris Holland, percussion by Winchester Nii Tete, guitar by Takenari Shibata, bass by Satoshi Adachi, drums by Jin Imamura.

I feel decidedly good about the future of Japan (and the world) when I work with young musicians like the ones who played _ and so sincerely and so passionately _ as the Tokyo members of The Yuricane, with my poetry reading Dec. 3, 2011 at the Tokyo American Club.
The world is in good hands _ if only it would allow the right people to get their hands on what happens.
One of the relatively new works we tried out, using different percussion to highlight the contrasts/evolution:

ways of saying ‘yes’ in Japanese
a poem by Yuri Kageyama

“Hai!!”
That’s the correct way of replying when spoken to in Japan for centuries, hai! the way people are taught in school, by their parents, what’s right in society _
respect for the hierarchy, yes sir, thank you ma’am, hai hai hai, like hiccups, like hiphiphurray, hai! hai! hai! no pause, no hesitation, no thought,
following orders, quick, no questions, grunt it out, soldiers at attention, yelling, spitting, believing, say it with all your heart and mind,
hai!
“Haa~aai!”
That’s the way people answer in Japan these says, haa~aai! the way people drop out of school, freeters, parents are just friends to follow only on Twitter _
flattening out the hierarchy, maybe yes, maybe not, haa~aai! like a mumble, like a whisper, a kiss on the ear, haa~aai, innocent, hurt only for others,
wind blowing in your hair, smiley faces heart icons in cell phones, improvise, imagine, immaculate, sing it without a care in the world,
haa~aai!

Haiku for Van Gogh
by Yuri Kageyama

An old wooden desk
Yellow dots of light shrieking
Van Gogh’s room

Warped plums dagger rain
Crazed geisha dance in ukiyoe oil
Breathe Van Gogh’s Japan

Sliced ear of love denied
Road to nothing ravens in flight
Genius of yellow