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Ten Thousand Views of Rain is a three-part book of poetry exploring themes pertinent to Nikkei – particularly Japanese Canadian – history and culture.

What I liked:

• Watada’s poetry is very readable – though I have a feeling I understood very little of it – and I plan to read more of his work!
• This is the first book of poetry I’ve tried to discuss for Book Spotlight. I have a very limited knowledge of poetry, so we’ll see how this goes. That said, reading Watada’s poems really inspired me to learn more about Japanese Canadian history and Nikkei poetry.
• Watada has a gift for creating a symphony of lights, sounds, and images in the mind through his poetry. I always enjoy visual writing, though I get bored with flowery descriptions. Watada’s vivid scenes, sketched in just a few choice words, felt particularly impressive to me as someone who has trouble writing concisely. The poem “Lushlife” is a great example and, oddly, put me in mind of 天空の城ラピュタ.
• There is really a lot of rain in the first part, as to be expected from the title. After my time in Portland, and having also been in Japan during typhoon season, many of the poems felt extraordinarily familiar, even though Watada references places I have never been. I never expected to think of rain as a medium through which to understand other places and experiences – as the point of familiarity when everything else is unknown.
• Watada included a poem about Obon! I always enjoy reading other Nikkei perspectives on Obon. I’m not sure I can un-see the puffer fish/提灯 comparison, though. One strange “risk” about reading other Nikkei writers on Nikkei topics familiar to me through personal experience is the possibility of disruption – certain impressions or sounds or words or colors which I associate with particular things may suddenly be jarred loose or turned upside-down by someone else’s impressions of that same thing. In one sense, I think this is a good thing because it prevents me from becoming too complacent, but on the other, it’s not always pleasant to have the veil of nostalgia ripped off a precious childhood memory.

What I learned:

• I know almost nothing about the Canadian camps, but reading each of the poems in part three, with their individualized dedications, dates, and camp names, was a striking introduction. And the (presumably white) woman who leased land to the government for one of the camps…I never heard of this practice before, but I wonder if similar things happened in the US. Were any camps constructed on First Nations reserves? (As distinct from “First Nations lands” or “indigenous lands” because the entire continent fits this description.)

Questions I had:

• What is the purpose of setting several of the poems in cities around the world? I interpreted this choice as a reference to the global migrations of Nikkei and other people of color, but I wasn’t really sure why this was pointed out. To showcase the many faces of jazz? Also, is Watada a jazz fan or musician?
• Why did Watada italicize his Japanese words? Given the nature of poetry, I assume it was his decision, not something imposed by the publisher.
• The excerpts from Paradise Lost in the poem about the LA race riots – I haven’t read Paradise Lost, but I’m quite curious as to why lines from this white classic are included in a poem about race. I’m not criticizing the inclusion; I just don’t understand it. I haven’t read much about the LA race riots beyond what I’ve seen people discussing online, so it’s entirely possible I’m missing the point, but it did strike me as a discordant note, along with the reference to MLK as an angel. Should a religion predominantly associated with white people play such a prominent role in a poem like this? Was that Watada’s intention – and if so, why?
• Many people flit in and out of these poems, some named, others merely described by their respective role in a family or community. Are they the ghosts of Watada’s personal life? In spite of the geographical and topical range of the poems, they all struck me as exceedingly personal in terms of perspective.
• Along the same lines, why do so many of the poems reference Hawaii? Does Watada have family there?
• How did Watada select the individuals named in part three? Were they simply names he came across while researching the camps, or is there more of a personal connection? Did any of Watada’s family spend time in the camps?

Follow-up:

• I’d like to know more about Watada’s personal background. The brief biography on the back of the book focuses mostly on his bibliography. What sort of position does he occupy in relation to other Nikkei Canadian writers?