Dead Gaijins

[Mulboyne]

Mainichi: 2 women die, 7 others sickened in fire at foreigners' dormitory in Tokyo

Two women died and seven others were sickened in a fire that badly damaged a Tokyo dormitory for foreign residents early Thursday, police said. At about 5 a.m., a fire broke out in Room 208 of the dormitory in the Kohinata district of Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, and burned 1,300 square meters of the 1,770-square-meter structure, according to investigators. Two women died and seven others were sickened after inhaling smoke. Police are trying to identify the victims, who investigators believe are women in their 70s and 40s. The seven underwent treatment at a hospital, but none of them is in a serious condition. Police suspect that the blaze was caused by a cigarette that the occupant of Room 208 failed to completely extinguish and are investigating the exact cause. "A cigarette caused a minor blaze at about 2 a.m. I thought I had extinguished it, but woke up at about 5 a.m. to find the room was on fire, so I alerted a fire station," the man was quoted as telling investigators.

[kurohinge1]

Mainichi: 2 women die, 7 others sickened in fire at foreigners' dormitory in Tokyo

Something like this happened near us recently, and a 10 year-old girl died, but it made me go out and buy 2 smoke alarms for the bedrooms. Those things are worth their weight in gold.

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo via Japan Today: Veteran newsman Richard Hanson dies at 56

Richard Hanson, an American journalist who served as Tokyo bureau chief of AP-Dow Jones and also worked for the Financial Times, The Times of London and Asia Times, died of colon cancer last Friday, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan said Monday. He was 56. The FCCJ, of which Hanson had been a member since 1976 and served on various committees and boards for over 30 years, said a funeral service for family and friends will be held at the Chapel of St. Luke's International Hospital on Friday.

[Takechanpoo]

Karl Gotch dead

[Tommybar]

Joe FitzMorris:

Legendary Editor Joe Fitz-Morris Dies at 89

Actually, he did not speak Japanese but had his employee translate what he had said to the maid.

The Wise Bamboo in PDF form

[Greji]

Karl Gotch dead

Most of the Japanese language sports papers have it. He was 82! A good long life. Most Pro wrestlers aren't that fortunate.

[IkemenTommy]

Most of the Japanese language sports papers have it. He was 82! A good long life. Most Pro wrestlers aren't that fortunate.

cuz of roids and constant head-bashing?

[Mulboyne]

The Wise Bamboo in PDF form

Thanks for that link.

[Greji]

cuz of roids and constant head-bashing?

Maybe, but he got to 89!

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo via Japan Today: 9 dead, 6 missing in accidents at leisure sports across Japan

At least nine people died and six went missing Saturday in recreation-related accidents at various summer leisure spots across Japan, according to a Kyodo News tally of local police and firefighter reports as of 10 p.m. Two people were critically injured and six others suffered injuries, according to the tally. Among the dead was Chikako Kuroda, 47, who drowned in a river in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, as she tried to rescue her 11-year-old son. In Hyuga, Miyazaki Prefecture, a 21-year-old Indonesian trainee went missing after trying to rescue six junior high school girls who were swept away by waves, local authorities said.

[Mulboyne]

Mainichi: Leading translator of Japanese literature dies in Tokyo

Edward Seidensticker, a leading scholar and translator of Japanese literature including the epic Tale of Genji, has died in Tokyo. He was 86. Seidensticker passed away on Sunday of complications from a head injury suffered earlier this year, according to an associate who asked not to be named, saying he did not wish to see his name in the media. A native of Castle Rock, Colorado, Seidensticker introduced English-speaking audiences to modern literary great Yasunari Kawabata, who later won the 1968 Nobel Prize for Literature for his austere, subtle prose in Snow Country and other works.

Seidensticker received the National Book Award for Translation in 1971 for his work on another Kawabata novel, The Sound of the Mountain. A prolific translator, Seidensticker is also remembered for his translations of Yukio Mishima's Sea of Fertility and the lively prose detailing lives of Japanese women in Junichiro Tanizaki's The Makioka Sisters.

But he was most widely recognized for his literary translation of The Tale of Genji, an 11th century epic by the courtesan Murasaki Shikibu chronicling the romantic adventures of a good-looking prince. "You could feel the emotions and the nuances that the original writer wanted to convey" in Seidensticker's translations, said Andrew Horvat, a Japanese literature professor at Tokyo Keizai University. "He did more to make Japanese people appear human to foreigners than all of Japan's public diplomacy combined," Horvat said.

Seidensticker first traveled to Japan in September 1945, a month after the end of World War II, to serve as a diplomat in the U.S. occupation of Japan. He studied literature at Tokyo University before launching a career in translation and literary criticism, holding posts at Sophia University in Tokyo and at Stanford, Michigan and Columbia universities in the United States. He retired from academic life in 1986. Seidensticker's original works include a two-volume history of Tokyo and a 2001 memoir, "Tokyo Central." Seidensticker was not married and had no children, according to the associate. A small gathering in his honor was to be held in Tokyo later this week.

[jingai]

His Low City, High City is a classic blending history and literature and the geography of Tokyo. It made me see the city in a whole new way- as a place with history and a past, not just a souless collection of high-rises.

[shazzb0t]

His Low City, High City is a classic blending history and literature and the geography of Tokyo. It made me see the city in a whole new way- as a place with history and a past, not just a souless collection of high-rises.

Yeah, 'LC, HC' is one of my favorite Seidensticker books as well. Too sad. RIP ES.

[Charles]

Mainichi: Leading translator of Japanese literature dies in Tokyo

Well that is the end of an era. Seidensticker was the prototype for postwar FG.

[dimwit]

My original thought was another 'Tale of the Genji' translator dead, isn't that about the fifth one this year? But Jingai's mention of 'Low City, High City' sounds like it might be a semi interesting read. Anyone read it?

[Greji]

Mainichi: Leading translator of Japanese literature dies in Tokyo

I had just ordered his Auto-b (late as usual). I had the pleasure of meeting him several times although not lately over the past several years. He originally came to Japan with the Occupation crew that included my daidai senpai and later boss.

When the two of them would have the rare chance to get together and has over old war stories, I was usually brought along to pick-up the tab and to shuttle everyone home (note: for Emperor: His mother was Irish, but I didn't hold that against him too much).

He was also controversial as many of that era were, but his work in translations and Japan cannot be derailed by any detractors and stands for itself. Again, this goes back to the old jealous battles fought among a lot of the old occupation age Japan hands. I found him congenial and quite interesting to listen to him tell of a time that was so important to today's Japan. I will say that he had some odd quirks that might have led to ammunition for the again "jealous" enemies.

He was close friends with Bill Currie, former head of Jochi and also friends with Fathers Doyle and Mathy from his previous position and close associations with Jochi.

His passing reminds us that we are seeing the closing pages of a now almost forgotten era from a short fifty some years ago. One that made modern Japan and yet goes pretty well unrepresented, as it is overshadowed by the events of the years of war that preceded it.

RIP

[Mulboyne]

The first Japanese novels I read were all Seidensticker translations although I only took note of that when I picked up his version of Genji. Low City, High City is a good book and is cited in numerous pieces on Tokyo.

Thanks, gboothe, for your memories of him. I think any foreigner choosing to stay on in postwar Japan was slightly quirky by definition. It's easy to forget today with access to the internet, mobile phones, English menus and signs, coffee shops and fast food chains, DVDs, ATMs etc what a vastly different experience it was to learn Japanese and engage with the country in that period.

You can see a short piece he wrote in this thread.

[Catoneinutica]

My original thought was another 'Tale of the Genji' translator dead, isn't that about the fifth one this year? But Jingai's mention of 'Low City, High City' sounds like it might be a semi interesting read. Anyone read it?

Try to get your hands on Low City, High City if you can. I remember picking it up at Brentano's in Seattle about 15 years ago and having one of those Keanu-Reeves-like "Whoa!" moments, it helped explain Tokyo so well. I'd certainly rank it among my favorite Japan-themed books.

-catone
-love the photo of "Piss Alley" in Shinjuku

[Mulboyne]

More on Seidensticker:

The news of Edward Seidensticker's death had been expected for several months. At 85, the legendary translator had suffered a bad fall, and has been in a coma ever since April...What I loved about Seidensticker's story of his life as a translator was the complete absence of sentimentality when he speaks of Japan. In his memoir, Tokyo Central, he explained why he had never felt the mystic pull of the East: Geisha, with their massive, unwashable heaps of black hair, were ugly, unclean creatures. Fuji was an uninteresting pimple of a mountain. And Japanese gardens were dark, murky places. Imagine it, they had no flowers.

He came to Japan in the wake of Pearl Harbour He was looking for ways to get through the war in relative safety and comfort. He learned Japanese in the Navy, and instead of a love affair with the country, what he embarked on was a slow, deepening relationship. By the end of his life, Seidensticker was seen as one the most important translators of the age. Most of us came to the works of writers like Junichiro Tanizaki, the master of intellectual eroticism, Yasunari Kawabata, and Yukio Mishima via Seidensticker's translations.

Seidensticker's approach was to stay as close to the work as he could, but to imbue the translation with a certain literary quality. A literal translation cannot be a very literary translation, he said once. The authors he worked with were not always helpful. He applied to Tanizaki once, asking him whether a certain passage was not too complicated. Tanizaki read it through in silence, then looked up and nodded. "Yes," he said. That was all the assistance Seidensticker received from him.

His observations were dry, but acute. He was asked once of his opinion of Yukio Mishima, the author who committed ritual seppuku, performing the last thrust of the blade himself and ensuring that a close friend performed the final beheading. "I got on with him very well," Seidensticker said, "But he laughed too much. And when people laugh too much, you wonder whether anything amuses them."

[Mulboyne]

Here's a terrible bit of bad luck:

Scotsman.com: City man dies in Japanese bike accident

A HOUSE of Commons worker from Edinburgh has been killed in a motorcycle accident in Japan just hours before he was due to fly home. Tristan Linforth, 27, was knocked down and killed by the motorbike in Tokyo while making his way to the airport. The accident happened on September 19, just days before his 28th birthday. It is understood Mr Linforth's family had arranged a surprise birthday party for his return. The former Royal High Corstorphine cricketer was visiting friends in Japan, where he taught English for two years after graduating from St Andrews University. It is understood the motorcyclist who knocked Mr Linforth over remained at the scene and an investigation by the Japanese authorities is still ongoing.

Mr Linforth, who lived in London, worked for the parliamentary record, Hansard. His editor Lorraine Sutherland said: "Tristan had shown signs of having an enormously promising career in the Commons. "He will be remembered at Hansard for his natural combination of friendly good humour and a professional approach." Mr Linforth's parents were too upset to speak when contacted by the Evening News at their home in Corstorphine. His funeral was set to take place at Corstorphine Hill Cemetery this morning.

[L S]

Here's a terrible bit of bad luck:

Scotsman.com: City man dies in Japanese bike accident

That is just horribly bad fortune...that sucks...

[Taro Toporific]

WOMAN FALLS 9 STORIES FROM MANSION, DIES: OSAKA NISHI-KU
Asahi Shinbun October 16, 2007, 13:22 (in Japanese)
Translated byArudou Debito from his blog at http://www.debito.org
On October 16, 2007, around 9:55 AM, a woman resident on the 9th floor of an apartment complex (Osaka-shi Nishi-ku Minami Horie 3 chome) thought to be a foreigner was asked by Nishi Prefectural Police for identification (shokumu shitsumon), in order to ascertain her Status of Residence. The woman received the police in her genkan, but returned to her room, and minutes later fell from her veranda. She died of severe injuries to her entire body....more....

[Mulboyne]

Nikkan Sports reports (Japanese) that a 51 year old Burmese man has turned himself into police after stabbing and killing a fellow countryman at his apartment in Shinjuku ward's Shimo Ochiai. They had been drinking together and got into a quarrel.

[TennoChinko]

http://biz.yahoo.com/law/071204/63f39e4f292c7a1cd5f9da340d384c68.html?.v=1

Skadden Partner Dies After Drug Search
Tuesday December 4, 3:03 am ET
Attila Berry, Legal Times

A Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom attorney died in Australia last week. According to the Courier-Mail in Brisbane, Mark Bronson, a 44-year-old partner in the firm's Tokyo office, flew into the Brisbane airport on Nov. 21 and was stopped by customs officials after a drug-sniffing dog took an interest in him.

The officials scanned his baggage, and his luggage tested positive for cocaine, though preliminary tests can be inaccurate. Then while talking with the customs officers, Bronson had a seizure, fell to the floor and began vomiting. He died later that day in the hospital.

According to the Courier-Mail, the cause of death has not been determined, and a scan showed that he wasn't carrying drugs in his body. However, the news article says his vomit allegedly tested positive for cocaine, and he may have thrown up pieces of plastic as well.

Bronson, according to a release on Skadden's Web site, was an "internationally recognized real estate and investment management partner" in Tokyo. He is listed as one of the world's leading lawyers in real estate in Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2007, and he devised many financing and investment methods used in Japan.

Bronson is survived by his wife and 5-year-old twins, and a memorial service will be held this Sunday in Tokyo. Robert Sheehan, the firm's executive partner says "Mark Bronson was an extremely accomplished and highly respected attorney. His passing is a tragic loss for his family, his friends and our firm."

I'm confused. Druggies help me out here .... why would anyone want to smuggle cocaine from Japan to Australia?

[Greji]

http://biz.yahoo.com/law/071204/63f39e4f292c7a1cd5f9da340d384c68.html?.v=1




I'm confused. Druggies help me out here .... why would anyone want to smuggle cocaine from Japan to Australia?

There's a bunch of sneeze in Japan, Bro! Maybe he was packing an in-flight lunch and had to swallow it when rover barked?

Having said that, I recognize the name Mark Bronson, but can't place it. Can anyone on the board refresh my memory? I think it was from the business community, or I believe that's where I might have run across him.

[TennoChinko]

There's a bunch of sneeze in Japan, Bro! Maybe he was packing an in-flight lunch and had to swallow it when rover barked?

Having said that, I recognize the name Mark Bronson, but can't place it. Can anyone on the board refresh my memory? I think it was from the business community, or I believe that's where I might have run across him.

http://www.skadden.com/index.cfm?contentID=45&bioID=2436

[Taro Toporific]

.... I recognize the name Mark Bronson, but can't place it. Can anyone on the board refresh my memory? I think it was from the business community, or I believe that's where I might have run across him.

Here's his photo. Look familiar?


[INDENT]Mark Bronson ... A Tribute ...
.... simply can't believe the news ... he was only 44.
Mark was accomplished -- VERY accomplished -- in all things he touched. His work, his relationships, everything. Yes, he was a partner at prestigious global law firm Skadden Arps. Yes, he essentially built Skadden's hugely successful Japanese law practice from the ground up. Yes, his successes are unending ever since I knew him. Yes, he took the road less traveled -- choosing adventure by working and living with his family in Japan for a number of years....
...[we] started together at Paul Hastings....
[/INDENT]


MARK L. BRONSON
1963-2007
Mark Bronson died Wednesday morning at a hospital in Brisbane, Australia, while on a business trip from Tokyo, Japan. In Tokyo he was the managing partner of the office of the Skadden, Arps law firm, the largest law firm in the world. His clients included Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston Securities, and many others.
Mark was born in Denver, then grew up in Chico, where his interests included racing and other cycling with the Velo Club, pottery, and watercolor painting He graduated from Chico High School in 1981 and received his bachelor's degree summa cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1985. After a year with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., Mark earned his law degree from Stanford University, serving as the editor of the Environmental Law Journal.
He practiced real estate law in Los Angeles for several years, then moved to Tokyo, dramatically growing Skadden's office there and becoming recognized as the most successful lawyer in Japan in his field. Mark guided his clients through literally billions of dollars in real estate transactions, acquisitions, and mergers. He also opened Skadden offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.
Mark built a strong public interest practice as well, often serving pro bono. He was president of the board of A Community of Friends, a Los Angeles group that built affordable housing for the disabled.
Mark is already terribly missed by his loving wife Karen, his six-year-old twins Mariko and Jack, brother Jeremy of Denver together with his wife and children, and parents Marion and Ed Bronson of Chico.
Mark was a brilliant and skillful attorney, a devoted father and husband, and a man who enjoyed and lived life to the fullest.
His extended family and his many friends and associates celebrate Mark's all too brief sojourn with us and wish him well on this new journey.
Published in the Chico Enterprise-Record from 11/27/2007 - 11/30/2007.
....

[Greji]

Here's his photo. Look familiar?
....

Got it now. Thank you Taro! As usual, you're on top of it!

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: U.S. tourist in Tokyo struck, killed by taxi

An American tourist died after being hit by a taxi while crossing a road in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, early Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after he had arrived in the country, police said. James David Floyd, 26, had been drinking with friends in a hotel near the Harajuku district and was trying to get to a shop on the other side of Meiji-dori avenue from the hotel when the taxi hit him at about 12:35 a.m. Saturday, according to the police. He was killed instantly after a receiving a hard blow to the head. There was no pedestrian crossing nearby, the police said. Officers from Harajuku Police Station arrested the driver, 63-year-old Tadatoshi Kubota, on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in injury and later switched the charges to negligent driving resulting in manslaughter.

[GuyJean]

An American tourist died after being hit by a taxi while crossing a road in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, early Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after he had arrived in the country..

Probably looked the wrong way before crossing the street..

GJ