Thoughts on Publication

With a population of nearly 10,000 here at Heart Mountain Relocation Center, it is natural that we should have many literary artists among us. We are lucky that many of those literary artists are also strong mentors in tanka and haiku, and we have long hoped that they would create a literary journal. So the fact that the splendid first issue of such a journal, The Heart Mountain Bungei, has finally been published is a happy circumstance indeed. It seems to me that poetry and song are usually born from a leisurely life in the countryside or the mountains, which is more suitable for contemplation than the bustling life of the city. In this sense, the Center is the perfect place for literary production, since it is located far away from the city, at the ends of the plains with the majestic Heart Mountain in the background—a natural environment blessed with clear air throughout the four seasons. I have a feeling that many excellent works of literature will be born here. Fortunately, many literary writers, both experienced and novice, have been producing excellent works one after the other. Hopefully their work will provide food for the mind, water for the spirit in this dry, barren life we live at the internment camp. The Heart Mountain Bungei has emerged into the world in magnificent form, but it will not be an easy task to continue this work. It is often the case that a journal dies out after the publication of the first three issues. I hope that everyone will keep this in mind and continue to do whatever they can to make our literary journal a great one that will provide leadership and hope for our society. I would like to express my deepest respect for the painstaking efforts of the editors and congratulate them on this first issue.