All posts in category Ueno, Tokyo

The Former King Of Japan—A small delusion

There is gold in my fist, left over from when I was The King of Japan and rich beyond your mortal imagining. Jesus couldn’t bark the orders of all his father’s wrath at me. The emperor of Japan was my public face and functionary. Where did those days go? What I did was disguise myself [...]

2 Comments
by on May 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Tokyo 2012, Tokyo Panic Stories, Ueno, Tokyo
Posted by Dan Ryan on May 15, 2012

http://brisbanegraphicartsmuseum.com/smallstories/2012/05/15/the-former-king-of-japana-small-delusion/

Mr. 21st-Century Fabulous—A small accessory

Most men are born flesh, and slowly turn to metal. I became robotic late in life, here in the streets of Tokyo. It seemed like an easier existence, than seeking the perfect cherry blossom, and the metal in my head gets me free satellite TV. My eyeglasses are my screens. They let me see all [...]

No Comments
by on May 9, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Tokyo 2012, Tokyo Panic Stories, Ueno Station, Ueno, Tokyo
Posted by Dan Ryan on May 9, 2012

http://brisbanegraphicartsmuseum.com/smallstories/2012/05/09/mr-21st-century-fabulousa-small-accessory/

The Black Widow of Nakacho—A small bop and sway

Nakacho is kind of a notorious red-light district in Ueno, Tokyo. I tend to think of it as the Kabukichō of eastern Tokyo. Others more knowledgeable than I may debate this. But it isn’t hard to find. It is just south of Shinobazu Dori, to which it runs parallel at the southern end of Shinobazu [...]

No Comments
by on May 1, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Nakacho, Tokyo, Tokyo 2012, Tokyo Panic Stories, Ueno Park, Ueno, Tokyo
Posted by Dan Ryan on May 1, 2012

http://brisbanegraphicartsmuseum.com/smallstories/2012/05/01/the-black-widow-of-nakachoa-small-bop-and-sway/

The Duchess of Ueno Park—A small audience

It was as if she was holding court, although it couldn’t possibly have been that way. The man with the bow and and saw had taken his place at least ten minutes before The Duchess sat down.   Still, on a lazy Monday, it was easy to think that The Duchess had taken time off [...]

No Comments
by on May 1, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Tokyo 2012, Tokyo Panic Stories, Ueno Park, Ueno, Tokyo
Posted by Dan Ryan on May 1, 2012

http://brisbanegraphicartsmuseum.com/smallstories/2012/05/01/the-duchess-of-ueno-parka-small-audience/

Ghost To You—A small, passing glimpse

The changes in Tokyo, have vexed me for decades. I can’t see a person, because people are in the way. This son of a bitch between us, he’s keeping me from knowing you, and you from knowing me. So I sit, he passes, you leave. And in your memory I will be but a ghost [...]

4 Comments
by on April 30, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Tokyo 2012, Tokyo Panic Stories, Ueno, Tokyo
Posted by Dan Ryan on April 30, 2012

http://brisbanegraphicartsmuseum.com/smallstories/2012/04/30/ghost-to-youa-small-passing-glimpse/

Let’s Kinetic Noodle Madness!!—A small promotion

I was up in Ueno, Tokyo today, killing a little time before I had to meet my friend Lee Chapman. And on the south end of Ueno Station, next to the main entrance to Ameyokocho, are a couple of restaurants with distinct and funny ways of attracting customers. So to convey how odd and fun [...]

2 Comments
by on April 30, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Ameyokocho, Ueno, Tokyo 2012, Ueno Station, Ueno, Tokyo
Posted by Dan Ryan on April 30, 2012

http://brisbanegraphicartsmuseum.com/smallstories/2012/04/30/lets-kinetic-noodle-madnessa-small-promotion/

What Passes For Work—A small realization

My companion and I were strolling through Ameyokocho. That’s part of Ueno, in Tokyo. It’s a vibrant marketplace, a bit low-rent, but lively and loud and colorful and essential. It started off decades ago as a shady black market for things the Japanese of Tokyo found tough to get right after World War II. People [...]

2 Comments
by on April 16, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Ameyokocho, Ueno, Tokyo 2012, Ueno, Tokyo
Posted by Dan Ryan on April 16, 2012

http://brisbanegraphicartsmuseum.com/smallstories/2012/04/16/what-passes-for-worka-small-realization/

The Men I Saw For You—A small face tour

I really don’t  know if I have any idea what I’m doing. I figure I’m nuts, is what it is. Here I am in Tokyo at the age of 48, prowling the streets alone again like I did when I was 24, a full lifetime ago. If I’d been a little luckier with that gaijin [...]

7 Comments
by on April 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in The Men I Saw For You, Tokyo 2012, Tokyo in the Underbrush, Tokyo Panic Stories, Ueno, Tokyo
Posted by Dan Ryan on April 15, 2012

http://brisbanegraphicartsmuseum.com/smallstories/2012/04/15/the-men-i-saw-for-youa-small-face-tour/

Those Drunken Men—A small addendum to “Tokyo in the Underbrush”

You get to thinking about, well, not what you lost but what you fleetingly had, and how it could have turned into what might have been. I spent a lot of time at Ueno Station in Tokyo in the Spring and Summer of 1988. Some of the best days of my life, which is easier [...]

7 Comments
by on July 30, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Those Drunken Men, Tokyo in the Underbrush, Ueno Station, Ueno, Tokyo
Posted by Dan Ryan on July 30, 2011

http://brisbanegraphicartsmuseum.com/smallstories/2011/07/30/those-drunken-mena-small-addendum-to-tokyo-in-the-underbrush/