in that sense. you have the culture's background but if you can understand why a person who lives in that culture feels the way they do or does what they do i think that's the most important thing. does that answer your question? >> yeah. >> thank you. >> you letting me off? [laughter] do i have another story to tell you? i would if i -- >> you seem very conscious of the writer's process you are aware of how you work. you mentioned you changed from a film major to an english major. can you talk about when you were conscious when you wanted to be a writer. >> as opposed to a film maker? >> yes. >> some writers are not aware

of their process as you are and i'm fas nacinated by that. >> when i took my first film class it was so boring. and it had nothing to do about the story that i was watching on the screen. and everything to do about how many frames per second or per minute or whatever it was. i thought, this is not at all what i thought it would be. then i moved from you know, to the technical aspect film writing course i took. it felt technical because i felt i had to be aware of the camera angles. literally aware it had to go down longshot or closeup and it was interfering with the story line. i graduated from san francisco state and it was creative writing within the english

department. i was taking a class much like this. writers on writing and a writer came to speak to a group of young writers the first writer who came was a poet. and i was i fell madly in love with language. i think that's why i'm probably conscious with the writing process because i began with the foundation of language, which is poetry for me. it made me aware of how to use language. not to over use language. you know things like that that aspects of it. i talk a lot about the writing process for a lot of reasons because i think that if you tell what it really means to be a writer people will think oh , it's not -- i think to a large extent you all think we run with the bulls. you know and you think we are sitting in cafes and i can never write in a cafe because i would watch people too much.

how can you sit in a cafe and write a novel? we all have our process. i think the interesting things to talk about is the process how you do it because we all do it differently. i don't run with the bulls or sit in cafes. this is the way i do it. there are many ways to do it and you have to find your own way. >> around the web i googled through me to see what it looked like i saw the big bridge and it looked industrialized. >> there really is love. >> i did. a real place and how you pick the location. i have family in japan and my kids are are in a bilingual program in san francisco that's japanese. >> i bet she speaks japanese better than i do. my kids might not me. >> when i had the gun i knew there was a [inaudible] and i

started writing down things and i thought in my mind's eye, i think it looks like this. and it would be like that i had a small village in mind. there was a part in time i thought, i could go back to japan and go there and see how it looked. i had in the book and in my heart what i thought it was, i almost knew that if i had gone back it wouldn't be the same. so i made the conscious choice of not going. now that you tell me this i'm thankful i didn't i think it would have destroyed what i created in my head. i thought places are best when they are imagined. i hesitated naming it after a place where my mom said what did exist. i'm glad i didn't go back.

making that conscious choice would have changed had i gone back would have changed the direction of the book a lot. >> when i saw it it was so different than how an imagined from reading your books. >> does that teach you never to look up things. always listen to the writer? [laughter]. >> we have time for one more question. >> can't be our essay question. >> she didn't give us a question yet. i wanted to know what made you think of the title like the samurai's garden? >> oh , know the title story. >> i'm sorry. >> quickly. this is actually a publishing business thing. i had written on the contract because i was reading about samurais and gardens. at the time the contract. i looked and said, oh , the

samurai's garden. now they would put untitled. i put dount samurai's garden not thinking that would really with the title. and what happened was when it was time to choose a title my editor had a god awful title she felt was the most brilliant title since the grapes of wrath. it was like this long and everything was in it but the kitchen sink. love, samurai, garden and sushi. it was a terrible title and i didn't like it and i didn't know what to say i had never disagreed. that was the first time i disagree. i said i don't want to look at my book case and see that book and cringe in 30 years. she called me from new york and said, i don't know why we are

going over the title thing let's keep it the samurai's garden. then i was saying, thank you, god and it became the samurai a garden which in the end worked when you decide hathat samurai is in your class you will see how it works. it works in many, many ways. i'm pleased it stayed the samurai's garden. not of anybody's choice but because it was the one we didn't want to fight over anymore. >> okay. >> [laughter]. >> thank you. i >> i think you wanted something else. >> well, i met the samurai and [laughter] >> thank you. >> thank you, gale so much for coming. >> [applause]. thank you.

>> welcome to this afternoon's performance. before the actual

performance starts i thought i would say a few brief words about what japanese chamber music means. there are quite a different number of japanese chamber music. what you will hear today however is a musical form that was transmitted by a specific group of musicians. all of the musicians by definition were blind males. the significance of this genre is perhaps at most notable for the aesthetic quality of its pieces of some of the great art works of this period and are represented by these artists which will appearing in the second piece. despite of this

high aesthetic quality or the value of the repertoire itself the musicians were professional musicians and expected to perform a wide variety of pieces, and as such this does not represent one genre. rather this is a collection of different genres that were practiced by different musicians and within this group of different pieces you have everything from extraordinarily silly pieces and for example the first piece to the great art works of 18 -- 19th century japan. the first piece -- this is very much a comic piece, and i do hope that you had type to look at the text of the program. i apologize for the

formatting however my talents do not lay in the area of design. what i had hoped to do so you have line by line happening and the english equivalent and those of you that have not had a chance to look at the text very briefly this is a parody of buddhist ritual. a priest decides he is going to show the powers of mystic buddhism and he appears and on the alter with different sorts ofornmen of owns and then progresses through profound things and all of these are tongue twisters but it's the first round of tongue twisters nothing happens and the priest is very upset and blushes

extraordinary red and he tries again. the second time the chants are much shorter and he begins to lose his patience and again nothing happens. third time nothing happens and he basically says how much time to turn to the wonderrous powers of the lotus set raand he does chanting and the parody is something like if anyone is old enough to remember and the mouse before vatican two and you don't understand anything and it's mumbo jump bow and this is a parody of that. the second and third pieces before the intermission i will not introduce. i think the program notes are sufficient and rather than lecture i would much rather

you enjoy the performance. the one thing i would like to emphasize about the first piece this is indeed a comic piece and in most instances westerners have a great problem when they come to a concert of classical music and view it as this is supposed to be serious music. this is not serious music and i would ask to you laugh. you are welcome to laugh. you may laugh. you need to practice laughing. we can progress -- all right. now, for those of you that find laughing difficult ladies and gentlemens you can at this timtiter in a nice way andf you want to be butch about it do the manly thought. please this isn't a work of aesthetic value

it should be seen as humorous. as i of practicing this piece i can assure you and my ability for tongue twisters in english is limited let alone in japanese so if you see me stop and the priest turn extraordinarily red it's because i had a booboo. if you will excuse me.

(music) this is the sort of thing you don't normally see. this would be a curtain and the oil makes it easier to play.

(music) (speaking japanese)

(japanese music).

(applause). (music)