Book touching Japanese American History in Seattle

 No direct relation to my art works. But this book "Hotel on the Corner Between Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford that I recently finished reading is about genuine love between Chinese- and Japanese-American teens in Seattle in the 1940s, which was torn by the war. The Japanese-American girl, Keiko, was talented and apparently became an artist as Kay Hatsune, which makes legit for this blog, I guess.

 I'm not going to reveal key plots here but what attracted me most was actually the scene setting in Nihonmachi (Japantown) in 40s. The focal point of the scene was Panama Hotel on the corner of 6th Ave S and S Main in International District, where Japanese immigrants used to stay long time after getting off the boats. I went to the tea/coffee shop at the hotel a couple of times after started reading this book, as well as Kobe Terrace Park located on a steep slope inbetween the hotel and I-5. From there I could see all the way down to Elliott Bay and Bainbridge Island. While standing there in sunny Saturday afternoon my mind was drifting to the past when Henry (the Chinese-American boy) and Keiko were in their childhood 70 years ago.