Alden M. Hayashi

aldenmhayashi

Alden M. Hayashi is a Sansei who was born and raised in Honolulu but now lives in Boston. After writing about science, technology, and business for more than thirty years, he has recently begun writing fiction to preserve stories of the Nikkei experience. His first novel, Two Nails, One Love, was published by Black Rose Writing in 2021. His website: www.aldenmhayashi.com.

Updated February 2022

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Unlocking Family Mysteries

Por Alden M. Hayashi
22 Nov 2023

Ever since I could remember, a large, colorful tapestry of the Great Torii of Miyajima was displayed prominently in the living room of my Nisei parents’ house. Visitors couldn’t help but notice it when they entered our home in Honolulu. As a kid, though, I never thought much about that artwork; to be honest it was like wallpaper that was always silently there, unnoticeable in the background of my youth. Over the years the tapestry became badly faded from exposure to the brilliant Hawaiian sunlight, but my parents always kept it there, a permanent fixture in their living room. Only…

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The Poker Table—Part 4

Por Alden M. Hayashi
30 Oct 2023

Read Part 3 >> It was late in the afternoon, almost five o’clock, when Dad and I dropped off Tanaka-san and Lynne, so I called Mom to tell her we were running late because, with freeway traffic in Honolulu, it could be a while before we were back at my parents’ place across town. As I merged onto the freeway, I couldn’t help but think about Lynne. How odd it was, her insisting on joining us for lunch. I really would have thought she’d have preferred having some unencumbered time to spend with her friends, catch a movie, or do some errands. It actually was quite …

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The Poker Table—Part 3

Por Alden M. Hayashi
23 Oct 2023

Read Part 2 >> That Saturday, when I arrived at my parents’ house to pick up Dad, he was already sitting outside, waiting for me with two large paper bags. “Sorry, am I late?” I asked. “Look at what I picked this morning,” he said, pointing to the two bags. Inside were white Piri mangoes from his tree as well as several jabong, a type of grapefruit with the sweetness of oranges. “Wow, Tanaka-san is gonna love these!” I didn’t tell Dad that, actually, I had allowed some extra time in our schedule to stop at Liliha Bakery to buy some …

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The Poker Table—Part 2

Por Alden M. Hayashi
16 Oct 2023

Read Part 1 >> Today, talk of his poker gang’s tanomoshi has made Dad uncharacteristically nostalgic, prompting him to reminisce about this group of seven lifelong friends who, over the years, had dropped to six and then five, with the deaths of Morimoto-san and Fukuda-san. The surviving members continued to play until Tokunaga-san had to bow out because of stomach cancer, which required months of brutal chemo and radiation treatments. The group remained in limbo until he had passed, prompting a decision to be made: With just four of them left, did they want to continue playing a…

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The Poker Table—Part 1

Por Alden M. Hayashi
9 Oct 2023

Author’s note: My late Nisei father did indeed have a poker gang of his best friends who would meet monthly, always on a Saturday night, for decades, but this fictional short story—“The Poker Table”—is only loosely based on them. * * * * * Mom and I were in the kitchen that Sunday morning, preparing lunch, when we heard the crash from outside, followed by an angry round of expletives in both English and Japanese. My father might let out a cuss word here and there, but it was rare for him to launch into a bilingual string of them. We rushed out to the garage t…