We Drank Our Tears in Japanese?

A Japanese version of We Drank Our Tears, one of the most successful compilations of short stories on the Battles of Saipan and Tinian, is being mulled.

STAR Center for Young Writers, the group behind the successful compilation, recently arrived from a storytelling event in Osaka and its director Katharyn Tuten-Puckett said she received rave reviews about the book and even a proposal to translate the book into Japanese.

Tuten-Puckett said if the group finds a publisher willing to invest in translating the book into Japanese, STAR Center for Young Writers would be very willing to negotiate. The Young Writers’ director is confident that there is huge market for the book in Japan.

Tuten-Puckett said the group had a great time in Osaka. “They [Japanese people] were all wonderful. Everyone was gracious and hospitable,” she said.

Two of the writers in the book, Hermes Diaz and Winona Wabol, went to Osaka and presented their stories to the Japanese.

Diaz and Wabol together with Tuten-Puckett were the guest speakers during the 4th Annual Digital Storytelling Festival. She said the young writers did an excellent job, adding that they received a lot of positive feedback about the book.

Osaka Gakuin University, in cooperation with the Osaka Prefecture Board of Education and the Japan Association for Language Teaching, organized the storytelling event.

Tuten-Puckett also gave a brief background about the book and about World War II on Saipan and Tinian. She also said the group decided to bring together several generations of families to recount the experiences of the indigenous people during the invasion.

“This was the first time that many of the elders had shared their war memories with their families,” she said.

Juan Camacho Diaz, who was only 16 years old during the Pacific War, and the Saipan Mayor’s Office’s Richard Maratita also joined the group in the festival.

According to Tuten-Puckett it was the first time the storytelling festival invited an outsider to the event.

She said they were welcomed to Osaka by Foreign Languages associate professor Rex A. Tanimoto.

The group was also invited to several functions during its three-day trip to Osaka. A dance group called Karakoro invited the Saipan delegates to its dance rehearsal. Tuten-Puckett said when the dance troupe learned that Wabol is a Polynesian dancer, she was requested to display some of her dance moves.

Tuten-Puckett said the Saipan Mayor’s Office shouldered the airfare for the entire group, while Catherine Lam donated some cash and presents.

We Drank Our Tears got its title from one of the stories of 81 young writers interviewing 74 elders in the Commonwealth on their recollections during World War II.

“Because there were no rain and no water, we drank our tears,” said Tuten-Puckett referring to a line from the book.