Beneath the Gingko Tree

By Kazumi Hayashi

When I say Tokyo, what do you see? The crosswalk stop light turns green, the stagnant crowd suddenly engulfs you in motion, from one step-a-second to five. The LCD screens with loud advertisements, you don’t need another brightening cream, but after those few seconds, maybe you do need a brightening cream. Move along or Shibuya may consume you. Tokyo conjures images, a bustling city that never sleeps. Each station, Akihabara to Harajuku, all held at an urban chokehold. I love loud Tokyo, but my favorite Tokyo is quiet. My Tokyo is a small residential neighborhood, where five steps-a-second slows back to one as you pass the local bakeries, a 100 decibels quieter than Shibuya. 

My Tokyo had a small park, 
Quiet in nature, 
With a small pond, 
Where the water gliders danced. 
With a playground, 
Where the children would speak in quips. 
But my favorite spot was the picnic bench beneath the ginkgo tree. 
The bench was tucked away, 
17 steps up, one step broken. 
It was unremarkable, 
But it was my Tokyo. 
When I sat down, life slowly unraveled before me. 
That boy who used to be one now five, 
Bubble maker to soccer ball, 
Scraped knee to callused knee, 
When I sat down, small Tokyo played out in front of me. 
Beneath the ginkgo tree I met a stranger, 
A man with a book in hand who wore plaid, 
Snow or rain, 
Green leaf or yellow leaf, 
It did not matter. 
Beneath the ginkgo tree I met a friend, 
He, with a book in hand, always wore plaid, 
My Tokyo had a small park, 
Slowing from five-steps-a-second to one, 
No crowd, no advertisements, 
Small and unremarkable, 
My Tokyo is beneath the ginkgo tree.

Born and raised in Japan, Kazumi Hayashi is currently in Hawaii, continuing his secondary education. Kazumi has been selected to present poetry at the Keables Night by Naomi Shihab Nye, and since then, he has been driven to elevate his writing to a new standard beyond a hobby. Kazumi Hayashi is a winner of the 2024 Iolani Writes competition as well. Kazumi’s experiences as a person of Japanese-Chinese descent, as well as his exposure to American culture, allow him to explore various narratives through a unique perspective.