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Charles A. Pomeroy

Goodreads Author

Born

in Beloit, Wisconsin, The United States

November 06, 1930

Member Since

August 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/charlesp

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Charles Pomeroy emerged from a nomadic childhood in the Mid-west—he was born in Beloit, Wisconsin—to enter another nomadic life in the U.S. Navy starting in 1947 at the tender age of 17. He served eight years as an aircrew member specialized in electronics, which included two combat tours during the Korean War. That war also introduced him to Japan, a country that in 1950 was yet to recover from the destruction of WWII.
But it was during a later assignment to the Naval Attaché in Rome, Italy, in 1954 and exposure to a world beyond the military that awakened a desire for a higher education. As chance would have it, an interest in Japanese language and arts led to contacts with the Japanese community in Rome. Thus, two years later he left the Charles Pomeroy emerged from a nomadic childhood in the Mid-west—he was born in Beloit, Wisconsin—to enter another nomadic life in the U.S. Navy starting in 1947 at the tender age of 17. He served eight years as an aircrew member specialized in electronics, which included two combat tours during the Korean War. That war also introduced him to Japan, a country that in 1950 was yet to recover from the destruction of WWII.
But it was during a later assignment to the Naval Attaché in Rome, Italy, in 1954 and exposure to a world beyond the military that awakened a desire for a higher education. As chance would have it, an interest in Japanese language and arts led to contacts with the Japanese community in Rome. Thus, two years later he left the military and, student visa in hand, boarded a freighter for Japan in early 1957.
Following language school and four years of study in Tokyo at Sophia University (Jochi Daigaku), the author graduated with a B.S. in Asian History, with emphasis on the arts. He also tried his hand at creating art himself, producing woodblock prints, but failure there would turn his attention more to the written word as a way to earn a living. Initially, as a freelancer he translated over a dozen books, ranging from the simpler "Japanese Toys" to the more complex "Chinese Eunuchs." Morphing from freelance translator into a correspondent specializing in coverage of Japan’s healthcare industry came about in 1966 and continued until he retired in 2004.
As an author, his first book, "Traditional Crafts of Japan" (Weatherhill) was published in 1967. In the mid-1990s, as General Editor he focused the knowledge of five colleagues to put together a history book, "Foreign Correspondents in Japan" (Tuttle), published in 1998. A more recent book, "Pharma Delegates," was published in 2013.
Following an earlier failed marriage, the author found his life-long mate in 1986, Atsuko Kobayashi. As well, he eventually became enamored with her home town, Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture and a new home was built there in 1999 in anticipation of retirement. Retirement, in turn, allowed resumption of his earlier passion of creating woodblock prints. That blissful life came to an end with the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake and the catastrophic tsunami. Later visits to the destroyed town and further research resulted in his latest book, "Tsunami Reflections," to be published in late September, 2014.

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Charles A. Pomeroy’s books

Average rating: 3.2 · 45 ratings · 16 reviews · 9 distinct works

	Chinese Eunuchs: The Structure of Intimate Politics by Taisuke Mitamura, Charles A. Pomeroy (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 2.89 avg rating — 38 ratings — published 1970 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tsunami Reflections--Otsuchi Remembered 4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Foreign Correspondents In Japan- Covering a Half-Century of Upheavals: From 1945 to the Present by Charles A. Pomeroy (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Charles A. Pomeroy (Goodreads Author) (Editor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1998 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Traditional Crafts of Japan, Illustrated with the Eighteenth-Century Artisan Prints of Tachibana Minko it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1967 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Japanese Woodblock Prints: Their Techniques and Appreciation by Charles A. Pomeroy (Goodreads Author) (Translator), Umetaro Azechi really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1963	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Early Painting by Muneshige Narazaki, Charles A. Pomeroy (Goodreads Author) (Translator) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1976 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Japanese Toys: Playing with History by Charles A. Pomeroy (Goodreads Author) (Translator), Kazuya Sakamoto, Kiyoshi Sonobe (Photgrapher) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1965	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chinese Ceramics by Charles A. Pomeroy (Goodreads Author) (Translator), Seizo Hashiya, Gakuji Hasebe 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1966	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tsunami Reflections-Otsuchi Remembered Paperback – September 23, 2014 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Charles A. Pomeroy's Blog: Pomeroy's Books

Charnel House Brings Closure in Otsuchi

Seventy boxes of ashes and bones, unidentified remains from Japan’s 2011 tsunami, found their final resting place in a new charnel house specially built on Shiroyama (Castle Mountain), a promontory that projects into central Otsuchi. The ceremony here took place on February 19, 2017. That was some three weeks ahead of the sixth anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 mega-quake and tsunami that destroyed Read more of this blog post »

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