About Me

I lived in Japan for more than thirteen years. In my first four years, I served in the U.S. Navy on two different 7th Fleet Flagships home-ported out of Yokosuka, Japan. For the following nine years I attended Sophia University (Jochi Daigaku) and received a BS degree in International Business and Economics. Later I attended Aoyama Gakuin University receiving a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) degree. While studying at both Sophia and Aoyama, I landed a position as an instructor/trainer for a company providing a wide range of English language services, including international presentation and negotiation skills, rewriting, and translation to companies, universities, and governmental organizations in the Tokyo area. I returned to the U.S. in 1981 and quickly found a position as a technical writer. In the years that followed, I rose to the position of Documentation Manager. Over the next thirty or so years, I was very fortunate to be employed by several high-tech firms (Nortel Networks, Lucent, Cisco, and EMC to name a few). When I retired in 2016, I decided to become a crime thriller fiction writer. I have successfully published two novels and am writing my third. This is something I truly enjoy. Recently, ISJP has been looking for a volunteer to act as a backup webmaster. I have thrown my hat into the ring as it were. And, I would be very pleased if you chose me to be your next backup webmaster. In this new role as your next backup webmaster, I hope to continue to provide the same high level of professional service that has been provided by all your webmasters.

My Collection

I began collecting Japanese postage stamps while living in Japan, I become enamored with their theme, design, and colors. As I acquired more and more stamps from the Tokyo Central Post Office, I also discovered First Day Covers. It was an amazing way to showcase the stamps that I had fallen in love with. Since then, I have expanded my collection to include all things Japanese stamp-related, from new definitives, commemoratives, colonies, to topical issues. Unfortunately, as my collection of new stamps continued to grow over the years, I decided to stop collecting First Day Covers.
 
Originally, my collection was small and easy to collect when I first started collecting. Now, with issues of definitives and commemoratives, both regular and prefectural (typically called furusato in Japan’s Sakura catalog, but it can mean home town or ancestral home), it has become more and more difficult.

My Latest Acquisition

I have always liked the commemorative stamps depicting the Edo or Tokugawa Shogunate (or 徳川幕府 Tokugawa bakufu). Recently, I was able to purchase the International Letter-Writing Week sheet of Hiroshige’s 53 stations of Tokaido (or 東海道五十三次, Tōkaidō Gojūsan-tsugi) reproduced from the original Ukiyoe. These stamps are just beautiful. Additionally, the really nice part of the special release is that the descriptions are in English and Japanese on the special souvenir pamphlet.

Hiroshige’s Fifty-three Stations of Tokaido