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Please Enjoy Your Happiness
Please Enjoy Your Happiness is a beautifully written coming-of-age memoir based on the English author's summer-long love affair with a remarkable older Japanese woman.
Whilst serving as a seaman at the age of nineteen, Brinkley-Rogers met Kaji Yukiko, a sophisticated, highly intellectual Japanese woman, who was on the run from her vicious gangster boyfriend, a member of Japan's brutal crime syndicate the yakuza. Trying to create a perfect experience of purity, she took him under her wing, sharing their love of poetry, cinema and music and many an afternoon at the Mozart Café.
Brinkley-Rogers, now in his seventies, re-reads Yukiko's letters and finally recognizes her as the love of his life, receiving at last the gifts she tried to bestow on him. Reaching across time and continents, Brinkley-Rogers shows us how to reclaim a lost love, inviting us all to celebrate those loves of our lives that never do end.
Whilst serving as a seaman at the age of nineteen, Brinkley-Rogers met Kaji Yukiko, a sophisticated, highly intellectual Japanese woman, who was on the run from her vicious gangster boyfriend, a member of Japan's brutal crime syndicate the yakuza. Trying to create a perfect experience of purity, she took him under her wing, sharing their love of poetry, cinema and music and many an afternoon at the Mozart Café.
Brinkley-Rogers, now in his seventies, re-reads Yukiko's letters and finally recognizes her as the love of his life, receiving at last the gifts she tried to bestow on him. Reaching across time and continents, Brinkley-Rogers shows us how to reclaim a lost love, inviting us all to celebrate those loves of our lives that never do end.
284 pages, Hardcover
Published January 28, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
February 14, 2016
This memoir takes the form of a one-sided conversation between two people who knew each other when he was nineteen, she 31. They only knew each other for a matter of months but this had a strong effect upon the boy/man as he revisits the encounter more than 50 years later, when he is alone and starting to address his own mortality and, perhaps, wondering how decisions taken then would have brought him to a different present.
Although she was only really marginally older than him her life experience was exponentially greater. She was a Japanese who was born, and lived the formative years of her life, in Manchuria (a part of China occupied by the Japanese since their victory over the Russians in the war of 1904-5). This occupation was the most brutal kind of imperialist exploitation and oppression of the indigenous people and when the People's Army of the Chinese Communist Party arrived to liberate that part of their country in 1945 the Japanese occupiers fled for their lives. Her father had been one of the instruments of that brutality and didn't escape, she did but carrying with her the burden of his guilt.
In Japan she was an outsider, suffering the same sort of alienation that colonialists of all imperialist nations undergo once independence is achieved in the places where they had lived as masters and parasites. For reasons we don't get fully explained she gets involved with the yakuza (Japanese gangsters) and when the two protagonists meet she had only just escaped (though not completely) from their clutches. Nonetheless, throughout her turbulent life she had had the chance to absorb knowledge of the classics of Japanese culture as well as to appreciate modern developments of the society such as the cinema. She was a cultured woman who had almost hit rock bottom.
He, on the other hand, had had a protected life, was innocent and naive, an outsider to Japan as he was to America, having been born in Britain. He was a tabula rasa on which she had the opportunity to write some beautiful characters.
The relationship was purely platonic so it was this informal education, over a short period of 4 or 5 months, that shaped Brinkley-Rogers. From that time on he was to become a successful writer (although I personally had never heard of him before) and this was the reason he looked back to this summer of 1959 with such affection when in his 70s.
This is a gentle read. There are one or two events were there's a bit of tension when the yakuza and police get involved for a short time but, in general, the story follows a sensation which foreigners can get from contact with Japanese culture. This is a memoir which sees the tranquillity of the tea ceremony as representative of that culture and doesn't dwell on the brutality and violence of which the country has been guilty in the 20th century.
There are many references to both classical and (1950s) contemporary literature and poetry as well as the burgeoning cinema, especially the work of Akira Kurosawa.
In parts it was also quite moving as the inevitability of the separation approached.
Although she was only really marginally older than him her life experience was exponentially greater. She was a Japanese who was born, and lived the formative years of her life, in Manchuria (a part of China occupied by the Japanese since their victory over the Russians in the war of 1904-5). This occupation was the most brutal kind of imperialist exploitation and oppression of the indigenous people and when the People's Army of the Chinese Communist Party arrived to liberate that part of their country in 1945 the Japanese occupiers fled for their lives. Her father had been one of the instruments of that brutality and didn't escape, she did but carrying with her the burden of his guilt.
In Japan she was an outsider, suffering the same sort of alienation that colonialists of all imperialist nations undergo once independence is achieved in the places where they had lived as masters and parasites. For reasons we don't get fully explained she gets involved with the yakuza (Japanese gangsters) and when the two protagonists meet she had only just escaped (though not completely) from their clutches. Nonetheless, throughout her turbulent life she had had the chance to absorb knowledge of the classics of Japanese culture as well as to appreciate modern developments of the society such as the cinema. She was a cultured woman who had almost hit rock bottom.
He, on the other hand, had had a protected life, was innocent and naive, an outsider to Japan as he was to America, having been born in Britain. He was a tabula rasa on which she had the opportunity to write some beautiful characters.
The relationship was purely platonic so it was this informal education, over a short period of 4 or 5 months, that shaped Brinkley-Rogers. From that time on he was to become a successful writer (although I personally had never heard of him before) and this was the reason he looked back to this summer of 1959 with such affection when in his 70s.
This is a gentle read. There are one or two events were there's a bit of tension when the yakuza and police get involved for a short time but, in general, the story follows a sensation which foreigners can get from contact with Japanese culture. This is a memoir which sees the tranquillity of the tea ceremony as representative of that culture and doesn't dwell on the brutality and violence of which the country has been guilty in the 20th century.
There are many references to both classical and (1950s) contemporary literature and poetry as well as the burgeoning cinema, especially the work of Akira Kurosawa.
In parts it was also quite moving as the inevitability of the separation approached.
January 11, 2016
Goodreads win.
A beautiful memoir to read.
A beautiful memoir to read.
January 29, 2016
I received a free copy of this book through goodreads giveaways.
beautifully written and compelling. Really enjoyed reading
beautifully written and compelling. Really enjoyed reading
June 16, 2016
"How many dears do I dare put in front of your name? If you are dead, am I addressing a grave, or maybe your ashes?"
In this coming of age memoir, we meet Pulitzer Prize-winning war columnist and writer Paul Brinkley-Rogers, who at age 19 enlisted into the American naval fleet and became stationed post World War II in Japan during the 1950's. There, the British born soldier began a relationship with an older Japanese woman named Kaji Yukiko, ten years his senior. What began as innocent infatuation turned into a lifelong exploration of first love and a true romance for the couple as they navigated through issues of the changing political climate, racism, life experience, and a shared love for literature and poetry.
Contrary to Yukiko's employment of working in hostess clubs, she was never truly a geisha. However that did not stop her from getting involved with a young Paul as he describes their first meeting in bar as interesting, especially when they quickly bonded over Amerian writers and poets. From there, the couple became pen pals and demonstrated their own literary skills through a series of beautifully written letters and poems.
Sadly, their love was doomed from the start as Paul was shipped away while Yukiko was left to fend for herself against an abusive Yakuza boyfriend. Please Enjoy Your Happiness is very much a Romeo and Juliet story as the pair never got the opportunity to reunite but her presense never left the author. The memoir is such a brilliantly told piece that it make you sigh just thinking about the idea that true love does exist.
In this coming of age memoir, we meet Pulitzer Prize-winning war columnist and writer Paul Brinkley-Rogers, who at age 19 enlisted into the American naval fleet and became stationed post World War II in Japan during the 1950's. There, the British born soldier began a relationship with an older Japanese woman named Kaji Yukiko, ten years his senior. What began as innocent infatuation turned into a lifelong exploration of first love and a true romance for the couple as they navigated through issues of the changing political climate, racism, life experience, and a shared love for literature and poetry.
Contrary to Yukiko's employment of working in hostess clubs, she was never truly a geisha. However that did not stop her from getting involved with a young Paul as he describes their first meeting in bar as interesting, especially when they quickly bonded over Amerian writers and poets. From there, the couple became pen pals and demonstrated their own literary skills through a series of beautifully written letters and poems.
Sadly, their love was doomed from the start as Paul was shipped away while Yukiko was left to fend for herself against an abusive Yakuza boyfriend. Please Enjoy Your Happiness is very much a Romeo and Juliet story as the pair never got the opportunity to reunite but her presense never left the author. The memoir is such a brilliantly told piece that it make you sigh just thinking about the idea that true love does exist.
September 12, 2016
This is a magically woven tale, told through love letters, about the purest form of romance ever imaginable. While Yukiko practiced the art of detachment, she helped create the most intimate connection possible with the cherished young man in her life (author Paul Brinkley-Rogers). Throughout the story, part of what resonated with me was her selfless encouragement of him to be a poet and a writer. Paul wrote this so wonderfully that I left the book feeling like I had been transported to the year 1959 and was in the midst of their passionate love affair and its sad ending. Kudos to the author for being such a superb writer!
March 5, 2016
I loved this book I won a copy from goodreads, this is one I would recommend and have already passed onto a friend in my book club.different , moving and emotional.
February 1, 2018
An elegant story that deserves better than a 3-star rating. I know some may view the story differently, for me this story is heartbreaking. I think love lost is tragic and the regret that comes from love never fully realized is worse yet.
September 28, 2016
Some memories should be left alone. Author Brinkley-Rogers tells the tale of his time in Japan while serving in the US Navy. He ends up in a romantic relationship with Kaji Yukiko (not her real name), a slightly older woman (older than he is). He retells their romantic relationship and relates the influence she had on him, which in turn encouraged him to become a writer (he would also become a journalist).
This was terrible. Even by the standards of me not really caring for books written by journalists this was just dreadful writing. It reads like he's talking to her, reliving their times together. It alternates between first person and second, as if they were together and chatting after not seeing each other for decades and trying to remember what happened and when. He shares letters from her, bits and pieces of their times together.
This was not interesting at all. I thought it might be an intriguing story but...it's not. The flap notes he's a Pulitzer Prize winner. Really. Perhaps the decades have dulled the memories because there was nothing compelling about their romance. I had wondered if he managed to find her again (as these stories often go) but that in itself wasn't enough to really interest me either. Honestly, it seems like the author just wanted to relive some old memories...but that doesn't always translate well to book form.
The text began nagging at me pretty quickly and I had to put it down because it was so bothering me. I think that it could be something more than just nostalgia. Yukiko comes across as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Neither the author nor Yukiko completely fill the trope or the tropes associated with it. But Yukiko is smart, funny, encourages the author to use his talents to write. I'm willing to grant that the time period plus the lack of technology (no internet at the time, obviously) made it difficult for them to keep in touch and even with it the author only had so much to go on for a search. But I can't help but wonder if the author was more in love with the idea and the memory rather than the actual person.
A total disappointment. I'm really glad I didn't buy this. Borrow from the library if you're still really interested but I'd skip it.
This was terrible. Even by the standards of me not really caring for books written by journalists this was just dreadful writing. It reads like he's talking to her, reliving their times together. It alternates between first person and second, as if they were together and chatting after not seeing each other for decades and trying to remember what happened and when. He shares letters from her, bits and pieces of their times together.
This was not interesting at all. I thought it might be an intriguing story but...it's not. The flap notes he's a Pulitzer Prize winner. Really. Perhaps the decades have dulled the memories because there was nothing compelling about their romance. I had wondered if he managed to find her again (as these stories often go) but that in itself wasn't enough to really interest me either. Honestly, it seems like the author just wanted to relive some old memories...but that doesn't always translate well to book form.
The text began nagging at me pretty quickly and I had to put it down because it was so bothering me. I think that it could be something more than just nostalgia. Yukiko comes across as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Neither the author nor Yukiko completely fill the trope or the tropes associated with it. But Yukiko is smart, funny, encourages the author to use his talents to write. I'm willing to grant that the time period plus the lack of technology (no internet at the time, obviously) made it difficult for them to keep in touch and even with it the author only had so much to go on for a search. But I can't help but wonder if the author was more in love with the idea and the memory rather than the actual person.
A total disappointment. I'm really glad I didn't buy this. Borrow from the library if you're still really interested but I'd skip it.
March 10, 2017
Such an interesting story and some history that most of us know little about. Some of the writing is very beautiful - it's easy to see the author was a successful poet. Makes me realize how dull most of our lives truly are.
August 7, 2016
A delightful, evocative, and unforgettably timeless love story. Highly recommended. If you listen to Satie, while reading it (like I did), you will most likely need tissues.
February 21, 2017
Fun fact: the photo on the cover is our editor-in-chief's mom!
December 20, 2016
A beautifully written book. A man late in life looks back over a relationship from his youth with an older Japanese woman. There are excerpts of letters between the two of them. It is quite lovely.
December 30, 2016
I was bored.
July 7, 2020
Beautiful, compassionate, bittersweet. I loved it.
September 1, 2023
It's really just a beautiful and captivating story of love... I'm not good at writing reviews, but I really think it is one of the most genuine and pure slices of love I've ever read or heard about.
July 9, 2018
I really enjoyed this poignant memoir about a young American sailor's love affair with an older Japanese bar hostess with a tragic past. On a lyrical and spiritual level the book was very thought-provoking. I know to some of the younger viewers who read this work, Paul's innocence may seem hard to believe, but remember that porn was underground in the late 50's and it's not inconceivable that s white middle-class boy would be a virgin in 1959. Even in the late 60's I remember that some of my girlfriends and I were pretty innocent in our first year of university before the societal sea change of the 60's hit Eastern Canada and changed all our lives. However I did find there was something murky about the love Paul felt for Yuki. He did seem to be dazzled by her but I don't believe he tried hard enough to find her. Let's face it,he was a very successful and affluent journalist; if he had really wanted to, he could have found her or found out something about what happened to her. It's true she existed on the margins of society at the time but, as he takes great pains to tell us, she was not a prostitute. Japanese society was in flux at the time but the war was over and had been for 14 years. I agree with one reader who said Paul loved the idea of love but not the reality. If so, it's a damn shame because Yuki desperately and passionately loved him. The real tragedy, perhaps, is that he was just too young for her. And maybe, despite his age, he still is. Would love to know what really happened to her as she was remarkable, both cultured and intellectually curious, in many ways. It interesting to note that the affair was never consummated which, I think, puts it above the usual cliched fantasy of the sexy Asian babe we so often hear about.
July 28, 2016
I won this Memoir through a Goodreads Giveaway.
This is a gorgeous tribute written to the Japanese woman, Yukiko, who taught the author, Paul Brinkley-Rogers, about life, wisdom, and love in 1959. Paul was a sailor -boy with the USA Navy ship, the Shangri-La, patrolling off the coast of Japan. He would meet Yuki at the tea shops in Yokosuka when they were in Port.
Yuki is ten years older than Paul; but decades older in maturity and wisdom! She's truly lived, loved, and lost in those years in a way Paul can't begin to understand! She lived in China as a Manchurian Japanese woman. Japan had settled colonists there when they conquered Manchuria. Then those same colonists were caught up in the Chinese Revolution. Those who lived through it, were repatriated to Japan. Yuki has had a sad and difficult life; but that life made her the wise woman she is today! She teaches Paul about literature, poetry, and art. It helps that Brinkley-Rogers is already an intelligent man. Because of Yuki, Paul will go on to major in Japanese History and Language. He will be a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, war-correspondent, and author. Paul writes to honor Yukiko who made it possible for him to: " Please Enjoy Your Happiness". A Memoir to savor and enjoy!
This is a gorgeous tribute written to the Japanese woman, Yukiko, who taught the author, Paul Brinkley-Rogers, about life, wisdom, and love in 1959. Paul was a sailor -boy with the USA Navy ship, the Shangri-La, patrolling off the coast of Japan. He would meet Yuki at the tea shops in Yokosuka when they were in Port.
Yuki is ten years older than Paul; but decades older in maturity and wisdom! She's truly lived, loved, and lost in those years in a way Paul can't begin to understand! She lived in China as a Manchurian Japanese woman. Japan had settled colonists there when they conquered Manchuria. Then those same colonists were caught up in the Chinese Revolution. Those who lived through it, were repatriated to Japan. Yuki has had a sad and difficult life; but that life made her the wise woman she is today! She teaches Paul about literature, poetry, and art. It helps that Brinkley-Rogers is already an intelligent man. Because of Yuki, Paul will go on to major in Japanese History and Language. He will be a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, war-correspondent, and author. Paul writes to honor Yukiko who made it possible for him to: " Please Enjoy Your Happiness". A Memoir to savor and enjoy!
February 18, 2017
The book is called "Please Enjoy Your Happiness" but to me, it was a sad tale about a young naive US Navy Man (who is British) and a 31 year old Japanese woman. Like Grease, he thought it was just a summer romance. Unlike Grease, it stayed just a summer romance.
This writing was enchanting. Most of the book is Paul re-telling their story to Yuki, so it's us witnessing a story in second person. And like overhearing a conversation between two good friends, a lot could be confusing to an outside to the reader, and myself.
But I decided to accept the story's beautiful pieces of writing and not get wrapped into the big picture. It's perhaps a book better targeted to someone older than me who lived during the time of the story. Even more for someone who lived in Japan during that time.
This writing was enchanting. Most of the book is Paul re-telling their story to Yuki, so it's us witnessing a story in second person. And like overhearing a conversation between two good friends, a lot could be confusing to an outside to the reader, and myself.
But I decided to accept the story's beautiful pieces of writing and not get wrapped into the big picture. It's perhaps a book better targeted to someone older than me who lived during the time of the story. Even more for someone who lived in Japan during that time.
September 30, 2016
Disclaimer: I actually did not finish the book. I had to abandon it because I was not able to get into the characters or storyline. It seemed like a book I would have enjoyed. Unfortunately, the characters disturbed me (the 18 year old boy and a 30+ year old woman) and the storyline was uninteresting. Anyway, I cannot recommend but I didn't read the book in its entirety so that must be taken into account.
January 5, 2017
Meh! Two stars is generous but the quality of the writing is very good. I have little patience for odes to beautiful, charming women idealizing them beyond reality. Brinkley-Rogers credits this older Japanese woman from his youth in the American navy with helping make him the man and writer he is today, bla, bla. A snooze.
November 26, 2016
I, in fact, did NOT finish this book. It was chosen for book club hence the reason I even managed to reach 76% completion. I had sections I would enjoy reading but overall, I did not like the book, how it was told & I didn't care for the characters. Sure, this is someone's taste, but not mine.
July 13, 2016
Orientalist and fetishizing
July 20, 2017
Paul Brinkley-Rogers is a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and war correspondent. He covered the wars in Vietnam and Cambodia as a journalist. He has worked for Newsweek and The Miami Herald.
Please Enjoy Your Happiness is a memoir of a young man who was in a remarkable relationship with an older Japanese woman. The time period was 1959. The place was the port city of Yokosuka, Japan. He was in the U S Navy. She worked as a hostess in a bar. She noticed him sitting alone and reading. She loved poetry and this was the first step in their relationship. They had a kindred love of art and literature.
Paul Brinkley-Rogers is the young man. Kaji Yukiko was the Japanese woman. For Paul, this was a period in time where he had a life changing and memorable relationship. The relationship was brief. The story is a personal examination of that time. And, Paul states that this relationship has continued (for him) despite a separation of 58 years. Letters are included. In addition, the society and culture of Japan in 1959 is examined.
I have so many thoughts about this book. I believe it is because of my age and life experiences. I am 53. I have found that as a person becomes older the past is examined closely. There is something about becoming older that makes a person reflect and process the life we’ve lived. Some people (including me) ponder things. We have a sensitive perspective. And then again, there are some people who do not examine the past. They live in the moment. Reflecting on the past is more than thinking about regrets. Other things are studied. For example, am I a mature person compared to who I was ten years ago? For Paul Brinkley-Rogers, this period in his life was tantamount; it was a pivotal point, that changed the course of life.
Several points to consider in this story:
1. Their relationship was brief. It did not continue and show the wear and tear of arguments, disagreements, and the everyday struggles of a couple.
2. They had an intimacy that many long-term couples never have. I want to mention that intimacy does not mean sex. Intimacy means two people who have a deep trust for one another. They have shared the real people behind the flesh.
3. Paul reflects back and understands so much more than he did at age 19-20. Don’t we all understand things a bit better when we are older?
4. Paul is thankful he has this good memory, because he also has painful memories. But, Kaji is his happy place. She is his delightful joy. I bet there are people who have had many relationships who cannot say they had a deep relationship like Paul and Kaji?
I believe some readers will not “get” this story. In order to understand Paul’s memoir, a little life needs to have been lived. Notice I said life and not age. Some people have had heavy life experiences when they are still young.
I loved this story for several reasons:
1. Paul Brinkley-Rogers unpacks his suitcase so to speak, about a great love during his youth. It is interesting to read about the progressing relationship, as well as his mature reflections on this period.
2. I have clarity about Japan’s culture and society post World War II.
3. I have clarity about Japanese women post World War II.
4. I loved reading about two people who by chance meet, and the relationship changes their lives.
5. An additional tweak to the story is Paul was born in England. His perspective on America brought a different viewpoint. Especially in reference to racism.
6. The letters that are included from Kaji are important. I was able to hear her voice.
Please Enjoy Your Happiness is a memoir of a young man who was in a remarkable relationship with an older Japanese woman. The time period was 1959. The place was the port city of Yokosuka, Japan. He was in the U S Navy. She worked as a hostess in a bar. She noticed him sitting alone and reading. She loved poetry and this was the first step in their relationship. They had a kindred love of art and literature.
Paul Brinkley-Rogers is the young man. Kaji Yukiko was the Japanese woman. For Paul, this was a period in time where he had a life changing and memorable relationship. The relationship was brief. The story is a personal examination of that time. And, Paul states that this relationship has continued (for him) despite a separation of 58 years. Letters are included. In addition, the society and culture of Japan in 1959 is examined.
I have so many thoughts about this book. I believe it is because of my age and life experiences. I am 53. I have found that as a person becomes older the past is examined closely. There is something about becoming older that makes a person reflect and process the life we’ve lived. Some people (including me) ponder things. We have a sensitive perspective. And then again, there are some people who do not examine the past. They live in the moment. Reflecting on the past is more than thinking about regrets. Other things are studied. For example, am I a mature person compared to who I was ten years ago? For Paul Brinkley-Rogers, this period in his life was tantamount; it was a pivotal point, that changed the course of life.
Several points to consider in this story:
1. Their relationship was brief. It did not continue and show the wear and tear of arguments, disagreements, and the everyday struggles of a couple.
2. They had an intimacy that many long-term couples never have. I want to mention that intimacy does not mean sex. Intimacy means two people who have a deep trust for one another. They have shared the real people behind the flesh.
3. Paul reflects back and understands so much more than he did at age 19-20. Don’t we all understand things a bit better when we are older?
4. Paul is thankful he has this good memory, because he also has painful memories. But, Kaji is his happy place. She is his delightful joy. I bet there are people who have had many relationships who cannot say they had a deep relationship like Paul and Kaji?
I believe some readers will not “get” this story. In order to understand Paul’s memoir, a little life needs to have been lived. Notice I said life and not age. Some people have had heavy life experiences when they are still young.
I loved this story for several reasons:
1. Paul Brinkley-Rogers unpacks his suitcase so to speak, about a great love during his youth. It is interesting to read about the progressing relationship, as well as his mature reflections on this period.
2. I have clarity about Japan’s culture and society post World War II.
3. I have clarity about Japanese women post World War II.
4. I loved reading about two people who by chance meet, and the relationship changes their lives.
5. An additional tweak to the story is Paul was born in England. His perspective on America brought a different viewpoint. Especially in reference to racism.
6. The letters that are included from Kaji are important. I was able to hear her voice.
September 21, 2017
We come by so much love in our lives and so much of it bypasses us. To be able to hold on to our hearts without our heads getting in the way would be magical as it was with Yukiko and Paul. Even a war did not discourage their love. It was held onto in Pauls heart for his lifetime and reviewed again as he wrote this book. Because he kept Yukikos' letters it helped bring the memories back in full strength and he again relived his love through his story telling. The letters will tell the story of his young life after he is gone as this love helped make him the man he became.
Rich in history and poetic prose, I am enamored with Paul and Yukiko.
Rich in history and poetic prose, I am enamored with Paul and Yukiko.
September 25, 2021
This book is about Roger’s relationship with an older Japanese women when he was a 19 year old serving on a US navy vessel based out of Japan just after World War II. I approached it with some doubt as it faces the risk of exoticizing Japanese women and the more general risk of any such memoir - that of going past nostalgia towards being maudlin and overly sentimental.
He’s far too good a writer to fall prey to either of those traps helped by the fact that his paramour is a truly fascinating character. She was born in Manchuria, one of the some 1.5 million Japanese colonists there, and was forced to flee back to Japan at the end of WWII not before her family suffered terrible reprisals at the hands of the Chinese. She found herself involved in the Hiroshima underworld before fleeing from the Yakuza and ended up working as a bar hostess where she spots Rogers reading a book of poetry in a bar.
This memoir is about their relationship and I’m happy to say it transcends the typically American sailor, Japanese girl relationship - or else it wouldn’t be much of a book. Rogers was young, innocent and naive and she takes him under her wing intent to school him in culture: Japanese film, jazz, classical music. Most importantly she helps him to mature but showing him how to truly feel, and to love. Their relationship is never consummated but beautiful and encompassing in a way that many sexual relationships aren’t. There’s little doubt that this was the most unforgettable and important relationship in Roger’s life.
This book is a lovely portrait of a chance encounter between two outsiders and an interesting portrait of Japan and East Asia just after the war. The writing is more accessible and everyday rather than transcendent but the story is. I’m glad to have read it.
He’s far too good a writer to fall prey to either of those traps helped by the fact that his paramour is a truly fascinating character. She was born in Manchuria, one of the some 1.5 million Japanese colonists there, and was forced to flee back to Japan at the end of WWII not before her family suffered terrible reprisals at the hands of the Chinese. She found herself involved in the Hiroshima underworld before fleeing from the Yakuza and ended up working as a bar hostess where she spots Rogers reading a book of poetry in a bar.
This memoir is about their relationship and I’m happy to say it transcends the typically American sailor, Japanese girl relationship - or else it wouldn’t be much of a book. Rogers was young, innocent and naive and she takes him under her wing intent to school him in culture: Japanese film, jazz, classical music. Most importantly she helps him to mature but showing him how to truly feel, and to love. Their relationship is never consummated but beautiful and encompassing in a way that many sexual relationships aren’t. There’s little doubt that this was the most unforgettable and important relationship in Roger’s life.
This book is a lovely portrait of a chance encounter between two outsiders and an interesting portrait of Japan and East Asia just after the war. The writing is more accessible and everyday rather than transcendent but the story is. I’m glad to have read it.
January 26, 2019
I was mesmerized by this gorgeous book. The writing is stunning and the story is original and captivating.
November 13, 2025
Not so much a love story, as an extremely interesting mentorship. A searching view of happiness. Personal and journalistic details of years immediately following WW 2. There’s a lot in here.
February 8, 2017
This book was recommended by the app I use because it noticed I enjoy memoirs. I resisted because it is the story of the author as a 19 year-old soldier in a harbor in Japan during the summer of 1959 and his relationship with a 31 year-old woman, who was originally from Manchuria, and the odds of it not being about sex for sale seemed slim.
But I was intrigued and carried on...it took reading the whole book before the author confirms their relationship was not a sexual one albeit it defines a type of love, maybe even more a longing for connection, which I found beautiful yet full of sadness.
The bar room protagonist Yukiko has a job which is to promote drink to the sailors docked at the harbor city in Japan. A good part of her compensation seems based on a cut of the cost of the drink. The title of the book, which is enigmatic as being happy means you are experiencing enjoying life, is from the establishment The White Rose where Yukiko worked. I surmise Yukiko chose to befriend the author because he carried a book of poems and she longed for a different life, one of books, ideas, music, cinema and operas. A life deeper than her own skin.
They only had one summer together and a dozen subsequent letters, yet Yukiko eventually shares her life story with Paul and it is tragic. Paul saves her life one day when he visits and finds her in a pool of blood in her attempt to end her life. The stories she shares are filled with pain, a father and gangster boyfriend who both beat her without mercy.
Although the relationship is beautiful, as we hear the voice of Paul's young but mature self but mostly because of Yukiko's intellect, pearls of wisdom and letters, I searched for a deeper understanding from the author as to the pain his Yukiko experienced, especially as a woman whose value was in her physical beauty and ability to attract customers. The author was short on this and in the Epilogue, when he finally admitted the absence of sex between them, as if it was an embarrassment, he also discussed the Japanese tradition of Geishas, saying they are not really prostitutes but just end up as lovers for wealthy men and have great "value" in Japanese society which he likened to the cost of airfare from LA to Japan. Wow! I had to wait until the end to find what I perceived all along. Even for a man coming of age in the late 50s, I expected more development and depth of understanding of the human condition, especially in light of his cosmopolitan background.
But I was intrigued and carried on...it took reading the whole book before the author confirms their relationship was not a sexual one albeit it defines a type of love, maybe even more a longing for connection, which I found beautiful yet full of sadness.
The bar room protagonist Yukiko has a job which is to promote drink to the sailors docked at the harbor city in Japan. A good part of her compensation seems based on a cut of the cost of the drink. The title of the book, which is enigmatic as being happy means you are experiencing enjoying life, is from the establishment The White Rose where Yukiko worked. I surmise Yukiko chose to befriend the author because he carried a book of poems and she longed for a different life, one of books, ideas, music, cinema and operas. A life deeper than her own skin.
They only had one summer together and a dozen subsequent letters, yet Yukiko eventually shares her life story with Paul and it is tragic. Paul saves her life one day when he visits and finds her in a pool of blood in her attempt to end her life. The stories she shares are filled with pain, a father and gangster boyfriend who both beat her without mercy.
Although the relationship is beautiful, as we hear the voice of Paul's young but mature self but mostly because of Yukiko's intellect, pearls of wisdom and letters, I searched for a deeper understanding from the author as to the pain his Yukiko experienced, especially as a woman whose value was in her physical beauty and ability to attract customers. The author was short on this and in the Epilogue, when he finally admitted the absence of sex between them, as if it was an embarrassment, he also discussed the Japanese tradition of Geishas, saying they are not really prostitutes but just end up as lovers for wealthy men and have great "value" in Japanese society which he likened to the cost of airfare from LA to Japan. Wow! I had to wait until the end to find what I perceived all along. Even for a man coming of age in the late 50s, I expected more development and depth of understanding of the human condition, especially in light of his cosmopolitan background.
August 9, 2016
Wise, inquisitive, and heart-breakingly tender, Brinkley-Rogers' memoir moves seamlessly between the man he is now and the boy he was in 1959 when he was a sailor aboard the USS Shangri-La stationed off Japan. As much about the nature of memory and love as it is about life lived and reflected upon, Please Enjoy Your Happiness weaves poetry and effortless prose into a captivating tale of the beautiful, tragic woman he met in Yokosuka, Kaji Yukiko, who introduced him to Japanese poetry, to the reality of post World War II Japan, and to the treacherous territory of the human heart—a land misted with distant bells, but also layered with sorrows, and deeply honest.
Nothing about this memoir is typical. Their love story, though it spurs a lifetime of longing, was largely platonic. Brinkley-Rogers was 19, Kaji Yukiko, 31. In many ways, it is a reverse of the Pygmalion story. She encourages him to become a poet, and she influences him with her love for classical music and for the cinematic history of Japan. She writes him stunningly beautiful letters (ten of which are included in the book) and he writes back to her from his ship, which leaves and returns to Yokosuka during the spring and summer of ‘59. These ten letters, when he stumbles upon them in his study some fifty years later, become the inspiration for his memoir, which he writes as one long, last, love letter, addressing Yukiko as “you.”
Their relationship is not without peril. Raised in Manchuria, Yukiko fled with her family to Hiroshima, where she was forced into servitude by Yakuza gangsters. When one of them runs into her at the train station in Yokosuka and tries to kidnap her, Brinkley-Rogers is warned by the police and by his commander to not see her anymore. But that is impossible; she is already a part of him. She has lit the spark of the writer he will become.
Nothing about this memoir is typical. Their love story, though it spurs a lifetime of longing, was largely platonic. Brinkley-Rogers was 19, Kaji Yukiko, 31. In many ways, it is a reverse of the Pygmalion story. She encourages him to become a poet, and she influences him with her love for classical music and for the cinematic history of Japan. She writes him stunningly beautiful letters (ten of which are included in the book) and he writes back to her from his ship, which leaves and returns to Yokosuka during the spring and summer of ‘59. These ten letters, when he stumbles upon them in his study some fifty years later, become the inspiration for his memoir, which he writes as one long, last, love letter, addressing Yukiko as “you.”
Their relationship is not without peril. Raised in Manchuria, Yukiko fled with her family to Hiroshima, where she was forced into servitude by Yakuza gangsters. When one of them runs into her at the train station in Yokosuka and tries to kidnap her, Brinkley-Rogers is warned by the police and by his commander to not see her anymore. But that is impossible; she is already a part of him. She has lit the spark of the writer he will become.
February 4, 2017
I picked this up because it was recommended or trending or something (on Goodreads I think), and it's about a relationship between a British/American young man of 19 and a captivating Japanese woman of 31. Having lived in Japan, and being at this time an American woman of 31, I was intrigued. This is a lyrical, sweet memoir that I enjoyed reading, a retrospective by the young man in question (no longer young). He makes clear from the start that he doesn't know what became of this woman he loved, so you know from the outset this is more of a poetic love-separated-by-distance-and-never-knowing than a tearful-reunion kind of story.
It wasn't until close to the end that I began to really think of the whole series of encounters from the older woman's perspective, and began to understand what she gained from it all too. What the young sailor-boy stood to gain in the growing up process from their relationship is clear throughout, but as we learn more about Yukiko's roughed-up past, we can begin to appreciate how important is the kind of hope she gets from being close to Paul. It's not a fast-paced story, which would not fit the genre or suit the story, and there isn't much suspense, so if that's your thing, skip it. But if you are looking for a slow, sweet song, give it a read.
It wasn't until close to the end that I began to really think of the whole series of encounters from the older woman's perspective, and began to understand what she gained from it all too. What the young sailor-boy stood to gain in the growing up process from their relationship is clear throughout, but as we learn more about Yukiko's roughed-up past, we can begin to appreciate how important is the kind of hope she gets from being close to Paul. It's not a fast-paced story, which would not fit the genre or suit the story, and there isn't much suspense, so if that's your thing, skip it. But if you are looking for a slow, sweet song, give it a read.
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