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Basho in Zeze (Jeff Robbins)
A Resting Place for His Spirit: Basho in Zeze from the Basho4Now Trilogy Translations and Commentary by Jeff Robbins Assisted by Sakata Shoko Of all the places Basho visited in his travels, one in particular,…
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Experiencing Zen (Ruth Fuller Sasaki)
The passages below are a truncated version of an essay contained in a guide to Rinzai Zen Study for Foreigners in Japan, written by Ruth Fuller Sasaki and produced in 1960 for The First Zen…
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David Duff on cats
It goes without saying that I am one bona fide, crazy ailurophile. Fortunate to be surrounded by them from early childhood (I grew up with 8 cats and 6 dogs) to now, I find cats…
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A. J. Dickinson: 3 poems
this deep sky sea these deep currents well up the way below roiling riding your waves your curls your shores your sea our sea this deep sky sea •••••••••••••••••• first rays first rays illuminating…
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Buson on Kyoto
The well-known haiku poet Yosa Buson (1716-84) ranks among the finest of Kyoto’s literary figures. Born in what is now Osaka, he moved to Edo and studied poetry. After years of moving around, including following…
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Brian Victoria on Zen terrorism
WiK’s February event featured Brian Daizen Victoria, a Soto Zen priest, talking about his current work on Zen and terrorism in the 1930s. Brian is widely known for his book on Zen at War, first…
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Buson at Basho-an
As you can see from the picture above, the Konpuku-ji temple in north-east Kyoto has recently made efforts to display its haiku connections as best it can. This includes setting up a board inside the…
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A listing of writings about Kyoto
Books set in Kyoto start with the classics… Murasaki Shikibu – The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) (c.1000-21) Sei Shonagon – The Pillow Book (Makura no Sōshi) (1002) Kamo no Chomei – An Account of a Ten Foot…
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Gabi Greve on Kyoto
Gabi Greve lives in the Okayama countryside and is known to many web users because she has compiled multiple websites of information about Japan. Born in Germany in 1948, Gabi is a medical doctor with…
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Kevin Ramsden’s sequel
Kevin Ramsden’s novel The Drop was a gripping read of the London underworld, and personally I was impressed by the mastery of different voices and the weaving together of the plot. The link for the…
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WiK Writing Competition Winners
The judges of the first WiK Writing Competition are delighted to announce the winners, as listed below. Each of the three prize winners will receive a small gift from the Kyoto Convention and Visitors Bureau,…
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Kawabata’s Old Capital (Koto)
The Japan Times carries a short review today of Kawabata’s ‘Koto’, a short novel set in Kyoto that is as much about the city as it is about the twins at the heart of the…
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Ted Taylor on the road
Based in Kyoto, Edward’s work has appeared in a variety of print and online publications. Co-editor of the Deep Kyoto Walks anthology, he is currently at work on a series of books about walking…
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WiK Competition Local Prize
Mayumi Kawaharada grew up, lives and works in Kyoto. She started writing English haiku in 2004, as a member of the Hailstone Haiku Circle led by Stephen Henry Gill. Many of her works appear on…
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WiK Competition Third Prize
The winner of the third prize is Richard Steiner, who is a longterm resident of Kyoto, a noted woodblock printmaker, and a member of WiK. (See his piece on writer’s block.) The judges felt that…
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WiK Writing Competiton: Second Prize
Jesse Efron has an M.A in English literature as well as an M.F.A in creative writing. He lives and teaches in northern Kyoto prefecture. The judges felt his piece provided an interesting look at questions…
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WiK Competition winner: Kimono memories
Peter Mallett is a university professor and writer based in Kobe, Japan. Originally from the UK, he has an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. Former Arts editor of Kansai Time Out and…
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Basho in Saga (Robbins)
BASHO IN SAGA Eight Basho haiku, one renku, seven passages of prose and two of his letters, Translations and Commentary by Jeff Robbins Assisted by Sakata Shoko N.B. Basho’s own words appear…
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Steiner on laundry hanging
WiK Essay for March 2016 (Richard Steiner) I am hanging up the laundry on our veranda. It conveniently faces south. I see the large forest of the local shrine; others’ laundry waving to mine; new…
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Whiting on writing
WiK’s first anniversary event could hardly have had a more prestigious speaker than Robert Whiting, famous not only for his bestselling book on baseball, You’ve Gotta have Wa, but for the even better selling Tokyo…
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Zen poems by Lawrence Barrow
Lawrence Barrow is a potter and ordained Zen monk who also writes poems and keeps a blog. As a WiK member, he has allowed us to reproduce some of his poems from his Hikidashi website. …
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Kyoto vs. Home (Basho by Jeff Robbins)
Living in Kyoto vs. Returning Home: Four Basho Linked Verses of Humanity Translations and commentary by Jeff Robbins Assisted by Sakata Shoko Basho’s well-known haiku offer us transcendental visions of nature usually with no human…
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Welcoming Jann Williams
Writing in Kyoto Jann Williams, May 24th, 2016 As I sit writing I can see the south-western turret and grounds of Nijo Castle through my apartment balcony door. The research for my book ‘Elemental Japan’…
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Basho linked verse on Kyoto
Three more Basho linked verses about Kyoto Translations and commentary by Jeff Robbin Assisted by Sakata Shoko Recently I posted an article, Living in Kyoto vs. Returning Home, containing four Basho linked verses. John Dougill…
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WiK Anthology launch party
The first WiK anthology has now been successfully launched. Every WiK member will receive a free washi-covered copy, and other copies are being sent out to publishers, media outlets and people of significance in…
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Magazine news
(From Ken Rodgers, KJ Managing Editor) KJ 86, a Work in Progress… Back when Kyoto Journal was a print publication, I used to describe it as the only quarterly that came out three times a…
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Poems (James Woodham)
James Woodham spent his first few years in Japan in a six-mat room in the grounds of a Shinto shrine in Kyoto, studying Japanese and writing poetry while working as little as possible. After a…
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WW1 Commemoration Readings
The Writers in Kyoto commemoration of WW1 was timed to coincide with the centenary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916. The event proved hugely entertaining and a…
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Novel success (Marianne Kimura)
WiK is delighted to announce a breakthrough for one of our members, Marianne Kimura, whose piece from her first novel was featured in the first WiK Anthology. Here she tells how she managed to land…
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Book announcement (Allen S. Weiss)
News of a forthcoming book by WiK member, Allen Weiss, who was recently in Nice at the time of the terrorist atrocity there. Luckily he was nowhere near the events, though he witnessed some of…
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