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WiK Competition 2020 Local Prize
The judges were reminded of their early days in Japan, when abundant advice was offered by those who had arrived years prior. Some, however, felt that they were stepping into an unknown world as they…
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Cipangu, Golden Cipangu
Cipangu, Golden Cipangu: Essays in Japanese History by Michael HoffmanVirtualbookworm.com Publishing, 2020, pp.298 Book Review by John Dougill Michael Hoffman’s literary and historical articles for The Japan Times have always come across as remarkably well-informed,…
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WiK Competition 2020 Third Prize
An evocative journey, including vignettes of Kyoto’s four seasons in keeping with Japanese literary and artistic traditions. Nature and human life are skillfully woven together through these images. – Karen Lee Tawarayama ************* Interlude: Kyoto…
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Alan Watts (2) Kannon Kyoto
This is the second in a series of excerpts about Kyoto taken from the autobiography of Alan Watts, In My Own Way (1972). The passage below comes from the 2001 edition, p.345-6. ******************* That day…
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Zoom with Jeff Kingston
WiK’s first ever Zoom event took place on May 23 at 4.00 pm with 18 participants in all, which was a good number considering the event was limited to WiK members only. Particularly pleasing was…
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WiK Competition 2020 Second Prize
This was a lovely depiction of a flickering relationship whose end was nigh, although one of the couple did not realize it yet. The overall sadness of the piece tugged at the judges’ heartstrings. Though…
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WiK Anthology 4
WiK Anthology 4 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS “STRUCTURES OF KYOTO”Edited by Rebecca Otowa and Karen Lee TawarayamaThe title refers to the many structures of Kyoto, including mental and cultural structures as well as physical ones. Call…
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Alan Watts (3) Zen and saké
The following extracts are taken from pages 347-350 of In My Own Way, the autobiography of Alan Watts. *************** Ogata-sensei arranged to get us into Ryoanji -– The Temple of the Dragon Hermitage – after…
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WiK Competition 2020 First Prize
The judges appreciated the feminine quality of this evocative piece, which skillfully recreates a moment in a person’s life. Residents of Kyoto and visitors to Japan who have had the pleasure of visiting the Ohara…
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Alan Watts (4): modern Kyoto and Gary Snyder
This is the fourth extract from the final chapter of In My Own Way, the autobiography of Alan Watts which came out in 1972 (he died the next year). Interestingly, Watts was inspired in his…
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The illustrative art of Rebecca Otowa
My Project – Drawing 100 things in my house As some of you know, my house is undergoing a big change this year, as my son is moving in with his family. They are renovating,…
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Sutoku In Kyoto
Sutoku in Kyoto – emperor, poet, rebel, yōkaiBy Nicholas Teele Sutoku, the 75th emperor of Japan (reigned 1123-1142), is known to those with an interest in Japanese literature primarily for a poem included in a…
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Island Idyll
Finding an Island by Robert Weis Out on the islandsLights are turning onSea at springtime (Masaoka Shiki) The Inland Sea sparkles in the hot afternoon sun, my eyes are blinking, white skin gently burning. It…
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Kyoto’s Netsuke Museum
Kyoto’s Netsuke MuseumBy Iris Reinbacher This report is posted in conjunction with WiK’s upcoming members-only guided tour of the museum on Sept 26. For further details, please see the righthand column under News or click…
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Tina deBellegarde
Given that you live in New York, could you explain why you want to belong to Writers in Kyoto? I have visited Kyoto several times since my son made it his home. In that time,…
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ZOOMING GION
ZOOM TALK ON GION FESTIVAL BY CATHERINE PAWASARAT ( July 19) This year, sadly, Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri is not taking place. A festival founded to prevent epidemics has been cancelled because of an epidemic. It’s…
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The wandering Nanao Sakaki
Nanao Sakaki (1923-2008) was not a Kyoto writer, but a wandering poet who belonged to everywhere and nowhere. By all accounts he led a remarkable life and wrote remarkable poems. Some folks in Kyoto had…
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A Zen Romance
Book review by John Dougill There’s often a mystery about why some books last and others fade from public awareness. That certainly applies in this case, because for some reason this reviewer fails to understand,…
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The Voices in Rocks (novel)
This is the first chapter of a novel titled Kyoto Dreamtime being written by Everett Kennedy Brown. ************************ Chapter 1 The Voices in Rocks “Quietude in the temple grounds. Quietude in the surrounding hills…
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Nicolas Bouvier in Kyoto
The World through the Magic Lantern – Nicolas Bouvier in KyotoBy Robert Weis ‘Scent of pine tree. Soaring foliage, stiff and alive with cicadas. In a cemetery a priest in a raspberry robe recites the…
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Self-introduction (Altoft)
1) Please tell us something about yourself. I am a (nearly) 30 year old guy from Bristol, England. Aside from being a writer, I’m a tutor for kids of all ages across a bunch of…
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The Family (poem)
THE FAMILYBy Felicity Tillack Felicity writes: I wrote this poem a few years after moving to Japan for an anthology called Elements of Time. The feelings expressed in the poem are definitely ones I’ve had,…
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Sōseki’s Kyoto Haibun
Considering Sōseki’s「京に着ける夕」”Kyō ni tsukeru yūbe” as a haibunBy Richard Donovan In the first part of Natsume Sōseki’s account of a visit to Kyoto in the spring of 1907, the author and his hosts run their rickshaws…
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Sōseki’s Evening Arrival in Kyoto
An Evening Arrival in Kyotoby Natsume SōsekiTranslation copyright Richard Donovan (Originally published in Translating Modern Japanese Literature, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019.) Swift as a shooting star, the steam train has traversed 200 leagues of springtime…
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The beauty and the watchtower
by Jann Williams There is one woman that connects me with Kyoto like no other. We met a few years ago at a gallery soiree and have been inseparable ever since. Hailing from different eras,…
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The Gluck Kingdom (M.R. Louis)
The Gluck Kingdomby Michaël R. Louis Copyright © 2020 Michaël R. Louis All rights reserved. ISBN-13 : 979-8-6573-2631-4 Extract from Chapter 3 HOPES AND WANDERINGS Mr. Kawamoto gets out of his luxurious gray sedan, grabs his briefcase and climbs…
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After Act (Stephen Mansfield)
After Act by Stephen Mansfield I’m reading a short story by Michael Moorcock, in which the narrator describes his time in Hamburg, among friends who believed they were “descendants of those who had perished when…
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Lovely! (Part One)
LOVELY!A short story by Tina deBellegarde A buffeting wind shakes the display window and Aki looks up from the register. Outside is a tall young man, certainly a foreigner, his back to the window, reading…
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Lovely! (Part Two)
This is the second part of a short story by Tina deBellegarde. For Part One, please see here. ************ It is a quiet Saturday and Aki finds herself alone. Natsumi was out late drinking the…
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Six Love Limericks
by Preston Houser There once was a monk from Great Plains Who was stunned by Love’s cryptic claims. Love liberates from bondage Lonely hearts taken hostage And sets the free in chains. There…
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