A collection of poetic images by James Woodham. (For an earlier posting of James’s rendering of Lake Biwa in poetry and photography, please see here.) ****** papers on the desk blown by the wind that blows leaves on the hillside now ****** Plato’s ideas – discussion suddenly stopped by windborn blossoms ****** the baby mantis, …Read More
Author: John Dougill (Page 31 of 45)
In Chapter 6 of Kokoro (1896), Lafcadio Hearn writes of some of Kyoto’s sights, an unusual topic for a man who normally looked to folklore and tradition for insight into the culture of his adopted land. However, his belief that religion reveals the heart of the people comes across in the final part of the …Read More
‘Pride of Place—Sake Vessels’ by Robert Yellin Drinking sake in Japan is an art when done with the right vessels. The history of sake vessels—collectively called shuki in Japanese—dates back millenniums and the variety of shuki found throughout Japan is as varied as there are clouds in the sky. For me, collecting shuki was my …Read More
A Kyoto Journal Update, Summer 2017 From Ken Rodgers, KJ managing editor Now celebrating its 30th year, Kyoto Journal is about to return to print with KJ 89, after a sojourn of 13 diverse issues in the not-quite-parallel universe of digital format. With this issue we will shift from quarterly to biannual publication, supported by …Read More
Isil Bayraktar is one of only two paid-up members of WiK who are not native speakers of English. She comes from Turkey and while studying in Kyoto is working freelance for Turkish publications. She has been much taken with Kyoto’s literary heritage, drawing inspiration in her own unique way to write contemporary accounts of the …Read More
Notes from Himeji: Life on the Razor’s Edge Simon Rowe Sometimes good things can be found in the most unlikely places. For the best shave in my city, I go to the hospital. The Himeji Junkanki Centre Hospital, to be exact. This mysterious facility hides in the hills south of the train tracks and is …Read More
The following is one of a nine part Silk Road series of travel by train that will appear on Ted’s blog next month. A condensed version of the series is expected to be published in the travel section of a major newspaper later in the year. (All photos by the author; see here for his previous piece …Read More
IT HAPPENED SOMEWHAT LIKE THIS by Akihito, Zen Monk. The following is written in a document by a little known monk, and housed in a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji. In 1260 there was a small murder in Minami Katada, Chugoku. Early the next morning, after receiving some advice, Tsutaro left in an easterly direction. Traveling only at …Read More
Reviving an Ancient Buddhist Pilgrimage Amy Chavez A pilgrimage is a magical world brimming with history, beauty and solitude. Shingon Buddhism goes even further by presenting pilgrimage as a mandala, a type of map to the cosmos. These circular routes act as vehicles to enlightenment. There are myriad personal reasons for going on pilgrimage, all …Read More
WiK Competition Organiser Karen Tawarayama runs a blog which investigates the lives of ordinary Kyoto people. The following interview is extracted from a longer piece which can be found here. There are now six illustrated pieces altogether on her blog, which looks sure to grow into a rather special resource about the life of people in the ‘real Kyoto’ rather …Read More
Kyoto Writing Competition
WiK Anthologies
The Nature of Kyoto (2023)
Eds. Lisa Twaronite Sone & Robert Weis
Foreword by Pico Iyer
Structures of Kyoto (2021)
Eds: Rebecca Otowa & Karen Lee Tawarayama
Foreword by Judith Clancy
Encounters with Kyoto (2019)
Eds: Jann Williams & Ian Josh Yates
Foreword by Juliet Winters Carpenter
Echoes (2017)
Eds: John Dougill, Amy Chavez, & Mark Richardson
Preface by Alex Kerr
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