John Dougill writes… Lafcadio Hearn had a taste for the macabre, as is well-known from his Kwaidan (1903) collection of strange stories. In Ghostly Japan (1899) contains one such story which is set in Kyoto. Fittingly enough, it concerns a tengu, for the creatures were much associated with the city, particularly the northern area around …Read More
Author: John Dougill (Page 35 of 45)
The latest Kyoto Journal update, from managing editor Ken Rodgers Kyoto Journal’s 88th issue, to be released in February, is another eclectic feast; I’d like to share a few highlights with Writers in Kyoto, as an appetizer. An extraordinary set of “cadenzas” by a notable British poet, calling himself John Gohorry, celebrates the real-life exploits …Read More
New Year Basho Eight Basho haiku, four linked verses, two Basho letters, and one haibun Selection, translation, and commentary by Jeff Robbins Words of Basho appear in bold face For the New Year of 2017 and Writers in Kyoto, I have assembled a collection of Basho works on the human experience of …Read More
One of WiK’s members has produced a retrospective look at the departing Year of the Monkey. Some may have mixed feelings as we see off another year, but perhaps there’s something in this midwinter miscellancy which will resonate with the sensitive reader. Our thanks to Anonymous for this Christmas Day package, a timely reminder that …Read More
A different view of publishing was provided at an engaging session hosted by WiK member Bernie MacMugen at Cafe Maaru (Dec 11, 2016). In place of the usual author’s perspective, Bernie pronounced himself an unashamed bibliophile with a fondness for hardbacks and no particular interest in writing. Instead he aspires to start his own ‘micro-publishing’ …Read More
Basho on How to Make a Haiku 17 statements from his letters and spoken word Translations and Commentary by Jeff Robbins Assisted by Sakata Shoko (Words of Basho are in boldface) From the hundreds of passages I have translated from Basho’s letters to followers and from spoken word recorded by followers, I have culled …Read More
Lafcadio Hearn is famous for his association with Matsue, Kumamoto, Kobe and Tokyo. Not many people would associate him with Kyoto, yet he wrote a striking cameo entitled ‘Notes of a trip to Kyoto’ following a visit he made on October 23-25, 1895. It was included as a chapter in Gleanings in Buddhafields (1897), and …Read More
A.J. Dickinson is a longterm resident of Kyoto who writes Daoist inspired poetry. For previous poems featured on the website, see his Wisdom Crazed poems here or two Kathmandu earthquake poems here. haunting haunting haunting me timeless stars refracting night light dawn emerging seas passing sparkles rivulets grains limitless insubstantial waves forming anew molecular chains …Read More
(The following is extracted from a New York Times article by Paul Elie on Nov 21, 2016. Click here to read the full article.) A man was on a train in Japan, reading a novel set in Japan. The train slid past the mountains, bound for Kyoto, where the man, bearded, bright-eyed, was headed. The …Read More
The following is an excerpt from an upcoming book on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, expected to be released in 2017. Edward J. Taylor will thus become our second WiK member to have a book published about the famed 88 temple pilgrimage, following the release of Running the Shikoku Pilgrimage (2013) by Amy Chavez. We spent the …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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