On Compromise: A Mancunian in Japanby Andrew Innes “Could you try to sound a bit more American?” They say that a fish in water has no idea what water is. Likewise, we could surely say the same thing about people and accents. We only really become aware that we have one when we find ourselves …Read More
Author: John Dougill (Page 8 of 45)
The following limericks are selected from a collection entitled 101 Nervous Nun Limericks by shakuhachi maestro, Preston Keido Houser. These follow his love limericks from a monk’s perspective. The verses are much in the spirit of koans and Zen humour, lighthearted yet hinting at something deeper. They also have a deliberately irregular syllable pattern from …Read More
Zoom talk on June 13, 2021Report by John Dougill Few people manage to make a career out of literary translation, so those who do must be special indeed. One of them is Ginny Tapley Takemori, the award-winning freelance translator of Sayaka Murata’s worldwide sensation, Convenience Store Woman. WiK’s Zoom manager and fellow translator, Lisa Wilcut, …Read More
Uji as seen by three ladies from the Westby Yuki Yamauchi Uji has been a favourite destination of mine since I noticed my favorite author Lord Dunsany had written about the bodhisattvas on clouds in the Hoo-do hall of Byodo-in. (You can see the details here.) Though there is no telling exactly how he came …Read More
by Yuki Yamauchi A native of Kyoto city, Tatsuo Kuriyagawa (1880-1923) honed his knowledge on Western literature, studying under Lafcadio Hearn and then Soseki Natsume at Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo). In 1904, when he graduated as the top student, Kuriyagawa began his writing career by contributing an article on W. B. …Read More
by Stephen Mansfield In striking contrast to their ancestors, contemporary Japanese adore an excess of light, their great cities electromagnetic centers of brilliance, their nighttime living rooms flood-lit like sports stadiums. The rallying call of those who survived the “dark valley,” as the thirties and war years were dubbed, was akarui seikatsu, a “bright …Read More
This is the seventh and last in a series of Lafcadio Hearn stories set in Kyoto. ‘Kimiko’ first appeared in Kokoro (1896). For an introduction to Hearn’s Kyoto stories, please click here. ******************** Synopsis The story is set in the ‘Street of the Geisha’, which at night ‘is one of the queerest in the world’. …Read More
AMY CHAVEZ (non-fiction) Amy’s Guide to Best Behavior in Japan (Stone Bridge, 2018)Guide to Japanese customs & etiquette. Running the Shikoku Pilgrimage: 900 Miles to Enlightenment (Volcano Press, 2012)First-person account of circling Japan’s Buddhist 88-Temple Pilgrimage route. Japan, Funny Side Up (e-book, 2010)A selection of ‘Japan Lite’ columns that appeared in the Japan Times from …Read More
To celebrate WiK’s 6th Anniversary Celebration today, here is a list of all the activities and talks we have had over the past five years. There have been fun events like our bonenkai showcase of members’ talent, and there have been serious events such as the Heritage and Tourism symposium held together with the Agency …Read More
‘The Reconciliation’ first appeared in Shadowings (1900) This is Part 6 of a series of seven stories by Hearn which are set in Kyoto. For an introduction to Hearn’s Kyoto stories, please click here. Synopsis: A young samurai of Kyoto, reduced to poverty by the ruin of his lord, had to take work in 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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