by Stephen Benfey Kazu sat in the freezing waterfall beside the white-bearded yamabushi. The mountain priest’s temple lay below. Kazu knew it from hikes in Kyoto’s hills with his high-school mountaineering club. He’d sought refuge here three months ago, in November. Heartbreak had sent him, and fear. It was her smile. Every time his co-worker …Read More
Author: WiK (Page 4 of 13)
Report by Felicity Greenland (all photos by her unless otherwise stated) John Dougill’s latest book, Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan: A Journey by Train from Hokkaido to Kyushu, was launched in Kyoto on Sunday November 19. The event was held at Irish Pub Gnome, with music by Quin Arbeitman on piano, and 35 guests …Read More
Recently I reviewed a travel book by Alex Kerr, Hidden Japan (Tuttle, 2023), and in that review I extolled the virtues of “armchair travel” (traveling in one’s imagination instead of physically). At the same time as I was writing that review, I was also reading John Dougill’s Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan (Stonebridge Press, …Read More
by Kirsty Kawano The Japan Writers Conference 2023 This year’s Japan Writers Conference was held at Sugiyama Jogakuen University in Nagoya on October 14-15. Presentation topics ranged from English-teaching textbooks to budging writer’s block, using technology, and building fantasy worlds. The conference covered a lot of genres and offered a lot of inspiration and motivation …Read More
Report by Lisa Twaronite Sone of a workshop given by Felicity Tillack, Sept. 23, 2023 at Ryukoku University Omiya Campus Writers in Kyoto member Felicity Tillack, a writer, director and cinematographer, held a screenwriting workshop for WiK members late last month, in which she offered far more than writing tips. Tillack candidly shared insight based …Read More
A short story by Andrew Innes Andrew writes: “Anger is an emotion that you seldom see expressed in Japan. I did however once see an old man at a festival repeatedly try to start a fight in front of a large crowd with a rather reluctant participant who simply bowed in response each time. The …Read More
Malcolm LedgerThursday, 7th September 2023, Kyoto It makes you think. A time to reflect and take stock. Three-quarters of a century. An easily comprehensible number, in a way that fifty-million, say, is not. Twenty-seven thousand, three-hundred and three days, each lived second written, engraved, on your face, body, and heart. The joys and griefs, the …Read More
Zoom talk, August 20, 2023, reported by Kirsty Kawano Writers in Kyoto member and AI professional Mike Freiling shared his knowledge of ChatGPT in a Zoom presentation on August 20, 2023. The sheer speed at which ChatGPT’s capabilities are evolving is a concern for writers, and even people involved in the development of AI are …Read More
By Edward Levinson During the 1990’s when I visited Kyoto on photo trips, I often stayed with an American friend who lived just across the street from Shisendō, the famous poets’ retreat temple on the north side of Kyoto. As a photographer and poet, I have always seen Shisendō as a favorite place to visit …Read More
by Lea Millay Lea writes: ‘I offer a few winter tanka inspired by my time in Kyoto last December. May they give a brief respite from the summer heat.’ climbing the steep hilla pillow of stone offersdeep and dreamless sleepas wind rustles winter pines a clear moon graces the sky When I was walking alone on …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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