Robert Yellin yesterday launched the third year of WiK with a wonderful talk at The Gael, which was inspired and inspiring in the passion for pottery which infused his every word. Now recognised as a world expert on the subject, Robert is in demand as a speaker at museums and galleries abroad as well as …Read More
Category: Featured Writers (Page 19 of 26)
Writers in focus
On this day, over a hundred years ago, Lafcadio Hearn wrote a journal entry in Kyoto that found its way into the collection of essays in his book Kokoro (1896). Here, long before Kawabata wrote his well-known thesis In Praise of Shadows, Hearn describes evocatively the attraction of silhouettes on shoji (paper screens) and the …Read More
The Joys of Silence and Bewilderment by Jane Kramer, California Yesterday I went with our Japanese obaachan, aged 87, for a massage. I didn’t know for sure if we were really going because my Japanese is primitive. But at 8:15 she emerged from her machiya [traditional wooden house] carrying a bag with polka dot material. …Read More
Blessings Unto Kasane: Basho’s Haibun and Tanka of Hope to a Newborn Girl Translation and commentary by Jeff Robbins Assisted by Sakata Shoko (Basho’s own words in bold to stand out) Illustration by Ogura Reiko (Photos by J. Dougill) In Summer of 1689 Basho and Sora, on their journey to the Deep North, …Read More
(John Dougill writes…) News comes of the passing away of Edith Shiffert (1916-2017), long time resident poet and a revered figure for those of us who belong to Writers in Kyoto. Other English-language authors lived in Kyoto before her, but for the postwar generation and those who followed in their footsteps, Edith was a groundbreaking …Read More
CATS AND DOGS IN BASHO Selection, Translation and Commentary by Jeff Robbins Words of Basho in this font, bold Last January David Duff posted his loving discussion of cats on this site which included no poetry about our feline friends. Here, to complement David’s article, are five Basho haiku and six renku links about cats, …Read More
This years WiK Competition closes in just over a week on March 1, and with time running out for entries we look back on some of the best runners-up from our previous competition in 2016. Our thanks to all those who submitted, and we hope that their ideas will stimulate new submissions in these closing …Read More
Sunday evening’s dinner talk by Judith Clancy proved a convivial literary evening as the author of Exploring Kyoto walked us through her several publications on the city. (Residents of Kyoto will surely have used Judith’s books at one time or another to guide them through the city, but for those unfamiliar with her publications please …Read More
The following were submitted by independent filmmaker and freelance translator, William Adams, currently based in Miyazaki. Judges were impressed by the original and stimulating nature of the entry, though in the end the prizes went elsewhere. Nevertheless the submissions show what can be accomplished in less than 300 words with a little touch of verve …Read More
In the past twenty years Pontocho has changed out of all recognition. Now it is packed with tourists, English menus are everywhere, and there are shops which cater even to budget travellers. Needless to say, a hundred years ago things were quite different, as Lafcadio Hearn here makes plain when he came on a visit …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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