This year’s Words and Music summer event is being organised by Rebecca Otowa. The event will be held at Gnome Bar, Kyoto, near Kawaramachi Nijo on Sunday, June 16, 2024, 6-9 pm. Since the staff at the bar have asked to be informed of the numbers of people, please RSVP to Rebecca before May 20 if you wish to …Read More
Author: John Dougill (Page 1 of 45)
ZOOM TALK on SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers International)March 22, 2024Report by Rebecca Otowa Last night I joined 25 people from around the world, mostly Japan, to hear WiK member Lisa Wilcut talk under the title of “What it Takes to Bring a Picture Book to Life in Another Language”, about her translation of …Read More
Wanted: tech-savvy person to continue our model Table of Contents for the year’s website pages. This would be a wonderful resource if anyone (or ones) is able to help. (With thanks to Sara Aoyama for the idea and sending in this exemplar.)
Sunday 19th May, 4.00 pm, at Robert Yellin’s gallery. BYOB but please be sure to remove any rubbish you cause. Allen S. Weiss will talk about his forthcoming book Illusory Dwellings: Aesthetic Meditations in Kyoto (Stone Bridge Press) https://www.stonebridge.com/catalog/illusory-dwellings Long-term member Allen Weiss has a particular interest in the aesthetics of Kyoto, a city which he considers his …Read More
In-conversation with Simon Rowe, Sunday, April 14, 2024 — 3pm – 5pm (Room for up to 10 people in David Duff’s house/library) Simon Rowe grew up in small town New Zealand and big city Australia when orange Fanta came in glass bottles and AM radio was king. Based in Himeji city, Hyogo, he has been penning …Read More
by Yuki Yamauchi When Lafcadio Hearn taught English literature at Tokyo Imperial University (the current University of Tokyo), he praised a certain undergraduate as “the only one that can express himself in English among 10,000 Japanese students.” The prodigy worth such high praise was Bin Ueda. Born in 1874 at Tsukiji, Tokyo, he enriched his …Read More
By Kit Nagamura deep winterin the comb tinesa single white hair whitewaterinstead of the bridgechoosing the long way around the moment you knowthe moment mutablewild cherry blossoms
One of the foremost Western celebrities with a particular connection to Kyoto was British philosopher and entertainer, Alan Watts. He has appeared previously on this blog in a 4-part series extracted from his autobiography, but a 2012 biography sheds a different light on the man and adds some further insight into his attachment to Kyoto. …Read More
Malcolm Ledger lives in a remarkable house, a restored ryokan situated by a wooded mountain stream in Kyoto’s north-west. So special is the setting that the prestigious Aman franchise chose it for the location of their Kyoto hotel. Though billed as a maple-viewing party, the event was more of a socialising and networking occasion. The …Read More
A Flash of LightningOn Reading David Joiner’s The Heron CatchersReview by Rebecca Copeland Herons are lithe, elegant birds. Gliding over water, nesting in fields, or soaring through the air, the heron’s perceived ability to transcend the elements has led to fabulous fairytales, stately dances, and sublime paintings. Haiku poet Matsuo Bashō wrote verses about the …Read More
WiK Writing Competition
Eighth Annual Writing Competition Winners (2023)
Previous years:
Seventh Annual Writing Competition Winners (2022)
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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