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
Category: On Kyoto (Page 1 of 11)
Writings about Kyoto, whether by Japanese or foreign observers
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
By Sara Ackerman Aoyama [The author was a member of the 1976 Associated Kyoto Program and this was her first, but certainly not her last, visit to Kyoto. This is an excerpt from her memoir in progress on learning to read with the counterculture in Kyoto.] The three of us Midwesterners had become close friends …Read More
by Edward J Taylor Blame it on the low yen, revenge travel, whatever, but our city found itself quite quickly under siege. After three lean but pleasantly restful years, it was startling to encounter this many people in town, and to do so many consecutive days of guiding. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with …Read More
Ken Rodgers writes… This special print issue of Kyoto Journal explores the ubiquitous role of flora as an essential subtheme in Kyoto’s timeless culture through essays, interviews, and poetry, illuminated by superb photography and artworks. The city is famously unique for its superb gardens, its rich heritage of tea ceremony and flower arrangement, its deeply-rooted culinary traditions based on heirloom vegetables, its longstanding literary appreciation of seasonal blossomings, and its …Read More
by Tetiana Korchuk Mari nervously took a glimpse at her watch: it was 10:58, Two minutes left until her annual time travel. She already made it twice in the past, as obligatory part of her social studies class, first time when she just turned 13, and last year – at the age of 14. Where …Read More
by Yuki Yamauchi Japan has produced a great number of anime film directors, notably Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Mamoru Oshii, Katsuhiro Otomo, Hideaki Anno, Mamoru Hosoda and Makoto Shinkai. Besides them, I would like to mention Satoshi Kon and write about him in detail, especially his connection with Kyoto. Kon was born in Hokkaido in …Read More
by Amber Logan Below is an excerpt from Chapter Two of The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn, a modern Gothic retelling of The Secret Garden. Here is a synopsis: Still grieving her mother’s death, American photographer Mari Lennox is sent to document Yanagi Inn, an old, dilapidated ryokan outside Kyoto. By day, Mari explores the …Read More
by Adam Downham You wouldn’t know it from the body of photography books out there, but snow is fairly uncommon in Kyoto. I suppose it’s the infrequency of it that brings out the cameramen in droves when it does finally fall. I had rather naively expected this idealized version of winter in Kyoto to be …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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