The judges of the Tenth Kyoto Writing Competition have come to their very difficult decision of selecting the top prizewinners. We were delighted to receive our highest-ever number of entries: 114, from individuals comprising 36 nationalities and living in a total of 33 countries in addition to Japan — an indication of the extent to which Kyoto has made a deep impression upon people both near and far.
The competition results are below. We plan to post the prizewinning pieces on this website over the coming months.
Writers in Kyoto would like to congratulate the winners. We are deeply thankful for everyone’s participation this year.
The original competition announcement and explanation of prizes can be found here.
Kyoto City Mayoral Prize
Fire Rite, by Anton A. Tongue
This piece was the favorite of our panel of judges. One cited its “wonderfully unique perspective from the viewpoint of TV crew, and yet intensely personal and fitting with the purifying element of fire to heal old familial grudges.” Another liked it because “it shows the various things that run through the mind of a foreigner who is participating in a serious Japanese ritual in Kyoto, and how it affects the foreign practitioner even after the ritual is over.”
Yamabuki* Prize
(Awarded to the national of a country in which English is an official language.)
You Will Not See Kyoto in Time, by Vidushi Sharma
“A journey into change and its ramifications for a city steeped in history” is how one judge described this piece. Another said it “gave a novel meaning to the concept of ‘preservation’…Where in the past does one draw the line of ‘old’ in the sense of needing to be preserved?”
Unohana* Prize
(Awarded to the national of a country in which English is not an official language.)
What Kyoto Chose Not to Replace, by Kabilova Diyora
One judge said this piece explores “what and why Kyoto chooses to hand down what it does through the generations.” Another noted that while aspects of Kyoto are changing over time, one of the city’s greatest charms is “the objects which do endure,” a sentiment which the writer captures with details like “the worn wooden steps upon which thousands of feet have trodden.”
Local Prize
The Smudged Kanji, by Linus Van Plata
This prize is awarded to a writer living in Kyoto. One judge “liked the juxtaposition of the various kanji in this piece, and the ending, which in just a few words showed the importance of the friendship to the one left behind.”
Book Prizes
The Last Ramen Master of Pontocho, by Suraj Gupta,
winner of: Kyoto: A Literary Guide (2020), edited by Writers in Kyoto founder John Dougill
Eight-Tenths Full, by Stephen Benfey,
winner of: One Hundred Poems from Old Japan (2025), translated by Michael Freiling
Ai-Ai Gasa 相合傘, by Tina deBellegarde,
winner of: The Blue of You (2025), by Amanda Huggins
A Visit, by Kevin Nguyen,
winner of: River of Dolls and Other Stories (2024), by Suzanne Kamata
The water’s path, by Mafalda Tenente,
winner of: Channeling Shakespeare (2025), by Marianne Kimura
Vermilion at 2 AM, by Pratibha Kumari,
winner of: The Mad Kyoto Shoe Swapper (2019), by Rebecca Otowa
A Kyoto Miracle, by Kevin Ramsden,
winner of: Future of Kyoto (Writers in Kyoto Anthology 6)
Thank you very much to the judges for their time, insights and cooperation in the selection process.
For the official announcement and submission details of our next Kyoto Writing Competition (#11), please be sure to check our website toward the end of 2026.
And please also return to our website in the coming months to read the prizewinning pieces from this year’s competition.
— Lisa Twaronite Sone, WiK Competition Organizer
* Yamabuki (Japanese yellow rose, or Kerria japonica) and unohana (Deutzia crenata) are both flowers which frequently appear in haiku.