A Tiny Nature: Recollections of Poems and TreesBy Robert Weis (self-published, September 2023) Review by Rebecca Otowa ********************From the WiK Website:“In this ‘recollections of poems and trees’, Robert Weis unites two seemingly distant worlds: that of short poems inspired by haiku and that of bonsai trees. Flora and poetry blend naturally on these pages through …Read More
Category: Book Reviews (Page 1 of 4)
The Gion Festival: Exploring its Mysteries by Catherine Pawasarat (2022) Reviewed by Paul Carty The Gion Festival, an integral part of Kyoto’s cultural heritage, spans the month of July, culminating in vibrant processions on July 17th and 24th. Catherine Pawasarat’s book, The Gion Festival: Exploring its Mysteries, provides a comprehensive guide to this historic event, …Read More
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
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
What an honor to hold the newest book by author Rebecca Otowa in my hands. Inspired at Miidera Temple by a picture showing “100 Views of Miidera” in the style of small cards, 100 Objects in My Japanese House contains intricate, colorful images drawn by the author and divided into three broad categories: Exterior, Deities, …Read More
Book Review by Rebecca OtowaHidden Japan by Alex Kerr (Tuttle, 2023) The original Hidden Japan was in Japanese, titled Nippon Junrei, and this translation gives us another example of Alex Kerr’s stupendous literary, cultural and linguistic gifts. It comprises a description of journeys in 2017-2019 and is in a way an extension, or re-visitation, of …Read More
Book Review by Rebecca CopelandJune 25, 2023 There were exactly eleven houses on this road that had no name. Everyone called it Uchida Road because most of the people who lived there bore the name Uchida. There was a connection, an invisible chain that linked the houses because they were shinseki, relatives. The link began …Read More
THE KIMONO TATTOO by Rebecca Copeland (Brother Mockingbird, 2021) Review by Rebecca Otowa June 2023 Many themes come together in this complex novel about a famous kimono, the design of which is transformed into a tattoo inscribed on a beautiful woman, the daughter of a famous kimono-designing family in Kyoto. The main character of the …Read More
Book Review of The Way of the Fearless Writer by Beth Kempton (Piatkus 2022)) Reviewer: Rebecca Otowa （Beth Kempton is a writer and mentor who spent a year in Kyoto in the nineties, and has travelled back and forth frequently since then. Her books may be found on amazon.com.） Now that the New Year’s season has passed …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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