Category: Nonfiction

Memoirs of a Japanese Nurse

Hajimeko Takeda’s Notes by a Japanese Nurse Sent to France or Women Soldiers Dispatched to Europe: the Japanese Red Cross Relief Corps and the First World War.

Lost Star

A description of escaping the Japanese summer.

A Runner in Yamazaki

A piece from a fine author who is as far from a marathon runner as a bush warbler is from an eagle.

Circling the Mountain

Description of a pilgrimage from Enryaku-ji.

Mind games in Arashiyama

Weis writes on how he spends his first day upon return to Japan.

On Compromise: A Mancunian in Japan

A Brit writes on American English in Japan.

Portraits of Uji

A comprehensive look at Uji through the eyes of three foreign women.

Critic and professor, Tatsuo Kuriyagawa

An introduction to a noted educator and writer from Kyoto.

Shadow and Light

A reflection on the role of shadow and light in Japanese culture and belief.

Calligraphing The Heart Sutra

A noted artist and calligrapher writes on her experience with the Heart Sutra.

World Book Day 2021

Annotated list and links to WiK member publications.

Bury My Bones in Toribeyama

Immigration trials and tribulations and a seemingly endless pandemic.

The Boy From Across The Silver Vaults

On Chancery Lane and youth in a city.

71 Lessons on Eternity

A meditation on the beauty and impermanence of sakura.

Dragonflies and Floating Carp

A spring walk from Ohara to Kurama-dera.

Haunted Kiyotaki Tunnel

A scary tunnel.

Under Kiyomizu

A short description performing ancestor worship during the pandemic.

Zen and the Corona Virus

A piece on the impermanence of life.

Reminiscences of Donald Richie

WIK members discuss Donald Richie.

Kyoto Stage and Film Director Akira Nobuchi

A piece on the life of a Kyoto film director.

Haiku Discoveries

A wonderfully informative piece on haiku and the author's adventures.

Birth of a Book Cover

The story of how a book cover came to be.

From Tokyo to Kyoto Pt 2

Part 2 of a piece on the differences between the customs and people in Tokyo and Kyoto.

From Tokyo to Kyoto Pt 1

Kawano astutely notes some of the differences between the customs and people in Tokyo and Kyoto.