This year’s Japan Local Prize was awarded to Writers in Kyoto Member Malcolm Ledger for “Plum Tree by the Eaves”, depicting an ancient tree which embodies the sophistication and elegance of the Heian Period on the grounds of a once-opulent manor. To reside in Kyoto is to be surrounded by history, but unfortunately such significant …Read More
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by Rebecca Otowa Like many of you, living in Japan has meant I have a special relationship with the Hannya Shingyo (“Heart Sutra”), that one-page piece of writing that is said to summarize the teachings of Buddhism as taught in many sects, including Zen. In my student days, while studying Japanese Buddhism at Otani University …Read More
by Sara Ackerman Aoyama Natsumi opened the door cautiously and walked into the Starbucks. She was counting on being able to grab a chair at the window overlooking the Kamo River. But first, her eyes went to the menu on the wall. She could hardly believe it but today, finally, was the day that the …Read More
By Simon Rowe Stands to reason that in tough economic times, people spend less on luxuries and more on small pleasures—like beer, cigarettes, and Uniqlo underwear. A new rooftop beer garden opened in Himeji last week (two floors above Uniqlo), affording more skyline drinking space for the hard-working denizens of this town; another place for …Read More
This year, the Australia-Japan Society of Victoria warmly collaborated with Writers in Kyoto in offering a complimentary one-year membership for an exemplary piece submitted by an Australian author to our Kyoto Writing Competition. Simon Rowe’s “Diary of a Rickshaw Puller” was selected for this honor. Simon is an Australian writer based in Himeji, Japan and …Read More
By Kirsty Kawano (written for Zenbird in August 2021) For more than one thousand years, Kyoto has held Japan’s biggest festival, the Gion Festival. In a regular year, throughout the month of July, more than one million people crowd into downtown Kyoto City to experience the street stalls, the towering wooden floats adorned with gorgeous …Read More
The world watches with anger and great sadness as Russia continues its months-long bombardment of the Ukrainian people and their infrastructure. While much of the violence appears to have shifted to the eastern regions, Kyiv residents were shocked when explosions once again rocked the country’s capital at the beginning of June. For those of us …Read More
“Spirit of Shizen – Japan’s nature through its 72 seasons” is an exhibition to be held this summer at Luxembourg’s Natural History Museum (www.mnhn.lu). The accompanying catalogue constitutes an anthology featuring essays and contributions by several WiK members (Amy Chavez, Karen Lee Tawarayama, Mayumi Kawaharada, Ted Taylor, Ed Levinson, Rebecca Otowa, Amanda Huggins, Jann Williams, …Read More
Review by Rebecca Otowa I wanted to read and review this book for two reasons. First, I was captivated by the very attractive cover illustration by Kawase Hasui. Second, I myself had visited the city of Kanazawa in 2021 – though my visit was short, I did manage to see some of the more important …Read More
As our final post in the series of Honorable Mentions from this year’s Kyoto Writing Competition, the judges present kintsugi, a poem by writer and artist Annette* Akkerman of Maarssen, Netherlands. A chemist by education, Annette* works in the coffee and tea industry. She likes travelling, hiking, spending time in nature, and painting, and has …Read More
WiK Writing Competition
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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