A Murder on Teramachi Street is a work in progress with plans for at least three more books to create a series. In this excerpt, Keiko who is the owner of a small restaurant called Den on Teramachi Street chats with an old friend who is a regular customer. After some amount of dithering, Keiko had rushed out to the grocer just down the street to purchase a few items. She had left the restaurant unlocked.
Continue readingWIK member Stephen Mansfield recently wrote an article for Asia Nikkei which serves as a comprehensive overview of the works and lives of foreign women writers in Japan, both past and present. The article can be found here and includes mention of a couple of WiK writers as well.
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Photographs and text by John Einarsen; translation by Mitsue Nagase
Continue readingJohn Einarsen’s images describe a journey of learning to pay attention to what is before us, to see beyond the obvious to a transcendent essence, and finally to return to the here and now with a new awareness. Isn’t that the ultimate purpose of visual art, or of meditation?
Allan Mandell
Kyoto has several colorful and bustling craft markets. held monthly at shrines and temples, where people peddle unique wares: hand-made clothes, plant-dyed yarn, wooden cutting boards, knitted hats, honey, dried flowers, and tons more besides. As she lives in Kyoto, Mona has bought several skirts made of antique indigo-dyed fabric over the years at these fairs, but sometimes, because she wears them so often the old cloth frays and small holes appear. So this Saturday afternoon Mona is carefully sewing up one of the holes with a tiny patch, also made of antique indigo cloth.
Continue readingCooler days of autumn have finally come to Kyoto, and the winning entries from our last writing competition have been shared in turn since May. Hopefully our readers have been inspired by these successful “short shorts” of 2022, and we hope to hear from many in our next round. An announcement regarding the WiK Eighth Kyoto Writing Competition (with a 2023 deadline for entries) is planned for next month. To see the full list of winners from this year’s competition, please click here.
Our top winner of 2022, Maria Danuco, was granted the prestigious Kyoto City Mayoral Prize for her piece titled “The Watcher”, which touches on a prevalent topic in recent years — the preservation of traditional structures and the unfortunate trend of replacing history with concrete. Not only is “The Watcher” a fine piece of writing, but it also bears a message worthy of wide readership and consideration. The current generations will inevitably determine the future landscape of Kyoto City, and we welcome and encourage further discussion on this very important topic of cultural and social significance. Therefore, the judges were unanimous in deciding to award Maria our top prize.
Continue readingI used to volunteer at a nursing home .
I would sign in at the front desk and then walk from room to room with my infant daughter, chatting with anyone who wanted to talk to a visitor.
One day, I wandered into the full care wing of the building. I usually didn’t go there, because most of its patients were suffering from advanced dementia.
A woman was lying in her bed with her eyes open, so I decided to say hello and see if she was responsive.
Continue readingLafcadio Hearn, as John Dougill points out here, visited Kyoto and retold stories set in the city. The Greek-born literatus never took up abode in the city, whereas one of his children did. It was Hearn’s second son, Iwao Inagaki.
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An excerpt from “Enabled by the Internet: A Multicultural Mother and Daughter in Japan” by Suzanne Kamata
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Continue readingThe judges loved this homage to the time-honored Japanese tradition of tsukimi (moon viewing) — a universal moment which influences in deeply subtle ways and makes human life worth living. This short piece by C. Greenstreet, “Sudden Tsukimi”, was a very close contender for the competition’s top prize due to its superb imagery, connecting the celestial with the seemingly mundane by referencing everyday Kyoto settings such as supermarkets and public transportation. Observing the moon brings strangers together in concentrated harmony, and to reside in Kyoto is an invitation to savor such rich encounters with nature on a regular basis.
Continue readingOhigan – the autumn equinox – when the light fades and the bones begin to grow cold. A day for the Japanese to remember their dead.
Outside my window, overlooking the little temple graveyard, a large black spider sits motionless between two pines, at the centre of a gigantic web, spread wide like Indra’s net. The silky threads glisten in the sunlight. Death waits quietly, patiently, and there is no escape for unsuspecting insects.
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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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