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
Tag: Alex Kerr
REPORT FOR WIK ON ALEX KERR’S TALK May 10, 2023Sponsored by KUAS (Kyoto University of Advanced Science)by Rebecca Otowa A capacity audience was on hand for a talk by Alex Kerr (in Japanese) entitled “Kankou ha Rikkoku ka?” (Will Tourism Lift Up the Country?) at Kyoto Hotel Granvia on May 10. At least three members …Read More
On Jan 20, 2021, notice of the obituary of Mary Smith (1930-2020), former wife of Donald Richie, was posted on the Writers in Kyoto Facebook public page. This prompted discussion of the renowned Japanologist, which led to personal reminiscences by Alex Kerr and Everett Kennedy Brown. John Dougill initiated the discussion: Donald Richie once recommended …Read More
Review by Preston Keido Houser Kerr, Alex. Finding the Heart Sutra: Guided by a Magician, an Art Collector and Buddhist Sages from Tibet to Japan. Dublin: Allen Lane, 2020. 297pp. Ebook and paperback. I’ve been exposed to the Heart Sutra for several decades now (I hesitate to use the word study since the sutra seems …Read More
(The following article first appeared in Echoes: Writers in Kyoto Anthology 2017) Three Old Men of Kyotoby Alex Kerr Harold StewartDavid KiddWilliam Gilkey I don’t know if young men are like this any more, but I was the sort of young man who sat at the feet of old men. I hung on their every …Read More
Protection and Promotion — Striking a Balance Heritage and Tourism Symposium, November 8, 2019 by Rebecca Otowa This past November 8, Writers in Kyoto hosted the Heritage and Tourism Symposium with four guest speakers. Over 80 people attended the event, including WiK members and concerned members of the general public, and many interesting points …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
Recent Comments