by Jann Williams, April 21, 2022 It was not until my mid-50s that a deep interest in Japanese culture was stirred, seeking lessons on how to connect people and nature in a quest for sustainability. The elements of nature are my guide, embedded as they are in all aspects of Japanese life – whether it …Read More
Tag: Jann Williams
by Jann Williams (January 26, 2022) Identifying the oldest yin-yang symbol in Japan has been an ongoing passion of mine. The philosophy of yin-yang (J. in-yo) was formally introduced into Japan in the 6th century AD and still permeates contemporary culture. One might imagine that the two-tone interlocking representation of yin-yang, created in the late …Read More
Book review by Jann Williams of Black Dragonfly by Jean Pasley (Balestier Press, 2021) Black Dragonfly is a book of rich imagination, inspired by and incorporating the work of Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (1850 – 1904). Hearn, of Greek-Irish heritage, spent the last 14 years of his life in Japan, recording aspects of Japanese life that …Read More
Impossible to Imagine (2019) Film review: Jann Williams (March 30, 2021) Film length: 1hr 28mins Cast: Yukiko Ito, William Yagi Lewis, Kazuya Moriyama, Marika Naito, Koko Price, Akira Nishide Writer and Director: Felicity Tillack Producer: Hamish Downie Translator: Hidekazu Takahashi Impossible to Imagine (J. Souzou Ga Dekinai), presents a slice of contemporary life in Kyoto …Read More
Running is not an activity you associate with my family. So says my brother Rod. This is true in recent decades. Vigorous exercise has not been our forte. That changed when I was lured to join the regular circuit runners around Nijojo (Nijo Castle) in Kyoto. A 2 km circuit that encircles the castle, its …Read More
For the past few years Australian Jann Williams has been a valued supporter of Writers in Kyoto, while researching her magnum opus on the effect on Japan of the elements, whether physical or in the form of the Chinese and Buddhist five elements theories. At a lunch discussion on Oct 28 with a group of seven …Read More
Kyoto – an elemental city Text and photos by Jann Williams Kyoto has a remarkable dimensionality inspired by the elements. In his cultural history of the city, John Dougill conceived Kyoto as eleven different ‘cities’ distinctively epitomising Kammu; Genji; Buddhism; Heike; Zen; Noh; Unification; Tea; Tradition; Geisha and Japaneseness. Elsewhere I have seen Kyoto referred …Read More
Writing in Kyoto Jann Williams, May 24th, 2016 As I sit writing I can see the south-western turret and grounds of Nijo Castle through my apartment balcony door. The research for my book ‘Elemental Japan’ has been rich and rewarding in the two weeks I have been based in Kyoto. For half of that time …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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