The WiK bonenkai, held in the cosy surrounds of Philippe’s bar off Kiyamachi, proved a lively and heartwarming evening as bonhomie was interspersed with the showcasing of the remarkable talents of the foreign community in Kyoto. At times this was reminiscent of the old Kyoto Connection days, and it was good to see the organiser …Read More
Category: WiK members (Page 22 of 25)
Authors who belong to Writers in Kyoto
ANOTHER PLANE by Ken Rodgers One day, when he [Chan master Zhaozhao] was about to leave for the Five-Peak Mountain, a monk spoke this verse: What mountain anywhere is not sacred? Why go to the Five-Peaked Mountain with a walking stick? Even if a lion with the golden mane manifests …Read More
My Journey to Kyoto (by Iris Reinbacher) I left Austria in 2002. I had just finished my masters in mathematics, but wasn’t ready to join the workforce, so I accepted a PhD position in the computer science department at Utrecht University. Four years later, and now “officially smart”, settling down was still the last thing …Read More
Rebecca Otowa Self-Introduction for Writers in Kyoto I was born in 1950s America, grew up in 1970s Australia, and came of age in 1980s Japan. My Kyoto years (when I lived there as a student and then as a young wife and mother) are 1978-1984. I now live in Shiga, the next-door prefecture, so I …Read More
Eric Bray Lyrics – Some Blues Some Happies a Bachata Unlike the CD these songs are arranged more or less in chronological order, with “This Day” and “Another Day” coming first, and “Cada Flor” coming last, as I wrote this song 30 years ago after coming to Japan from Mexico (hence the Spanish). I don’t …Read More
Ryoma! The Life of Sakamoto Ryoma: Japanese Swordsman And Visionary By Shiba Ryotaro Translated By Paul McCarthy And Juliet Winters Carpenter. (526 pages) Reviewed by Ian (Josh) Yates For the first time the bestselling historian Shiba Ryotaro’s most epic tale will be translated for an English readership. Shiba spent many years, eight volumes and thousands …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
red-breasted, wings dull blue picking the way before me bird I cannot name grey clouds, grey water egret spreads grey wings to fly the evening settles calligraphic sky – soft pinks, grey pastel smudges the lake reflecting smell of fresh cut grass – the crushed stems sweet as summer …Read More
“Recalling a Light Moment” Amongst zen masters the moon mutant metaphor reflected in water a teaching apart from origin we world-wide witnesses myriad waves possessed of lunar largesse but obviously no moon seen in sea or tear to grasp nor mineral moon above only sunlight permits perception the reflected moon merely many waves like words …Read More
Author’s note: I am attempting to write a short novel (entitled The Seven Forms of Infiltration) that takes its inspiration from manga, Japanese comic books; the excerpt below is the first few pages of this novel. The heroine is a young woman who is training to be a ninja. For artistic effects, I use actual …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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