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 of that event, Ken Rodgers, in attendance here and revealing some of his Buddha nature.

Thanks to convener Milena Guziak, the event was nicely structured with two sessions of performances, with each presenter limited to four minutes. The format worked well and everyone managed to pack their material comfortably within that limitation. Jann Williams kicked us off with some thoughts about her longterm project on the elements and Japan, Gary Tegler delivered some wonderful Robert Brady pieces in those sonorous tones of his, and this was appreciated by the group to the extent that it won first prize for best performance. Gary was followed by Judith Winters Carpenter who recited a piece from her recent translation about Sakamoto Ryoma and his first kiss. It was with a woman from Nagasaki and involved some amusing linguistic and cultural differences. A well selected passage and a wonderful bit of translated prose from Shiba Ryotaro’s novel that won my own personal vote for first prize.

Event organiser Milena read out a deeply personal piece, given sympathetic urging by the audience as she successfully managed to overcome her nerves. Rebecca Otowa, a relative newcomer to the group, has already shown how much she has to contribute to WiK despite living a considerable distance away in the countryside. Her piece concerned the merits and demerits of living on in Japan, with the former given affirmation for the way Japan helps shape our perceptions and better appreciate the world around us. The first set was rounded off with Eric Bray playing a couple of the songs from his recently released CD. Mark Richardson took the drums, Mark Willis backing up on mandolin and Gary Tegler joined in with improvised sax solo. The strong blues element got the small venue in the groove as words turned into music. (Lyrics of Eric’s CD can be seen here.)

The second session kicked off with Mark Hovane talking of his appreciation of the Japanese love of seasonality before giving the best performance of a single haiku that I myself have ever heard. It was by Basho. Judging the audience’s mood correctly, he took a long pause while holding up a suitably shaped stone backed by seasonal greenery: winter winds blow / the rocks sharpened / among the cedars. Following this Joe Cronin spoke of Isabella Bird and her translator companion, the much younger Ito, about whom he has been doing some research. Dealing with such a redoubtable woman, a pioneer of the most intrepid kind, cannot have been easy linguistically or temperamentally for the 20 year old. Next Robert Yellin gave us a bit of the Beats, starting with Gary Snyder, adding one of his own and then finishing with the inimitable Nanao Sakaki (See Japan and the Beats.) Talking of inimitable, Mark Richardson is a poet with a unique and distinctive voice whose contemporary verse incorporates humour, politics, cultural digs and a touch of anarchy. He treated us to a great example, a form of creative expression that must act as a great release from his scholarly work on Robert Frost. (For Five Poems by Mark, click here.) Next up was Ted Taylor, reading a piece he’d written for an anthology about an overheard conversation which produced ripples of laughter around the room. The final session of the night was by Ken Rodgers talking of buddha nature and what it meant to him. (You can see a whole posting on that subject by him together with some stunning photos by clicking here.)

An excellent evening, I think everyone agreed, and a format we may try again for our summer session in June or July. Thanks to all who came and helped make a warm event amidst the early winter cold. Thanks above all to Milena who put together the whole event.

John Dougill, WiK coordinator