| The Japan Times puts out a daily newsletter called Take 5 which takes the pick of current content and links to archived material. Item no. 5 in the Wednesday Sept 25 edition was of particular interest for WiK, as you can see in the piece below… |
| 5. Foreign writers in Japan, a century apart In the Books section, Jason James explores British author William Plomer’s 2½-year stay in Japan in the 1920s, during which he developed a complex relationship with the country, loving its theater and culture but hating the rising tide of nationalism. Plomer was ahead of his time in many ways. His opposition to racism is one example, but he also decried the “enslavement of women” in Japan, as well as the frequency of suicides, which he described as “annoyingly common.” Both these themes feature strongly in “Paper Houses,” his 1929 Japan-themed volume of short stories, writes James. In the buildup to World War II, Plomer wrote, “I detest their tendency to nationalistic paranoia and their particular politico-religious superstitions … which, if persisted in, will have terrible results.” |
| Author William Plomer had many close Japanese friends and lovers, and the utmost respect for Japan’s culture, but became alarmed by the spread of fascism. | THOMAS KILBURN |
| Contributing writer Stephen Mansfield recalls acclaimed Japan writer Donald Richie lamenting the lack of an English-language literary salon in the country, an omission that forced him to live “alone in the library of my skull.” Were Richie alive today, Mansfield says, he would likely be a fully paid-up member of Writers in Kyoto, a group of authors whose influence is already being felt in literary circles.Founded by writer John Dougill in 2015, Writers in Kyoto was formed with the purpose of creating, they say, a “sense of community” to “help foster a literary culture for published English-language authors associated with the city.” Mansfield finds plenty to praise in their new collection, with its writing “by turns studied, witty and rancorous.” |