Writers in Kyoto

Category: Reviews

Book Review: Wintermoon, by Robert Maclean

May 13, 2022
By Mark Richardson

An analytical review of a book of 119 haiku.

Spirit of Shizen

Apr 1, 2022
By Robert Weis

A review of an exhibition and the catalog of the exhibition.

Book Review: The Widow, The Priest, and the Octopus Hunter, by Amy Chavez

Feb 16, 2022
By Rebecca Otowa

A review of a book that tells the story of an aging island community.

David Joiner (‘Kanazawa’)

Jan 23, 2022
By WiK

A Q&A with the author of Kanazawa.

Book Review: Structures of Kyoto (WiK Anthology 4)

Jan 5, 2022
By Jean Pasley

A review from an Irish writer.

Book Review: Of Arcs and Circles — Insights from Japan on Gardens, Nature, and Art, by Marc Peter Keane

Dec 30, 2021
By Rebecca Otowa

Review of a book by an American landscape architect who lived and worked in Kyoto for many years.

The Poetry of Pain and Its Meaning in the Age of COVID-19

Nov 16, 2021
By Michael Freiling and Shelley Baker-Gard

Review of a manuscript of poems written during August 1942 in America by Japanese-Americans being sent to camps.

Book Review: The Short Story Collective: 13 Tales from Japan, by Andrew Innes

Nov 15, 2021
By Rebecca Otowa

A review of stories that the reviewer calls both challenging and entertaining.

Kyoto Journal 100 Views of Kyoto

Sep 26, 2021
By Rebecca Otowa

A review of the 100th issue of Kyoto Journal with a focus on contributing WIK authors.

Kyoto Journal 100

Aug 2, 2021
By Ken Rodgers

Announcement of a very special print issue of Kyoto Journal.

Book Review: Black Dragonfly, by Jean Pasley

Aug 1, 2021
By Jann Williams

Review of a book inspired by and incorporating the work of Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (1850 – 1904).

Book Review: Reading Inaka: Portraits of Life in Rural Japan

May 5, 2021
By Chad Kohalyk

A review of an anthology of writing on what rural life in Japan is like for foreigners.

Hearn 5: Story of a Fly

Apr 3, 2021
By John Dougill

Synopsis and commentary on a story.

Film Review: Impossible to Imagine

Apr 2, 2021
By Jann Williams

Review of a film set in Kyoto that addresses topical social issues in Japan.

Book Review: Japanese Wood and Carpentry – Rustic and Refined, by Mechtild Mertz

Feb 17, 2021
By Judith Clancy

A review of a book on wood in Japan including types of wood, history and more.

Kyoto: A Literary Guide video

Feb 5, 2021
By John Dougill

A five minute guided tour through a selection of Kyoto's remarkable literary heritage.

Hōjōki – a Personal Response

Dec 13, 2020
By Chad Kohalyk

On reading a new translation of Hōjōki by Matthew Stavros.

Book Review: Kyoto: A Literary Guide, edited by John Dougill

Dec 5, 2020
By John Dougill

Dougill presents a new work that he edited that takes the reader on a literary journey through 12 centuries of Kyoto.

Kyoto Journal update Dec. 2020

Nov 30, 2020
By Ken Rodgers

Kyoto Journal announcement with content description.

Book Review: Finding the Heart Sutra: Guided by a Magician, an Art Collector and Buddhist Sages from Tibet to Japan, by Alex Kerr

Nov 27, 2020
By Preston Keido Houser

An energizing read on the Heart Sutra is reviewed.

Sōseki’s Kyoto Haibun

Aug 24, 2020
By Richard Donovan

Commentary and translation of a work by Sōseki on Kyoto.

Book Review: A Zen Romance, by Deborah Bollinger Boehm

Aug 2, 2020
By John Dougill

Dougill writes enthusiastically about a neglected work on Zen life in Kyoto.

Book Review: Cipangu, Golden Cipangu: Essays in Japanese History by Michael Hoffman

May 17, 2020
By John Dougill

Dougill reviews and characterizes this book saying that "the pages of history come alive and glisten with appeal."

Book Review: Japanese Wood and Carpentry, Rustic and Refined, by Mechtild Mertz

Apr 23, 2020
By Judith Clancy

A review that includes an abstract and author information.