"Every
issue of the Kyoto Journal is like a beautiful paperbound book,
ninety-six pages of the most beautifully and straightforwardly designed
magazine around. It is the unofficial English language rag of expatriate
foreigners in Japan, though it tends to cover the whole of Asian culture
from nation to nation. It has been around for about two decades, and no
writers or artists are ever paid for their contributions, making it one
of the most consistently high-quality "open source" publications
anywhere..."
"I don't know of any magazine where the design and content so seamlessly
blend as Kyoto Journal. The English-language quarterly's circumspect
cultural critique is never compromised but is in fact strengthened by
the graphic design. The peaceful, stylish design is just as original and
scintillating as the magazine's approach to the ideas, interviews, poems
and discussions it contains... Kyoto Journal is forever looking
for original ways of depicting people and life... We recommend it highly."
In 2004 KJ was nominated by the Utne editors for awards under three categories: General Excellence,
Design, and Cultural/Social Coverage.
Previous nominations included Art & Design
Excellence (award winner, 1998), Local/ Regional
Coverage, Writing Excellence, Design,
General Excellence, and Best Essays.
A
non-profit volunteer-based quarterly magazine established in 1986,
Kyoto Journal offers interviews, essays, translations, humor,
fiction, poetry and reviews, accompanied by memorable photo-essays,
original illustrations and award-winning design. No hype, minimal
advertising, maximum reading value.
Years of war, genocide and misrule devastated the
Cambodian economy and society, leaving most Cambodians poor and focused
only on survival. The cataclysms that swept away millions of lives
also destroyed the land, burning forests and riddling the soil with
countless landmines. Declaring “year zero” the Khmer
Rouge willfully tried to strip the nation of its rich culture and
heritage.
Today, in concert with efforts to rebuild shattered lives,
some projects aim to restore arts such as music, dance and architecture.
The casualty that Japanese expatriate Morimoto Kikuo is trying his
hardest to save is Cambodia’s traditional art of silk weaving
and dyeing. At its heart, Morimoto’s is an “eco-cultural” enterprise
bringing back lost skills as well as the vanished raw materials they
require, once plentifully provided by the land.
Extract
from “To
Learn from the Forest” by Ito Akira
Ito
Akira: A pilgrimage to Buddhist holy sites
Growing like thunderheads all summer long, the trees and plants of
the woodlands thrive and cover every bit of the mountain until they
finally begin to lose their momentum, and in the dark shadows of a
forest which has gone through its adolescence and prime, one feels
a touch of sadness.
The International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) held its 20th Anniversary Conference near Chiang Mai, Thailand, in mid November 2009. Over 300 delegates attended the conference representing most South, South East and East Asian countries, as well as Australia, South Africa the United States, Holland, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
That night at the cheap sushi place in Osaka, Yumiko was complaining about
her boyfriend with impressive fluency. As her English teacher, I had noticed
that she spoke best when upset—it took her mind off making mistakes.
The trouble with the boyfriend was that Yumiko didn’t really love him.
He was boring; he didn’t kiss hard enough. She’d just convincingly
used the word “ambivalent,” in fact, when a purple running shoe
rounded the bend behind a tub of wasabi. I blinked and it was still there,
unhurriedly cruising the conveyor belt.
“…but love is not everything and I am getting old.” She bit
her glossy lower lip. “You understand, Natalie?”
Maguro, shrimp, melon slice, wasabi, shoe.
Yumiko saw it too. The running shoe crept by, its frayed laces dangling over
the edge of the counter, brushing the hot water taps.
When
the wife stepped into the flat after a long day at the office
where she worked as a paralegal, she saw the yellow
elephant in the living room.The small two-room flat, located in a rapidly-aging housing estate, had been paid for in monthly
installments for the past five years, mostly out of her income
and savings; her husband refused to chip in after the second year
of
their marriage. He needed the money to pay for a new BMW 3-series,
swanky work-clothes and nights out with his colleagues. She didn’t
want to argue — they’d been having too many fights
recently –- so
she left him alone. They hadn’t talked for almost a month.
What caught her attention was the elephant’s intense color.
It was bright yellow. In fact, it was brighter and richer than
anything she had ever seen before. The yellow seemed like bright
rays of sunlight,
illuminating every corner of the small living room. Every part
of the elephant was yellow, from its big toes to long trunk to
its huge belly.
The beast didn’t notice the woman’s presence as it
went on chewing the leather upholstery of the black sofa, ripping
it into
small pieces with its powerful trunk before putting the pieces
into the pink gap of its mouth. Its movements were slow, controlled
and
purposeful. As it chewed, it carried on the work of tearing
up the sofa as though it was a defeated, fallen prey.
An
Open Letter to President Obama
"As global
citizens who share your deep concern with issues of peace and nuclear
proliferation, we believe your visit to Japan this fall offers an
unprecedented opportunity to steer our world decisively towards
the abolition of nuclear weapons..."
For the past sixty-four years, the name ‘Hiroshima’ has conjured a nightmare vision for all humanity: the unthinkable specter of instantaneous atomic annihilation. Only by personally visiting Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the two cities that have experienced atomic bombing, can one begin to grasp the threat posed by the world’s present arsenal of nuclear weapons.
Independent
print magazines like KJ are finding distribution through bookstores
increasingly difficult in the current world economic situation.
As a practical alternative, we strongly suggest a subscription
(just $50 for four issues, shipped world-wide, plus one free back
issue) or individual direct order...
Subcriptions
In Japan: 4,200 yen
Elsewhere: US$50
(4 issues, shipping included)
"Ten Thousand Things" is a Buddhist expression representing the dynamic interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe.
Our goal is to create a netroots venue that supports the culture of positive peace: actions for inner & outer peace, sustainability, diversity, social justice, & affirmative creative expression––in Asia (and everywhere).
––
Kim Hughes, Jen Teeter, & Jean Downey
Yellow
Elephant
