Current publication schedule:
KJ has been mostly published as a quarterly magazine, in print format. Covid severely disrupted our distribution system, so we are currently publishing three issues per year. One in print, and two digital issues. At present we are unable to offer subscriptions, and KJ is available in very few bookstores, in Japan or overseas.
Ordering:
Fortunately, all issues can be ordered through our website‘s Shop pages. Click on thumbnails below for more details.
(KJ 100—a celebratory issue on 100 VIEWS OF KYOTO—sold out in print, and we made an extended version as a digital issue. We also reissued KJ 83, on FOOD, as a print issue, KJ 95). Normally, however, each issue is published only in print or in digital format, with no overlap.
RECENT PRINT ISSUES
Fire consumes, transforms, renews and purifies. This primordial element has remained deeply embedded in the culture and psyche of Kyoto as a powerful destructive force, a sacred agent and a vital component of everyday life, throughout the city’s 1,230-year history. Guest edited by Jann Williams.
¥2,500
This special print issue explores the ubiquitous role of flora as an essential subtheme in Kyoto’s timeless culture through essays, interviews, and poetry, illuminated by superb photography and artworks. Guest edited by Codi Hauka.
¥2,300
The vital element of water has been one of Kyoto’s most characteristic features, ever since Heian-kyo was famous for its “purple mountains and crystal streams.”
¥2,300
RECENT DIGITAL ISSUES
These recent digital issues are available only as PDF downloads:
KJ 106 dives into the theme of ‘Cultural Fluidity,’ the accelerating flow and blend of cultures across borders. From Japonisme to Pokémon, contributors illuminate this subject from diverse viewpoints, through a mix of essays, poetry, photography, and illustrations. Guest edited by Lane Diko.
¥1,000
KJ 105: The Geography of Myth
KJ 105 encompasses vast arcs in Japan’s mythical history and social geography through articles, photo-essays, and intriguing excerpts from the latest books by some of our favorite KJ-associated authors.
¥1,000
In KJ 103 we bring together the strivings of poets, musicians, visual and sculptural artists, photographers, art event curators, meditators and philosophers, even a part-time futurologist, to evolve new ideas and invent new forms.
¥800
KJ 102: Encounters/Transitions
In KJ102 we bring together accounts of formative experiences, in the context of historical momentum.
¥800
KJ 100: 100 Views of Kyoto — A Tribute
A fresh collection of viewpoints, voices, reminiscences, personal accounts, sketches, photographs, and historical and literary quotes evoking the unique spirit of KJ’s hometown and inspiration, Kyoto.
¥700
KJ 99 looks at the phenomenon of travel, whether as a pursuit of a deeper understanding of the world’s diversity, as a plunge into the unknown, or a deliberate immersion in a known unknown. We also re-imagine post-COVID travel.
¥550
KJ 98: Ma, a Measure of Infinity
KJ 98 explores the Japanese time-space concept of “ma”—a measurement of space or an interval—empty, yet never vacant—replete with potentiality, like the silence that is essential to music, the cognitive space between words and sentences in conversations, the stillness that anchors and releases both thought and action.
¥500
