Posts by Wei Ger Teo
A Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki
As a Nowhere Man, Suzuki was the perfect catalyst for an emerging Western strata of neo-transcendentalists, heirs to Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, yet burdened with a psychological stigma as America gazed West across the Pacific and envisioned an Asia in ruins.
Read MoreA Rare Pleasure
The few translations that do exist of particular haiku poets have focused on male poets such as Basho, Shiki and Issa. For these reasons alone, readers should welcome the translation of the work of a premiere Japanese woman poet artist-calligrapher, Kaga-no-Chiyo.
Read MoreHidden Masterpieces
As canals are to Venice, gardens are to Kyoto, even if mostly concealed behind the walls of private residences, or within sub-temples that have not transformed themselves into tourist attractions.
Read MoreThe Life and Times of Okada Torajiro and his Seiza Method of Self-Harmonization
To actually practice Seiza, one needs no group or leader, no visualization, vocalization, counting, or mantra repetition, and no special symbolic objects, apparatus, or vestments. Seiza is truly more zen than Zen.
Read MoreTadashi Nakajima: Encountering the God of Darkness
Cradled, we were slowly merging. This I knew, looking up at the dusty stars, losing all feeling in arms, in legs, smelling the hot rice odor which was now mine as well. I, the man I thought I knew, was gone, become a thousand others.
Read MoreSacred Desire Notes on Tamotsu Yato: Photographer
Tamotsu Yato embodied the erotic gaze — he was one of the earliest to do so openly. At the same time the gaze involved much more than simple erotics and it is this, no less, which merits our attention.
Read MoreCherry Blossom Epiphany: The Poetry and Philosophy of a Flowering Tree, by Robin D. Gill
“The Japanese have written thousands of poems about the cherry blossoms” is something I have said thousands and thousands of times over the years to my college classes in Japanese language…
Read MoreBehind the Mask
In 1960, noh actor and mask carver Udaka Michishige was the last to be taken as an uchi-deshi, or live-in apprentice, into the home of Kongō Iwao II, the head of the Kongō School.
Read MoreA Definitive Ranking of the Ducks of Kamogawa
We’ve taken the liberty of identifying the most common species of duck inhabitants on the Kamo River, and ranking them from ugliest little duckling, to virtual bird of paradise.
Read MoreKato Shuichi on Everything – one of Japan’s Last Renaissance Men
Cultural critic, literary historian, novelist, poet and dramatist, Katō is one of Japan’s major post-war figures.
Read MoreThe Passing of Beauty and Glory
What does the Tale of Genji suggest about sensitivity to the fleeting nature of human existence?
Read MoreDemons, Misinformation and Kimochi
“This is a book that gives voice to the Japanese who feel exactly as I do, and who exist by the millions. Japanese bookshelves are filled with angry books all of on these subjects.”
Read MoreJapan’s Peacemaker: Shidehara Kijuro and the Origins of Article 9
In his book “Japan In The World: Shidehara Kijûrô: Pacifism and the Abolition of War,” peace historian Klaus Schlichtmann illuminates the true story behind Article 9, spotlighting the decisive role played by Shidehara Kijuro, Japan’s pacifist foreign minister.
Read MoreMy Year of Meats: An excerpt
It was Kato, my old boss at the TV production company in Tokyo where I had gotten my first job, strangulating English sound bites into pithy Japanese subtitles. Now, he said, he had a new program and could use my help.
Read MoreFood: Our Five Most-Read
A passionate chef serving up shojin-ryori plant-based cuisine; the founder of Kyoto’s first (and so far, only) Korean teahouse; an encounter at an unusual temple restaurant and indigenous Ainu cuisine in central Tokyo: these are Kyoto Journal’s top five most read articles on food.
Read MoreThe view to Mt. Sumeru: Donald Richie on D.T. Suzuki
‘I think that Dr. Suzuki is for Zen what St. Paul is for Christianity. He was “a publicist.”’
Read MoreTengu
Osamu Dazai meditates on the haiku of Bashô, Bonchô, and Kyorai.
Read MoreThe Other Japan: Voices Beyond the Mainstream
The Other Japan should be read by all students seeking a clearer view of Japan’s rich demographic landscape.
Read MoreTroopers’ Inn
The boy Hisashi was drawing a picture of horses. He was drawing three military mounts galloping together, seen from the side…
Read More
