Kyoto Interviews
Seeing the Forest and the Trees
“In Japan, divinities might be of mountain, sea, or river. People find divinities in nature. This religious faith still exists…”
Read MoreMantra from Ajari-san
Ajari — “Great Teacher” — is a title conferred on monks…who have completed the great sennichi kaihõgyo training… This meditative practice involves walking a total of over 38,000 kilometers in 1,000 days, within a seven-year period.
Read MoreThe Hosomi Museum
Hosomi Yoshiyuki is the founding director of the Hosomi Museum… The museum houses a 1,000 piece art collection representing all major periods of Japanese art from the Jomon to Meiji, featuring 30 Important Art Properties…
Read MoreGion Geisha: Interview with Yoshida Teruko
Yoshida Teruko is a former geiko (often called geisha outside of Kyoto). She is the proprietor of a bar in the Gion district whose clientele includes corporate leaders from Kyoto, Tokyo and other countries.
Read MoreFuruhashi Teiji and Dumb Type
“It’s more difficult to do creative theater in Tokyo. There is less pressure in Kyoto so we can be more free, more adventurous. Kyoto people are more open to something experimental…”
Read MoreKatsura Kan: Butoh Dancer
At 36, Kyoto-born butoh dancer and choreographer Katsura Kan has survived as an independent dancer, working outside the established butoh companies…
Read MoreSano Toemon: Gardener
In the center of Maruyama Park there is a very large cherry tree… It was cultivated by the grandfather of Sano Tōemon, the sixteenth generation of a line of Sagano gardeners.
Read MoreThe Open Homeless
Over the past eight years, Ryuta and Chieko Kobayashi have resided in shelters made of cardboard and wood, crafted with their own hands, under the Kojinguchi Bridge on the Kamo River…
Read MoreOn Genji Monogatari: A Conversation with Setouchi Jakucho
“I started translating The Tale of Genji after turning seventy, though I had well prepared to start for many years by then…”
Read MoreThe Path to Honen-in
For a man who wears so many caps, the shaven-headed priest exudes a genial calm. He talks openly and from the heart; here is none of the closed manner for which Kyoto is famous.
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