New issue KJ99
travel, revisited
INSIGHTS FROM ASIA
Kyoto Journal is an award-winning,
quarterly magazine founded in Kyoto, Japan,
presenting cultural and historical insights from
all of Asia since 1987.
- ALL

Hachise launches dedicated page for Otsu machiya properties
Our friends at Hachise have launched a new page for their beautifully-renovated Otsu properties.

Tadashi 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.

Sacred 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.

Cherry 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…

Behind 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.

An Old Posttown Makes a Comeback
The City of Otsu and Hachise, a realtor specialising inmachiya renovations, are exploring ways to restore Otsu’s glory as a station on the old Tokaido overland route

A 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.

Kato 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.

Behind the Scenes of Miyazaki’s Magic
Alpert was employed at Ghibli’s parent company Tokuma Shoten and was tasked with making its films as successful abroad as they are in Japan.

The Passing of Beauty and Glory
What does the Tale of Genji suggest about sensitivity to the fleeting nature of human existence?