KJ 108: Fluidity 2

A special digital issue
guest edited by Lane Diko

200+pages, ¥1,000

Kyoto Journal 108 continues the theme of ‘Fluidity’ explored in KJ 106. The theme was so rich and submissions so varied that we decided to dive even deeper with a ‘Part Two.’ 108 will further develop the wide-ranging theme of Fluidity, delving into the many ways in which culture has flowed in and out of Kyoto: how foreign cultures have manifested in new ways in Japan; how aspects of Japanese culture have been reimagined overseas, and further, how those manifestations of Japanese culture have returned to influence Japan.

 

Fluidity can be observed in the complexity of diasporic and immigrant experiences around the world, from prehistory until today. It is inherent to the metamorphoses of ancient gods and goddesses as well as to modern, shapeshifting figures like David Bowie. Fluidity includes modern, international versions of Noh theater, sumo competitions, and tea ceremony. We can find it in the interpretation and reinterpretation of music, from rock to the avant-garde compositions of John Cage; in the work of visual artists like Kanemaki Yoshitoshi or Delphine Diallo, who blend traditional techniques with cutting edge technology; in global drinking cultures, whether sipping Japanese whisky cocktails in a Kyoto temple or serving a bowl of green tea in Vancouver; and in the international influences of designers, architects, and writers.

From Japonisme to Nintendo, AI to Hello Kitty—Fluidity is the nature of culture in the 21st century.

We hope that the poetry, personal essays, interviews, photography, and illustrations featured in these issues will invite you, as a reader, to recognize and appreciate the depth and fascinating complexity of these blending edges of cultures, in the world and in yourself.

Contents

The Light in Kyoto: Ken Rodgers (1952-2024)
Pico Iyer

Natural Phenomena Express No Emotions
Ken Rodgers

Fluidity 2
Lane Diko

First Experiences 2

The Jesup North Pacific Expedition

Metamorphoses of a Goddess
Catherine Ludvik

CONVERSATIONS

Kanemaki Yoshitoshi
Interview by Lane Diko and Mariko Yamada

Margot Gaches
Interview

Delphine Diallo and the Warrior Journey
Interview

 

 

 

HEARTWORK

40 Years of Traditional Theater Training in Kyoto
Jonah Salz 

Chameleon David
Julian Holmes

Ezra Pound’s Japan: An Interview with Andrew Houwen
Matthew McLaughlin

Throwing Sounds Into Silence
Magda Rittenhouse

 OUR KYOTO

Kyoto Blues
Tim Fitts

カタツムリ, or, NE Looks Like SNAIL
Piper Rasmussen

Observing the Observers: An American Undercover in Kyoto’s Sacred Spaces
Scott Kikkawa

Lost Dream in Kyoto
Hua Liu, Translated by Max Cao

The Kitschy World of “Zen in/and the Art of…”
Yamada Shōji

Mario—Born and Raised in Kyoto
Matt Alt

Kawaii Kitty—Around the World in 50 Years
Alex Mankiewicz

EYE

Liberdade—Behind the Mask of São Paulo’s Japantown
Marcio Scavone

IN TRANSLATION

Luck is a Form of Talent
A. Muttulingam, Translated by Sahana Kumar

Sumo Revival
Lewis Miesen

Sharing a Bowl of Tea: Sustaining a Japanese Art Practice in Canada
Millie Creighton

Tea Hunters—The Tale of O5 Tea
Brian Eastlake

How to Talk About Wine Like a Tea Master
Leanne Ogasawara

Slainte!—Bringing Scotland’s Spirit to Japan
Andrew Bonn

Charles Schumann in Conversation
With Matthias Ley

Denis Guidone
Interview

Matsumuro Shigemitsu: Designing Modern Kyoto
Ichikawa Shinya

REVIEWS

RAMBLE

The Very First
Robert Brady

 

website

Africans in Japan—A New Diaspora
Solene Bouda

Confessions of an Otaku
Garrett Speller

Transcending Temporality
An Interview with Rosanna Rios Perez

Never to Leave This Land?
Fiction by Alice Nord