Kyoto Journal Issue 58

FREEING SPIRIT

Editing KJ, over the years we’ve learned to listen to what the magazine itself wants to be. Each issue, even one starting without a set theme, seems to give voice to a particular set of related concerns, making its own connections, developing resonances, becoming in a sense an open conversation. Once a topic emerges, we’re no longer surprised when yet another unsolicited submission turns up, further illuminating some essential aspect of what’s already in the works. Going with the flow, we seek out additional material to nudge the conversation along…

Our 58th issue started out bundling articles on traditional performing arts, but soon let us know it wanted to dig deeper. In diverse disciplines, we found common ground and shared aspirations: ‘Super-Kagura,’ reviving traditional Shinto dance; the Kodo taiko drumming group’s Earth Celebration; the massively popular Awa Odori street dance festival; Ohno Kazuo — a butoh dance pioneer at 98; Ikemiya Masanobu, a Japanese Buddhist ragtime wizard; Fujiko Hemming, a classical piano virtuoso prevailing over deafness; Biung, a successful Taiwanese aboriginal musician returning to his roots; Don Kirk, a veteran war reporter in Baghdad; Shinji Kazue, a cross-cultural psychotherapy interpreter; Ishido-sensei, a master of ikebana … Within each story we heard different aspects of the urge towards seeking and achieving wholeness, in individuals and communities, until we knew that this issue had found its theme… Freeing spirit.

Contents:

Cover Image by Markuz Wernli
98pp
published November 20, 2004

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