Posted in writing and poetry, nature, travel and places, kyoto, haiku on May 2nd, 2007 1 Comment »
One of the weirdest Shinkansen stations is without a doubt Shinkobe. The station building hangs on the side of Mt Rokko, above the city, with only a green mountain at the back. The trains arrive and depart via long tunnels bored in that same mountain. Right under the station a river comes cascading down the […]
Posted in writing and poetry, movies, art and photography, news on Mar 17th, 2007 No Comments »
Earlier this month the Akutagawa Prize for new writers of literary fiction was awarded to Aoyama Nanae for Being Alone. Here she is interviewed by the Japan Times (registration required).
Kadokawa’s latest overblown epic film, Aoki Okami (Blue Wolf), about Genghis Khan, is found “somewhat empty and soulless” by Daily Yomiuri’s Aaron Gerow. Although there are […]
Posted in writing and poetry, internet on Mar 6th, 2007 No Comments »
2001 Waka for Japan 2001 is an extensive collection of classical waka poems from major anthologies, such as the Manyoshu, Kokinshu and Shinkokinshu. Besides the translation, a romanized version as well as the original Japanese are included. Brief introductions are provided; in a separate section you will also find information on the poets and some […]
Posted in writing and poetry, history, travel and places, kyoto on Mar 5th, 2007 No Comments »
During my New Year visit (hatsumode) to the Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto, I also walked into a sort of sub-shrine, that stands to the side at the beginning of the path leading to the main shrine. It is neglected by most people, for me it was also the first time to visit.
Aptly called Kawai Jinja, […]
Posted in writing and poetry, books, history on Feb 23rd, 2007 No Comments »
The great Japan scholar Donald Keene does not need an introduction to readers of this blog, as anyone even slightly interested in Japan is bound to have come across his many translations of Japanese literature, new ( for example, After the Banquet and Thirst for Love by Mishima) and traditional (Essays in Idleness, The Narrow […]
Posted in writing and poetry, travel and places, temples, kyoto on Dec 29th, 2006 No Comments »
In Fushimi today we came across a small temple called Saiganji or more popularly Aburakake Jizo. That means “Jizo covered with oil” and there is of course a story behind it.
[Saiganji, Kyoto. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
Saiganji was founded in 1590 by Unkai. Once upon a time, an oil merchant from Yamazaki stumbled in front of […]
Posted in writing and poetry, travel and places, temples, kyoto on Dec 27th, 2006 No Comments »
In my previous post I have discussed an article from the magazine Serai about the poetry anthology Hyakunin Isshu and also mentioned that various places in Kyoto are still associated with poems from the popular classic. I have visited several of these spots in the last few years and here are the first three Hyakunin […]
Posted in writing and poetry, books, culture, travel and places, intercultural on Dec 26th, 2006 No Comments »
Hyakunin Isshu (”One Hunderd Poets, One Poem Each”) is Japan’s most famous compact anthology of classical poetry. About 800 years ago, Fujiwara Teika, himself an accomplished poet, compiled it in his residence on Mt Ogura, in Arashiyama near Kyoto, by selecting the in his view best waka poems from previous imperial collections.
Thanks to the […]
Posted in writing and poetry, history, religion and philosophy, gardens, temples, kyoto on Dec 6th, 2006 No Comments »
One of Kyoto’s most magic places stands in the northwestern part of the city, hidden behind an unobtrusive gateway.
Fifty years ago still countryside, now this has squarely become part of the city. But Shisendo, the Hall of the Poetry Immortals, is in itself contained, a form shut off from its surroundings by tall trees, in […]
Posted in writing and poetry, books on Dec 2nd, 2006 No Comments »
Basho is by far the most popular Japanese author. Strangely enough, there still is no annotated scholarly translation of his complete work. The Narrow Road has been translated tens of times, and a few hundred of his most popular haiku exist in countless versions (there is even a whole book dedicated to different versions […]
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