Kyoto Journal – Issue 95

Kyoto Journal Issue 95 (the Wellbeing Issue) is available now from LOREM (not Ipsum). From the green spaces of urban Osaka to the sacred ravines of Ubud: this issue delves into the Asian conception of wellbeing from a holistic standpoint.

Founded in 1987, Kyoto Journal (KJ) is an award-winning, volunteer-driven quarterly magazine presenting thought-provoking cultural and historical insights from Kyoto, Japan and all of Asia. Now the longest-established independent English publication in Japan, our interdisciplinary approach, high standards of journalism and stunning design have brought us several international independent press awards, including the Utne Reader and Pushcart Prize. Our Founding Editor, John Einarsen, also received the Japanese government’s Cultural Affairs Agency Award for Kyoto Journal’s long-term efforts to introduce Kyoto and Japanese culture to the English-speaking world. A journal, whether public or private, is an ongoing means of looking afresh at the inhabited world, both social and natural. In selecting material for Kyoto Journal we look for intelligent work that comes also from the heart. We are curious about society, beliefs, traditions and new developments — how people live, and live well — through the lens of Asian experience. At the same time, our name, “Kyoto Journal,” also reflects more than a physical location. Kyoto is a place of deep spiritual and cultural heritage, and has been the measure of such things here in Japan for more than a millennium. Kyoto culture has looked deeply inwards and has also drawn richly from outside, especially since the Meiji modernization. Essentially, Kyoto Journal is a community that transcends place, while respecting and celebrating regional and local identity.

Features

Martin McKellar initiates a program for patients to design their very own Zen karesansui garden and witness it come to life from their hospital bed;

After narrowly escaping with her life in the devastating 2015 Nepal earthquake, Sushma Joshi recounts the long process of physical and emotional healing;

The remarkable diaries of Dr. Setoue Kenjiro, AKA “Dr. Koto,” translated by Jeffrey Irish, who has been serving an ageing community on a remote island off Kyushu since the 70s;

Mark Hovane elucidates the healing, transformative qualities of the Japanese garden and its historical development;

Qigong practitioner and teacher Bernard Kwan on how the traditional Chinese approach to wellbeing can transform ageing into “something that is not to be feared, but savored”;

Osaka-dweller Patrick Lydon proposes we re-cultivate the lost fellowship that we once enjoyed with trees—especially so in our cities;

In an excerpt from his new book, Autumn Light, Pico Iyer reflects on a lifelong friendship with the Dalai Lama and his most recent trip through Japan;

Amy Chavez is led to a mystical site of purification frequented by ancient Balinese princes and princesses—with stunning photography by Aimery Joëssel;

Plus

Home remedies from all corners of the world, sourced from the Kyoto Journal Community.

Kyoko Yukioka talks to talented sisters Johnna and Reylia Slaby about their upbringing in rural Japan and how it influenced their artistic development;

Swati Mishra speaks to Dai Qing, one of the most vocal opponents of the Three Gorges Dam who continues to scrutinize China’s environmental policy from within China itself;

Vibrant enso by artist-activist Kazuaki Tanahashi enliven the pages of this issue, with an introduction by Codi Hauka;

And, as usual, we offer an eclectic selection of poetry, and reviews of the latest Japan and Asia-related books.

and more.

Details: Kyoto Journal – Issue 95

128 pages, printed in Kyoto