Ten Thousand Things
Multicultural Webfinds

"Ten Thousand Things" is a Buddhist expression representing the dynamic interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe.

V. SHORT (and delightful) STORIES from Tokyo – NY – London (more cities coming up) • HITOHIKO (one moment) HITOBAN (one night) • Jan. 29, 2008 @7-10 p.m at the PINK COW, Tokyo

HITOTOKI, a multilingual, charming, and refreshingly open literary endeavor, is in search of VERY short (250-500 words) place-based stories and story-telling by anyone (everyone) who has stories to tell.
Photos with stories and map location are on the website.

What some of the stories lack in professional polish, is more than made up for by their fascinating, unexpected, and uncontrived "every person" perspectives, details, and unabashed revelatory moments. Reading the stories feels like having conversations on the streets of Tokyo during serendipitous encounters. So many best-selling texts that purport to portray "Japan" in economic, political, and statistical terms seem to miss so much - the human aspect, the place aspect, the seasonal aspect, and the existential aspect.

These unpretentious and refreshing v. short stories, such as Qi Rari's description of wearing a brand-sponsored winter coat on a cold day in Ueno Park, fill in many gaps and margins that most of us don't know we're missing until we discover them.

Upcoming venue: The Pink Cow on Jan. 29, 2008 @ 7-10 p.m:

"A night of food, drinks, friends & stories.

"HITOTOKI is a literary website collecting personal stories of specific places in cities around the world. Since our launch in Tokyo in 2007, we’ve published over fifty stories written by artists, writers, teachers, designers, and self-proclaimed vending machine maintenance men.
"Join us from 7pm on Tuesday, January 29th to celebrate the spread of Hitotoki to New York and London.

"The Pink Cow will be hosting with great food, drinks and readings by Hitotoki contributors.

Villa Moderuna B1, 1-3-18 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku Tokyo, 150-0002 (Map)

See also at the Pink Cow Thursday, January 31, 2008 from 7-9pm
Four Stories Tokyo: "Sight, Taste, Touch: Tales of the senses"

Featuring readings by KJ fiction editor Liza Lowitz and PR manager Ted Taylor; more info at KJ News.

Previous ........... Next
Back to Ten Thousand Things index page...