In Appreciation
of the KJ Community

In 1986, nearly twenty years ago, when we started out to cut and paste together the first issue of Kyoto Journal, we had no idea that in 2006 we would still be here, putting together our 63rd issue, or even that we would still be residing here in Kyoto. Way back then, we had yet to log onto the Internet. We depended almost entirely on local contacts — the writers, artists and poets who used to come to John's place for a monthly reading get-together, where we first realized the potential for melding everyone's creativity, talents, and enthusiasm into a printed distillation of our place and time.

KJ germinated within a physical setting, Okazaki, which it still inhabits. It also came out of a curious mix of local and expat community, another floating world within Kyoto. Somehow we were all here due to a similar attraction exerted by the ancient capital, manifested through gardens or calligraphy, or Noh theater or Zen, in haiku, in shakuhachi, in tea ceremony or other finely nuanced traditions – and in the sense that we all recognized there was something here worth knowing more about. And worth sharing with the world.

KJ has evolved a long way. It has grown, spread its branches, flowered and fruited, and to stretch the metaphor, is certainly no longer confined by its hometown roots. But the sense of community, and some shared aspiration, has never gone away. We still have a dedicated base of local volunteers, who have been here for the magazine to nurture it through its development, people whose belief in its essential value — and its further potential — has motivated them to put in long hours of work, researching, inputting data, making PR connections, negotiating permissions, arranging distribution, handling subscriptions, interning, helping put on memorable KJ events, even simply addressing and mailing out each issue, as well as assisting in the more obvious aspects of editing, design, photography, illustration... This volunteer base is KJ's strongest characteristic feature. We know of no other publication that is so fortunate in its voluntary support network, which includes even our generous publisher.

In addition, we are fortunate to have been able to build an extended community, a so-called virtual community or cyber-neighborhood, of like-minded people around the world, who have seen what the magazine stands for and have responded as contributors (fiction writers, essayists, poets, commentators, interviewers, contributing editors, graphic artists, photographers, translators, travelers, sojourners, residents) — and subscribers.

So what is it that we stand for? Although we have resisted creating any kind of manifesto, and are not about to try to define ourselves out of existence now, essentially KJ is concerned with creativity and constructiveness, encouraging writers, artists and staff to develop their potential. We try to keep the process mutually supportive, and collaborative. Not having an office as a focal point, and being busy with “day jobs” means we mostly work independently, using email and phone communications to keep in touch, with occasional get-togethers of individuals concerned with specific projects. Full-scale KJ meetings, usually held just after the publication of each new issue, seldom follow a business-like agenda — instead, they become brainstorming sessions where everyone contributes to a process of developing fresh perspectives, listening to each others' ideas, giving feedback, recognizing that everyone has something valuable to offer. We try to encourage further input from the wider KJ community as well.

The magazine itself, in its printed & bound final manifestation, is intended to function as a lens to re-envision the world through "perspectives from Asia," but the actual process of working together is equally a means of getting beyond our individually limited viewpoints. We welcome new voices, new ideas, fresh input. It is not our intention to arrive at any formula that can be repeated in subsequent issues. The magazine has no templates, no standard "look," though it hopefully reflects consistency in humanitarian values, intellectual curiosity, and the wish to see sanity and peace prevail. One recurrent "message" is that ethics do matter, and are a vital responsibility both socially and personally.

Those of us who have been with KJ over a long period seldom find the opportunity to fully express our thanks to the many volunteers and friends of KJ who have contributed in so many ways to its development. However, without their dedicated support, this magazine might not exist, and it certainly would not have achieved its current form. While other organizations sometimes experience problems that arise from personality clashes, policy disagreements, or other interpersonal conflicts, KJ has been almost always blessed by smooth interactions, in which it seems that personal egos and private agendas are subservient to the primary purpose of helping each other and the magazine achieve fullest potential.

We are also very appreciative of the diversity among our local community, through which KJ has managed to avoid becoming simply a bastion of middle-aged gaijin males. Editorially, we try to involve men and women writers, editors and artists, and to ensure that the magazine reflects and maintains a healthy diversity of sources and content.

Through the positive support of KJ contributors, staff and friends, and our publisher, Harada Shokei, KJ has succeeded in being nominated thirteen times in the last nine years for Utne Alternative Press Awards, in direct competition with the best professional publications of the alternative press. This is an achievement that we are very proud of, and one that seems to confirm that we have evolved highly effective working methods over these nearly twenty years. KJ has also been invited in the last two years to submit articles for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. The real achievement, we feel, is the material that we have published that might otherwise never have reached the public domain, and the support that we have been able to give to our contributors, many of whom have published with us at an early stage in their creative development.

While KJ has achieved much, we are still looking to the future, not the past. This year may turn out to be a rather special one in KJ's development. The biggest news is that we have been picked up by Ingram Periodicals Inc., a major US distributor, with the potential to place KJ in the most suitable bookstores and other locations across North America. At the same time, our French interns (Vanessa and Marine) are working on plans for expansion of distribution in Europe, and elsewhere in Asia. We will also have a record number of interns working with us during this year. Following the success of the issue launch party for KJ #60 (Korea), and the related reading of Korean contemporary poetry by translator Brother Anthony of Taizé, and John and Stewart's well-received presentation to the Society of Writers, Editors & Translators (SWET) in Tokyo last November, we plan to keep up the momentum with meetings and KJ events, giving Kyoto Journal even more of a local presence as well.

Once again, we would like to thank everyone in the KJ community for their continued support, to invite your ongoing feedback on how we can make the magazine, and our working process, even more effective – and to welcome anyone interested in joining and contributing to KJ.

Ken Rodgers, managing editor: submissions[at]kyotojournal.org
Stewart Wachs, associate editor: editor[at]kyotojournal.org
John Einarsen, founding editor: feedback[at]kyotojournal.org